Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia, below) typically grows with a slightly arching, upright habit, but that’s when it’s properly sited in full sun, and not jammed beneath a crapemyrtle and crammed under a wide spreading Joe Pye weed. It deserves better, but no matter, it seems happy enough in my garden. It has flowered since the…
Month: August 2012
In late August
There’s an obvious void in the rear garden where the multi trunked Seven Son Tree (Heptacodium miconiodes, below) was toppled over by a storm earlier in the summer. The missing tree disturbs my eye, and I’ve been desperate to replace it, but hesitant to plant another tree until cooler temperatures and more regular rainfall returns…
Filling in the blanks
The spring after planting ‘Crystal Falls’ mondo grass (Ophiopogon jaburan ‘Crystal Falls’, below) I cut its slightly weather beaten foliage back to the ground, just like I do with liriopes. I’ve also planted dwarf mondo grass (which I don’t cut back unless it is severely damaged by the winter) and black mondo (that doesn’t seem to…
The blue mist of late summer
In one year ‘Hint of Gold’ blue mist shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Lisaura’, above) has grown from hardly more than a rooted cutting to three feet across and nearly as tall. Its branches are more rigid and its form more compact than other blue mists in the garden, and foliage retains its yellow color through…
I can’t believe they ate the whole thing
Walking around the garden after this afternoon’s light rain I noticed that one of the small weeping Golden Chain trees (Laburnum x watereri ‘Pendulum) was mostly defoliated. Heat? Drought? No, I looked closer to find a few handfuls of caterpillars (White-marked tussock moth caterpillar, below) actively munching on the few remaining leaves. I supposed that the…
The summer blooming hydrangeas
A seedling of Tardiva hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’, below) has popped up in the middle of the lacecap ‘Twist-n-Shout’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Twist-n-Shout’) . ‘Tardiva’ is a cultivar, so it’s unlikely that the seedling will be identical to the parent plant, but it appears to be very close in appearance. The more pertinent question is, should…
Rebloomers
I don’t pretend to understand the environmental factors that determine when flower buds are formed on plants, or how quickly reblooming plants reset flower buds. It seems that temperature is the primary influence for many plants to set flower buds, but other plants are more effected by hours of daylight. I’m quite certain that I’ve…
Butterflies visit the Franklin tree
There are days when butterflies favor one flower rather than another, though all are at their peak bloom and likely to be brimming with nectar. On this muggy, overcast August evening every fifth flower of the Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha, below) hosts an Eastern Tiger swallowtail. The tree is probably twenty feet tall, and there…
Odd and wonderful
Even in the heat of summer there are wonderful and odd happenings in the garden. One recent afternoon I was astounded by the number of dragonflies in the neighborhood of the large swimming pond, and no wonder there are fewer mosquitoes in the rear garden. There are plenty of mosquitoes in the side yard, in…
Mountain mint
The native Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum, below) is the busiest plant in the garden. Not only for a few weeks, but from early July through September the abundant blooms are constantly visited by bees, moths, and butterflies. Not only a few, but hoards, enough nasty looking bees and wasps that I fear to go close,…
Oh no! Don’t chop the spigelia
Do not plant Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica, below) near the edge of a garden bed! In fact, there should have been no problem with planting this small, spreading native perennial within inches of the lawn. I mow the small areas of lawn myself. I’ve never ceded this duty to my sons, and certainly not to my…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 