Al,
Where did you get .....?
Fatal Attraction Coneflower
I love it! I don't have that one yet and sadly crying..... :-((
lol
Marilyn
What's Your favorite Perennial?
Donna,
I planted Indigo Spires Salvia this Summer for the first time and I love it! Don't know if it will survive the Winter here and come back in the Spring.
Here is a pic I took in Sept.
Edited to add there are various Agastaches and Conflowers in the pic.
Marilyn
This message was edited Dec 18, 2006 1:18 PM
If Indigo Spires doesn't survive, I'm going to plant it again next year. It's worth it! Loved it more and more as each week passed during the season! Beautiful Salvia!
Marilyn
Marilyn - I got Fatal Attraction locally for $9 for a gallon plant - eat your heart out Wayside for$20 something for a 2" pot.
Do you have anyone that sells the plantspotter's line of plants? That's who introduced it and markets it around here.
You know, you really can't beat Beebalm for color & attracting butterflies.
Love beebalm!
Great pictures, keep them coming.
Can't wait for spring---
Some lilies
Miscanthus Gracillimus and Joe White Eupatorium
You can't just have one favorite perennial, can you?
Pirl, love those pics! Do you have any shots of your garden beds?
It's too hard to select just one - so much depends on the season. Thanks for the sweet words - I'll send you a link.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/528730/
Pirl, beautiful! Now I remember seeing this thread before, but so glad to see it again. Do you have astilbes in full, or almost full sun? Do they need extra water?
Polly, I love the grouping of lilies. I have so few, they're still one here and one there. but certainly one of my favorites. I put in more this fall.
I never cared for daylilies until I started growing them. now I can't get enough.
Yes, Polly - full hot sun but they were planted in pure compost and they get dressed with compost each spring and fall.
Daylilies are so habit forming, gram. I'm surprised they are taxed as an addictive substance.
Looks nice Pirl - I don't think I've seen that view before.
Thanks, Al. Your group of irises look so lovely. It's why I don't like dividing them as often as the pro's advise.
Let's keep on going with this thread!
Many thanks to all
A Special Merry Christmas to you all!
Donna
Gram, I have such big beds one of each would get lost. I buy my lilies from Ednie, and plant 25 of each in a group. Pretty daylilies, they are addictive. My daughter went to UB, Amherst campus, you aren't too far from there are you?
Pirl, lovely pic. Do you know the particular astilbe in that picture? I will have to try some in my borders.
And Al, that is a beautiful, healthy iris!.
So Donna, find anything you 'have to have' yet?
pollyk - 25 of each lily in each area? That must be outstandingly beautiful. I'd love photos.
I can't be sure if it's Rhineland. When I get to my garden notes I'll let you know. I have plenty I could send you in springtime but not enough to look like 25!
Thanks Pirl!
Well, I don't do 25 of everything. But I buy the lilies in bags of 25, and that's usually how I plant them. Lilies are so great, they look good in large groups, or individually like Gram plants them.
I would like to know the name of the Astilbe when you get to your notes. And do you know how many of them you planted in each group. I looked up Rheinland and it certainly looks like that. My Walters Gardens catalogue does say full sun for it also. That is just a beautiful bed, Pirl
Just went through my bulging, but organized, folder and I did not keep names 14 years ago when I planted ONE of each that you saw in the photo. They've been divided so many times.
Polly, my son works at the computer center at UB Amherst and my husband retired as a manager there not too many years ago. Small world.
actually, I've been planting the lilies in 3's, but I wind up with only 1 blooming (or none). I'll get better at it. I knew nothing when I planted the first few except they were pretty. I'm fertilizing now and improving the soil. Planted quite a few new ones this fall. We'll see.
gram - when I first began planting them I got good results with dumb luck but found soil that stays too wet, too long is the surest way to kill them.
Gram, it is a small world! My daughter was there from 92-96, and did her internship at ECMC. Normally she came home on weekends, as her boyfriend (now husband), was in school in this area. We are up near Oswego, or about 35 miles north of Syracuse, on Lake Ontario, if you know where that is.
Lilies are beautiful, no matter how many you plant. You may have just been having bad luck because the quality of the lilies was not there, maybe you bought them from some place other than the professional lily growers. But having one bloom, is sure better than none. And having seen some of your pictures, I think you're off to a really good start! Do you have a lot of property there? How long have you been gardening?
This message was edited Dec 21, 2006 7:10 PM
Small world is right, pollyk. I have a friend who now lives in Otego, 2.5 hours south and east of you.
Pirl, I have never been to Otego. I hear it's beautiful, and woodsy. A lot of people go there hunting. At work my territory has always been north, up along the St. Lawrence, so I am quite familiar with that area, but nothing south.
Rather vacant I'd say. I love upstate NY but wasn't thrilled with the town of Otego - even the police had to look up the location on their map. More rural than I've seen in a very long time - as in two restaurants to choose from - Burger King and Pizza Hut!
Burger King and Pizza Hut! That's upscale here. We have Debz Drive IN, and the Hannibal Hotel. The one time I was in the hotel for a wedding reception the floor was flooded. We cannot see our closest neighbor, we have 63 acres and our roadway is just under 1/2 mile. Talk about vacant. Nothing like where you live, for sure. Now I always thought where you lived was very heavily populated, but I'm glad to see from the pictures you post, you have plenty of space. And lovely homes and gardens!
Coming from close to NYC I guess I'm more used to having many choices. We're out at the eastern tip of Long Island. I used to think of this as the end of the earth but not after seeing Otego!
Polly, sure, I know where that is :0) I'm in Niagara County, just north of the Erie C. line. We have about 3/4 acre, but we back up on a small man-made lake and part of the lot includes what is under the lake. I've always gardened some. Whatever was available depending on where I lived. used to do a big veggie garden.
We built this house new 4 years ago so I had a clean slate and got into it seriously because I could do whatever I wanted. I didn't really get into perennials until I moved here. 2 yrs ago I put in a butterfly/hummingbird garden and a heather/dwarf conifer garden. next spring will be my big rose garden and a cottage-style perennial garden with an herb garden in the center. I'm trying wintersowing this year so I won't have to spent $$$ on perennials.
how about you?
heres LeReve
La Reve is so beautiful!
I wait all summer for her and Stargazer. I planted a white one when I put those in, but it never bloomed. could have lost it to voles. anyway, planted a bunch more this fall, and some asiatics, too, to stretch the season some. I just love them.
We have a bed of Stargazers, too. I do wish there were more classified as very late - like September.
pirl, LOL, that IS my bed of Stargazers! some day I'll get more. At least the one I have blooms well. I'd love to see a large grouping.
I moved ours from the front to another garden and then once more so I didn't have blooms in 2005 but I did have them in 2006.
Hi Gram, sorry I didn't get back to you. Been babysitting, my Grandson is 7, a calm and polite boy. His sister is 4, and a whirling dervish. She's a green belt in karate, and thinks she's invincible, whirling around above the concrete garage floor.
I've been gardening all my life, grew up with a father that had a farm stand, and was a Christmas tree farmer.
When we moved here 15 years ago, my daughter and I opened a small nursery. I was also working full time, so even tho I had my own gardens, not much time for them.
I took the age 55 New York State retirement 6 weeks ago. Now I think I will have time to do my own flower beds, expand on the ones I already have and make some new ones.
Your plans sound wonderful. Hope to see some pictures in the future.
If you don't have luck with the lilies, try planting them in the spring, instead of the fall. I have lost a lot of lilies planted in the fall, found the spring planted ones do much better.
La Reve is pretty!
Polly
that's ok, Polly. sounds like you had your hands full, but fun. Congrats on your retirement. how's this for coincidence? I'm a state employee,too. wish I could have retired at 55...I'm tier 3 and only have 24 yrs. DH (also state) was tier 2 but was able to retire at 57 with 30 yrs. so you and DD still have your nursery?
I may put in a few more lilies in the spring just for comparison. Can't have too many ;-)
thought I'd throw in an astilbe. just so we keep the thread going on our favorite perennials. I don't know the variety but it looks like cotton candy and I just love it
gram
Gram,
Love that Astilbe.
Yes, we still have the nursery, but still plan to keep it very small, so I can enjoy my own gardens.
I am a Tier 1, 36 years, so it didn't pay me to work any longer. I hated to retire, though, I loved my job.
More pictures everyone, please.
I can come up with more until someone else shows up.
dwarf Russion sage 'Little Spire'...I understand that the taller ones tend to flop. I have a couple of these in a pretty windy location. It stays upright (about 2-2 1/2'), long bloomer, and is just the perfect backdrop for many other perennials. I'll probably be getting more.
I still say, how can you pick a favorite when the garden changes spotlights from month to month?
that's beautiful Wanda. just pick out your spotlights ;0) let us know what grows well for you and why. what you like about it. you must have some that you would buy again and again if you were starting over? something that makes you long for fall? or spring or summer? just so you can see it again?