I just returned from HD - they just put their bulbs, and perenials in the boxes out. 95% of the racks were still sealed in industrial strength Saran Wrap. I made it my business to open up at least of half of them.
As I perused through the echinecea ( bought one box), stella d'oros (bought two boxes), caladiums (bought 4 boxes), and assorted lilies (purchased too many to count), it occured to me that I am inherently cheap when it comes to my gardening.
Every plant that did not says blooms continuously throughout the summer I put back. I can't stand the thought of paying good money for a plant that is only going to put out for a few days, and then I have to wait for next year's show. I want to get the biggest bang for my buck, and have something that I can count on performing for weeks, and months of end.
This year, I have a list of the annuals that I will be starting to keep my cost down. At the rate that I am going, I should have enough to supply my garden, the neighbor's garden, and half of Ebay. At the same time, I know if I should happen to chance by a nursery anytime between May and September, and see a beautiful plant, I will have to have it!
I am adding more ornamental grass to my garden this year which will help me keep down the price of the flowers. (Unfortunately, I am also creating new beds, and widening the old ones). Even so, I think that I will come out ahead. I could never pay anyone to put in the long hours that I do working in my yard! And I smile while doing it!
If anyone has more perennials that bloom continuously throughout the summer, please let me know. I sure that I can find room for them with my echinacea (purple, white, and pink - waiting for the big sky series prices to drop), rudbeckia (yellow, green, and brown mix), daylilys (only stellas, and blackeye stellas), tickseed (came with the house), roses (love them!), and assorted annuals.
Just daydreaming about Spring!
Cheap Gardener
In my zone, some of the lower growing, continuous blooming, heat tolerant, drought resistant plants that provide seeds for the future. (talk about cheap) are the Melampodium http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=melampodium&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
melampodium ~ black foot daisy http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=black+foot+daisy&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
narrow leaf zinnia http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=narrow+leaf+zinnia&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&searcher[common]=Narrow-Leaf%20Zinnia
Taller ones...
French hollyhock http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110181/
Brazilian button flower http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/111276/
Celosia http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110263/ I liked this one well enough to get a variety of Celosia seed to try this year.
And of course Globe Amaranth, http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110216/ and http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110215/
Seed producing annuals help a "cheap" gardener. The old saying is you will only need to buy these seeds once.
A new one I want to try this summer is Sun Drops http://arboretum.sfasu.edu/plants/heattolerantperennials/calylophusdrummondii/default.htm
Sorry~ I just reread your thread. I posted annuals... duh!
These are the only perennials that I have that bloom while suffering most indignities.
Creeping Daisy... http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110214/
Ruellia http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110072/
Jewel of Opar (Ophar) with rather insignificant blooms. http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/111419/
Any gardener in their right mind would probably consider these invasive. Needless to say, that is not me! pod
Veronicas bloom well all summer for me if I keep them deadheaded. There are also several hardy geraniums that have good repeat bloom. Another quality you may want to look for is colorful, variegated, or interesting foliage on perennials with a limited bloom time; that way the plant is still adding beauty and interest even when it is'nt in bloom. I like to use sedums like this- those fleshy leaves compliment so many other plants, and there are some gorgeous dark leaved varieties (they're so easy to propagate too, I often just break pieces off and stick them in the ground). I'm really cheap too, and have had fun buying one of a plant and propagating it to fill the spaces I want. You also may want to consider some that while they may not bloom all summer, they have a very long bloom time. Tall phlox, for example, comes into bloom in July, but blooms throughout fall- definitely worth the space. And if you buy 1, you can divide it into several in a couple of years.
I would'nt rule out lilies just yet either (as a lily fanatic, I'm a bit biased, lol). They take a couple of years to settle in to the garden, but a mature plant can sport over 20 buds that bloom for several weeks. And if you pick up a few Asiatics, Trumpets, and Orientals, you can look foreword to lily blooms from June through August. I think our climate are pretty similar and things would bloom about the same time.
Happy planning for spring!
Neal
Gemini,
I did pick up a couple of lillies last year. I love white lillies - esp Casablanca. This year I just went with a tangerine colored one that supposed blooms throughout the summer. I'm not sure if it is an asiatic or oriental.
Tangerine colored is probably Asiatic, and those are great for multiplying well- a definite bang for your buck:)
I'd vote for perennial Salvia ' Black and Blue' as the best overall continual bloomer with absolutely no diseases in my garden.
You might be just on the edge of its winter hardiness range, but I'm only a little south of you and I've grown it as far north as Richmond, VA. It grows so well that I cut it back 2-3 times a season just to shorten it a little because where I have it it looks better shorter. Other than that, it survives everything--heat, humidity, too much rain, too little rain and just keeps blooming!
I've heard a couple of people in this zone have had return on 'Black and Blue' with some extra protection. Such a great color and was a happy performer for me too. I rooted a cutting and brought it in to overwinter, just in case, and it has done well and is blooming under lights! Nice to see now with all the white crap outside. As it grows I'm taking more cuttings- I was too cheap to get more than 1 last year, but should have a nice show of them this year :)
Globe amaranth (as mentioned earlier in this thread) Gomphrena globosa in purple, white, rose-purple and red (especially the first 3) bloom almost continuously once they start until frost (in Alabama that is a long time). Zinnia angustifolia is wonderful as well. Same blooming once started. Both do well in heat and need 6 hrs minmum of sun. The new Zinnia Profusion series comes in many colors and blooms and blooms. With a bit of dead heading they are beautiful.
This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 2:30 PM
And I would suggest verbena - almost any kind has continuous bloom for me from mid March well into fall. They are gorgeous. They can kind of take over but you can cut them back and yank out bunches at a time and not kill them. I took one little bunch that I yanked out of my blue bed and just stuck it in the square bed I have - They took off with absolutely no care at all.
Also gaura is VERY long blooming; and lavenders are wonderful; usually you can cut lavenders back for a second bloom time and their silver blue foliage stays gorgeous all winter. Finally try any kind of nepeta; again, very easy, just shear them back when the bloom fades and they'll start all over again.
As for me - I am so cheap I don't buy annuals - I just don't believe in paying and planting for plants that are only good for one season so I stick with bulbs, perennials, grasses (which are really great!) and shrubs.
I am starting a bunch of perenials from seed this year. I am starting to agree with you Serene222 about annuals, but I absolutely love gereniums. I think that I have some gaura to start, and I am starting some lavender as well. I have read conflicting information about starting lavender, but I think that in the end, I should have a good number of plants.
One of the nice things about the perenials is that they do multiply, so that in the end, you get a bigger bang for the buck. I just don' t like the ones that only bloom for a few weeks during the year.
These have done very well for me: blanket flower (Gaillardia), sedums, dianthus, lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis), daylily ( I think I have Black Eye Stella too, show me yours this summer and I'll show you mine, LOL), salvia, nepeta, fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln') and feather reed grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'). I have lots of other grass suggestions, but those are the two most popular around here.
Prairie Girl,
I already have hamlen, several bronze and toffe sedges (unfortunately, I don't know their names). In the front yard I am really expanding my grasses. Last year I had several purple fountain grasses, which I loved, but I don't want to purchase them each year. This year I am growing ponytail grass from seed (its about 18 -24"), plus adding in several small miscanthus - little dot, and silverband. I am also going to use Karl Foerster in the back of one of my beds. I figuire that I can get away with smaller ones because I have so many plants.
Another thing I am working on is growing lantana from seed. I love the look of it, and recently learned that I can overwinter it, and propogate it. This is another plant that I don't want to purchase every year, but I really love it.
Even if I only get a 50% germination on all of my seeds, I should have more than enough plants to increase my beds, and at a fraction of the cost of purchasing the plants themselves.
I have never heard of a small miscanthus, I hope you meant smaller KF grasses in back of the flower beds. I planted Little Zebra, thinking it would stay small, it's pretty big, at least 3-4 feet tall and wide. Looks a lot like Little Dot actually. I've never heard of Silver Band, but miscanthus are generally at least as large as these two. Ponytail grass is something I can't grow here, but we can grow some sedges. I like them at the edges of pots. There is a new fountain grass out that is even smaller than Hameln, called Piglet. Supposedly bigger blooms than Little Bunny. A sweet little grass is Lagurus ovatus 'Bunny Tail Grass'. I would like to try that one as well.
I totally blew the name Prairie Girl. It's not silverband, its super stripe. I'm attaching a link to a picture of it.
http://www.santarosagardens.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=MIS-SUP
They seem to have a nice selection of grasses. I got this name through the grass and bamboo forum.
That's okay, it's pretty. Here is a picture of my Little Zebra.
Hey there Vicki! Little Zebra is adorable!
Hi Neal! Thanks, that's my WIP (work-in-progress). Tee hee. I wanted to tell Penne, those I listed before were for full sun, all except lady's mantle, that could go in shade too. I could use a list of long bloomers for part-shade, heavy soil, low water.
Pennefeather:
I grow Juperiter's Beard (I can't remember the formal name). It has pink flowers all summer...more even if I remember to deadhead.
Pennefeather:
Hollyhocks and hardy geraniums are fun to throw into the mix, and here in zone 6 they bloom till the snow.
Have a great day.
It is officially six weeks before my frost. I have about three dozen black eye susan seedlings, two dozen echinacea, three dozen glorioso daisys, and three dozen blanket flowers. All of the seeds germinated for these plants! I should also have two dozen vinca (madagascar periwinkle), two dozen geraniums, three dozen stellas, and I am still waiting for a bunch of seeds to germinate that I just sowed last week!
I think that I saved major dollars with all of the seeds that I am starting, but I had to buy an entire second setup because I had so many seeds! In the end, I'm probably just breaking even, but I do have a nice sense of satisfaction.
My husband just shakes his head, and thinks that this is a nice little phase that I am going through. I can't believe that I still have at least another month before I am able to plant anything in the garden that I just grew from seeds. I should be able to get my daylillies out in a another couple of weeks, and maybe even the echinacea, but I want to make sure about the weather before I take the chance.
In the meantime, I keep reading more posts, and find more plants that I would really like to have. The people at the nursery are begining to know my name. Thank god they don't have a lot of plants in now. As it is, I keep buying more seed packets. I still have seeds left over from last year that I didn't sow.
I just got a trade for rain lilies because they rebloom every time it rains.
those sound interesting
penne, very interesting to read about your gardening philosophy! Your photo has given me some inspiration to stay on my gardening budget, but I would love to see more of yours! Please keep the pics coming!
As Gemini knows, I am a softy for buying plants, bulbs, seeds 'on sale' at major markdowns only to have too many of the wrong ones for my spaces...As Gem said though, I love the Hardy Geraniums 'Rozanne', 'Jolly Bee' and 'Brookside' to cover up my failed attempts at making my 'junk' plants and bulbs grow!
If you like to bargain shop for plant material, you may like the threads about 'Dumpster Diving' for gardening 'deals'. They are funny.
I just visited a friend who lives on the French Broad River. He has nice grounds and has enjoyed planting things but he is now disabled. One arm is useless and he sees in quadruple. He has progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare brain disease. It's a virus.
So I dug up a huge mound of "blue flags," Virginia iris. I am taking those I don't plant at my house to a swap in May. He also has red hot pokers that need dividing and I'm sure I will keep some of them and lastly, he has a perennial that he called a "Mole Plant" that I want . It's very attractive, even throughout the winter, and is supposed to repel moles. I don't know its real name..
This message was edited Mar 15, 2007 3:50 PM
Woodspirit1, you sound like a good friend. I was thinking that once some of my plants get larger, I want to share some of the elderly couple next door and across the street. The couple across the street in particular are always admiring our garden. Unless I really blow it I should have plenty of flowers.
Here is a picture of some of the seedlings that I have planted. I still have some that are waiting to germinate, and be transplanted into pots, and some that I am going to pot up today. By the end of the day, the last empty shelf will be full. Next week, when I need to transplant my next group, I will move all the larger perennials from the top. I have some echinacea that I got from HD and Ebay that can survive without the lights. All the echinacea and the daylilies are going to go into my garage. Its unheated, but there is plenty of light. Right now, I have about two dozen daylilies in the garage. All of them are growing.
Each shelf has two lights. Last year, I did one, but I think they really need two to make sure that all of them get a sufficient amount of light.
I'm still not going to be able to fit all the seedlings on these two shelves, but I can't buy a third one. I just got the second one two weeks ago! There's always the guest bedroom.
Where do you buy the flats?
This message was edited Mar 15, 2007 10:46 AM
Prairie,
I bought most of my stuff from Ebay. Last year I bought about 200 used post and 10 tray for about $25. Then of course, I had to wash everything in a bleach solution, but it got me started. This year, I found a seller in Florida on Ebay and just bought my second batch from her this week. They arrived in two days! Everything is new. I got 450 3.5" pots (slightly larger than I had previously), and ten plastic trays. I have purchased one gallon and 5" pots from her earlier this year. Great quality, and super fast delivery. If you want to check her out, her seller ID is vot1111. Her store name is Gena's Orchids and Supplies. I can find the trays in my local nursery, but they sell for $2 each. I haven't been able to find pots locally.
Its great to start off with new clean pots.
This message was edited Mar 15, 2007 1:51 PM
THanks, I'll have to check it out. ;0)
Prairie,
She has much smaller lots that I purchased. I think that she starts with 50 pots for the small size, (only $6 or $7), but only 10 in the larger sizes. Since you have the pay postage as well, it cost less in the end to get more - provided that you have the space for it.
Hmmm. Ok, I'll have to figure this out. I don't have more than six packets of seeds. Thanks.
I'm lucky that my local nursery gives me pots. I have some foxglove that I need to transplant into larger pots. One of them, I put in a larger part early on, and it is now twice the size of the others.