Independence Blooms

Today we celebrate the independence of this great nation of ours with all its diversity as well as conflicts.   Similar to life in its simplest form... like life in the garden.

Perennials exemplify the very nature of diversity and conflict.   There is such a variation in flower color and bloom times.   The conflict comes with the pairing of them so as to always have something of interest in bloom while creating compatible color combinations.   Not an art that I have mastered in the least but, luckily, I'm not afraid of moving plants around when they don't work where they are.

Each year the Perennial Plant Association chooses the perennial plant of the year.  This years perennial winner for 2012 is the lovely shade loving Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'.

In 1996 the perennial plant of the year was Penstemon 'Husker Red'.

Penstemon 'Husker Red'

This perennial gets its name from the striking maroon colored leaves.

Marry that maroon with the little tubular white blooms atop rigid stems that reach the 3 foot mark and it's simply stunning.

This cultivar is sun loving, easy to grow and is rarely bothered by insects or disease.


Penstemon grows in a clump form and reseeds easily which is fine by me as I LOVE this plant.



Speaking of tall, upright (no need to stake) perennials in the garden brings me to the tall bellflower.

Campanula punctata rubriflora is the tall, spotted bellflower.

I'm not exactly sure which cultivar of punctata this is ( me thinks the rabbits stole the name tag) but the large 2" drooping flower is a dusty rose color and the plant stands at about 30" tall.

I love the tall, dark colored stems with their odd little curvy growth pattern.  So feminine, don't you think?  


Actually, it's a hermaphrodite flower, meaning it has both male and female organs, stamen and pistil.

A look inside shows how the plant got the name of spotted bellflower.

The flowers and leaves are edible.   I've never tried eating them (I kinda like to have them around for ornamental purposes, even for a vegan like me) but they supposedly have a sweet taste.
Either way, they're definitely sweet.



Almost all the astilbe's are currently in bloom.
Astilbe's have long been the mainstays of shade and woodland gardens as it's hard to resist those plumy blooms in various shades of whites, pinks and reds.

 This red astilbe is one of my favorites.
Astilbe 'fanal' is noted for having perhaps the darkest red flowers of any of the astilbes and for its bronze foliage.

 This pink (sorry I only know this one by its color) resides in my newest garden deemed the stump garden.  Behind is the potted enamel pot of petunias and coleus.

And here's a nice representation of a white astilbe which lives in the rock woodland garden.  To the left of the astilbe is a Tiarella (otherwise known as foamflower) which in another favorite shade loving plant.







Veronica's were one of the very first perennials that started my love affair with plants that bloom in tall spikes of sorts.

This recent cultivar, 'Royal Candles', forms a nice compact plant that bears short spikes of bright blue flowers for several weeks.

While I have this one as a single specimen plant, I'm thinking this would make a terrific impact in a mass planting.
That just may be a really good excuse to create another new landscape bed.
Food for thought :)



Well, that's all the red, white and blue for today.... till next time.