Longest blooming perennial?

LOL, I saved that picture in my hard drive as waterfallsnot, supposed to be waterfallshot! The final picture shows the whole bank. He cut into it to have dirt to level a space for the patio and pond. Then he covered the bank with colored cement about the color of our clay here. Then he made the waterfalls, plant pockets and plant walls. The patio is also colored concrete. He made a wood grid and flopped it end to end to create the pattern.
Now he's building a greenhouse onto the pottery kiln shed.

Beautiful, ingenious, unique -- but waterfallsnot? Eeewww!

These photos belong in the Alpine Forum and the Garden Art Forum, Woodspirit.

That is most definitely a work of art!

Thank you so much. He did all that for just $300 because we found the rock and harvested the sand for the concrete. The only real cost was the pump for $65, I think. You should see the rock wall impounding the pond from the other side.

We want to see it. Show us pictures of it. This is great.

Beautiful woodspirit! Kudos!
Neal

Lol, I'll have to get a pic today. Or maybe I can coerce my spousal unit to get it while I'm at work......

Very Beautiful! You made your mechanicals invisible too!

I love my fern leaf bleeding heart, but it is not at all a beautiful as 'sanannie's'. How do you get them to grow so big? I also love my blanketflowers - I have all colors.

Does Marvel of Peru rate here as anyone's favorite? It may be a bit too cool for my climate and I will have to count on reseeding....

Myree - maybe it looks bigger in the pic than it actually is... it's only about 15" high and wide. But I have to agree, it's a great plant!

woodspirit1 - I can't say I've ever tried growing Marvel of Peru, but I believe they are also called Four O'Clocks and an annual in my area. Note to self: must try them!

Sandy

sanannie, you say you want to try 4 O'Clocks? See Gayle..........LOL

Kylee.....Oh yeah LOL...... Are they really *that* prolific or does it just depend on your location, I wonder? I don't mind prolific if they are beautiful.

Sandy

Probably depends on your location. I don't know, since I've never grown them. But Gayle is supposed to send me a quart jar of seeds. LOLOLOLOL.

This message was edited Dec 29, 2005 4:30 PM

Then you must let us know all about your acres of Four O'Clocks next year! LOL

LOLOL!!!

I think I'll share. Want some?

If you have a Japanese Beatle problem, I've heard they dine on Four o'Clocks, and then die because the plant is toxic to them. I'm going to sow plenty!

Four o'clocks are perennial in some moderate climates. I am thinking some of mine came back (z7b) last year, but they p[robably needed a warmer place, can't be sure. The roots can be lifted, stored and replanted.

I haven't noticed the J. Beetles eating them. If they are realy toxic to theJ.B.'s, why not blend a four o'clock and spray it on other, larger ornamental that the beetles like!?

I've loved these plants since I was a kid. They reseed prolifically. However, they are really 7 o'clocks, with open blooms at dusk, in the night, and very early.

Peter

I've had Four o clocks survive here in zone 6, but only the ones that were right against the foundation of the house. Those got big and bushy to. Some companies sell the roots as tender bulbs they say can be dug an stored for winter, but with the way they reseed, I can't see bothering with it.

Rosanne cranesbill out blooms them all here. I garden in z3 , she bloomed from June into mid October. Although it is supposed to be hardy only z5, I mulched them heavily and they came through a tough winter just great. The plant was about 3ft. wide and about 16in.tall.Also, planted cranesbill "Jolly Bee" last spring. It too, bloomed all season but didn't seem to be quite as vigorous as "Roseanne", the blooming machine.

If you're looking for long-blooming, easy-care perennials and you have acidic soil and at least a few hours of sun each day, I would strongly recommend looking into heaths and heathers. Many of them have interesting foliage (widely varying colors, textures, some change color or are multicolored, etc.) in addition to a variety of bloom colors and shapes. Many bloom for 2-3 months, and some -- like the wonderful "Irish Lemon" -- bloom even longer. Irish Lemon blooms profusely from about May until frost in our zone 6 garden. Some heaths have blooms peeking out from underneath the last of a season's snow, which is also a lovely thing to see. I'm surprised that there is not a dedicated heaths and heathers forum on this site! High time, I'd say.

Other than that, I agree that butterfly bush is a real winner. Ours bloom from midsummer to frost , and couldn't be hardier (or nicer-smelling). I cut the plants back to about a foot high each Spring, and the first year I did this, I stuck a couple of small pieces of chopped-off stalk into the ground in another part of our garden, just to see what would happen. Without any special care, both cuttings rooted and now we have 8 ft tall bushes in two parts of the garden -- and the presence of multiple bushes seems to attract a lot more butterflies than just the one bush we started with.

We also have an amazing hydrangea that was here when we bought our house. It manages to deliver a mix of huge blue, pink, and blue/pink flowers all on the one plant, and the blooms simply last all summer. When the weather starts turning cool, all the blooms turn maroon, and only lose their color with the first hard frost. I only wish I knew the name of this particular hydrangea, because it's a stunner and I'd happily recommend it if I could.

If you have space and don't mind a lot of thorns, the Fairy rose that blooms a number of times from early summer until frost, covering the 4ft bush with little pink blooms. But be aware that in addition to major thorns, this plant spreads both underground and by setting down roots wherever a branch touches soil. However, it thrives with limited sun and weathers winter like a champ. I was even able to take one of the rooted sections and move it successfully to grow in a big pot. So if you want a repeat-blooming rose bush that can take care of itself, have a look at the Fairy.

I wish heaths and heathers would grow here, but our summers are just too hot. I love working with heather as a cut flower and always find myself wishing I could grow it.

It sounds like ideal conditions for heaths and heathers here so I'm really going to check them out. Thanks for the tip, Drew.
My first gardening venture was as a child living in NY. My dad managed a hotel at the bottom of Central Park. Someone gave us a potted geranium and it got leggy so I talked my parents into letting us put it on the roof, 16 stories up. It thrived for a couple of years. I was hooked. I still love the smell of geranium leaves.

This message was edited Jan 19, 2006 3:13 AM

In my garden it is Dianthus, Salvia (my favorite) and Stella D'oros. The Salvia (sorry, i forget the exact one) has to be deadheaded frequently but it goes and goes and goes until into the fall, zone 5 here.

For me this year its got to be my cuphea. It should be frozen back to the ground this time of year (always has in the past). Been blooming since Oct--go figure--crazy weather this year!

I just found this thread and would like to comment on a new hardy geranium I planted last summer; Jolly Bee. It was blooming when I bought in in early June and it bloomed right up to our first hard frost; surviving several lighter frosts beforehand. Just a great little plant covered in large blooms all season long. I bought three and they ended up taking up one whole corner of my garden. I plan on moving two of them this spring to share the wealth elsewhere. I highly recommend this plant.

Thanks beaker. I'll check it out.

That's pretty!

Sandy - way way up the thread you mentioned Persicaria Darjeeling Red - there's no pic in the plant files. Wanna post one?

Stacy

I would like to try hardy geraniums. What is the best variety? If anyone has an extra of it and fern leaf bleeding heart please send me a Dmail. I have lots of perennials to trade.
Teresa

I have several here, but I think my favorite is the native that grows at the edge of the woods. I've tried moving it, but it didn't seem to like that all that well and promptly croaked. I put in Splish Splash last year in the shade bed on the east end of the back yard. At our old house I had Claridge Druce which was very reliable. Wish I had brought a clump with me.

I have a few hardy geraniums and may be able to share this spring. I will have to check on how well they survived the winter...

I have found them to be sensitive, although my Claridge Druce is pretty dependable and vigorous.

'Orion' and 'Jolly Bee' are two newer ones that seem to be popular around here. I hope they come back.

I have about 20 different varieties of hardy geraniums. They are one of my favorites! I love Ann Folkard, Lawrence Flatman, Ballerina, Buxton Variety, Patricia, Okey Dokey and Rozanne. They seem to bloom forever! Can't wait to add some more this year.

I haven't noticed any sensitivity in them. In fact, the opposite. I made the mistake of planting a spring blooming one right in the middle of the path the dogs used to chase birds out of the bird feeder. It got pretty trampled the first two years I had it and then, finally, when it looked like it was on its last leg, I put a little fence around it. It came back and has increased in size for the last three years. I don't know the name of it. It was suppose to be Johnson's Blue, but it turned out to be a pink. And last winter when we had no snow cover and it was so cold, all the geraniums came back just fine. Can't say that for the orientals.

I also have Buxton's Variety and I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't planted the Jolly Bee, but BV was looking pretty ratty by the time August came around. The flowers are of a similar color and size and I'm thinking of replacing BV with JB.

Hey, beaker, I've got that same pink Johnson's Blue! If you ever find out the real name, please let me know. That one is a tuffy, for sure!

Long bloomers for me have been...
Gaura, hardy geranium Biokovo and I have one 4 o'clock that is a tuber and reappears every year. Oh and my heuchera Palace Purple keeps its flower stalks for quite a while.
I was very happy to see the Nicotiana mutabilis...I had bought a couple packs of seed and hope mine turn out as beautiful.

Stacey,

You asked for a pic of Persicaria affine 'Darjeeling Red' (also known as Polygonum) - my pic below is really out of focus, but there's a much better pic of it here: http://www.stauder.net/bildearkiv/Polygonum%20affine%20'Darjeling%20Red'.jpg

If I ever get a good shot of it, I'll put it in the PlantFiles.

Sandy

Sandy

That's stunning! When I think of Persicaria I think of the purple Persian Sword annual.

Thanks for posting the pic :)

Is it related to Persian Shield? I love the color, can it be grown for seeds?

duh - I'll need another cup of coffee, I think.