The Seven Son tree (Heptacodium miconioides, below) was a favorite of pollinators (mostly bumblebees and wasps), and it is unfortunate that it was destroyed in a storm a year ago. I’m mostly satisfied with the red horsechestnut (Aesculus x carnea) planted in its place, but it is not a suitable replacement as far as the…
Tag: joe pye weed
Tall and ruggedly handsome
No, not me. Tatarian daisy is a tough and beautiful perennial that shines in the early autumn garden. ‘Jindai’ Tatarian daisy (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’, below) grows nearly five feet tall, but it’s habit is more compact and a few feet shorter than other Tatarian daisies (really Asters, but this is the hazard of common names)….
Undemanding summer bloomers
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…
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…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 