I'd tentatively planned on working in the garden this past weekend, but that didn't happen. Instead there was a trip to the emergency clinic at NC State overnight Friday night/ Saturday morning with Prissy, a snowstorm on Saturday, and a blustery frigid day on Sunday meant staying inside as much as possible. Prissy came home on Saturday and then went back on Monday for an abdominal ultrasound. She's feeling much better but we're still waiting on another test result. Currently she's sitting on my lap with a shaved belly from the ultrasound.
NC State is fond of its brick and mortar (some might say overly) but is home to the JC Raulston Arboretum and many interesting plant specimens on campus. While waiting in the lobby for the intern at the vet school to talk to me I picked up a copy of Fine Gardening and was quite impressed. Over 10 years ago I thinned my magazine subscriptions all the way down to one horse-related weekly but now I wonder what I've been missing.
Onto more of the archives... microclimates in the garden between the house and the drive cover the range from sunny and wet to half-shady and dry. The edges of the beds catch much of the run-off from the house and are perfect for moisture-lovers like Virginia Spiderwort and Blue Flags.
Buds of spiderwort 'Zwanenburg Blue'
Blue Flags (Iris virginica)
Amsonia hubrichtii and Amsonia tabernaemontana are usually described as liking a well-drained medium (this one is a hybrid) but mine have done very well in places that periodically get a lot of moisture. The Amsonia that grows wild here does so in sloughs and down in the floodway fields.
The rest of the garden is filled with plants that prefer the usual but ever-elusive moist but well-drained soil, like Summer Phlox. I cut down all of the dead stalks of the phlox and put them in the trash after reading Gail's post about the Garden Phlox Bug. I'm not sure they are actually here but they sounded skeevy enough that I didn't want to take any chances. Summer Phlox is a staple here.
Verbena bonariensis
Bearded iris do well until they get crowded out.
The garden at the side of the house is its own little ecosystem. Rather than being filled with roses like the rest of the garden,
it's planted with a whole variety of things. It's my playground for plants that need some shade and good drainage. In fact that part of the garden needs its own post!
More from the side garden:
Marsh phlox and blue flags
Woodland phlox, columbine, and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum).
'Sir Thomas Lipton' and 'Hansa'
Mockorange, Penstemon 'Midnight', and oakleaf hydrangea
Once again you've made me sigh with the beauty that surrounds you. I LOVE all of your purple plants and am incorporating more of them into my own gardens. I really like the Verbena bonariensis, need to see if it will grow here.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening and I do hope Miss Prissy will soon be feeling much better. I hope you are feeling much better too.
Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady
I hope Prissy is back to normal very soon! These pictures are so beautiful and I can't wait to see your garden this spring.
ReplyDeleteSweetbay, glad Prissy is better now. Nice summer pictures, remind the warm days full of flowers, sun and blue sky. The iris Blue flags is pretty, love this color.
ReplyDeleteI have a certifiable case of Garden Envy. Everything is stunning. Your amsonia plantings were especially interesting to me - I'm debating putting them in my soggy back yard and had heard that amsonia tabernaemontana was well adapted for wet areas. Is the fall color as nice as hubrichtii?
ReplyDeleteThank you Sarah!
DeleteI haven't noticed any fall color on the Amsonia tabernamontana, but both species seem to be able to appreciate moisture and tolerate dryness equally. A. tabernaemontana does very well with shade and A. hubrichtii is more of a sun plant.
Such pretty summer pictures and collages. Verbena bonariensis has been on my wish list for a couple of years and I must see if I can finally get some to grow this summer. I hope Miss Prissy will be better soon.
ReplyDeleteLove the purple and yellow iris together. I tried planting a similar combination but all the yellow ones died. I must try that again. I have to ask, is Prissy short for Priscilla? One of our previous cats was named that and we called her Prissy for short. Hope she will be all well.
ReplyDeleteActually her name is just Prissy and Tommy is just Tommy, although DH sometimes calls Tommy Thomash (with the h) for fun. :) I've often thought Dotty or Sprite would have been good names for her too, because she's like a little fairy, but Prissy suits her best.
DeletePoor Prissy...I hope she is completely back to normal soon. LOVE the photos...it's so heartening to see those at this time of year...the promise of flowers!
ReplyDeleteAt first I though Prissy was one of your horses, until you mentioned her sitting on your lap. Whatever the species, I am glad she is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteThanks Les. We were worried about her.
DeletePrince and especially the pony would love to be lap cats or dogs, but yeah they're a little big for that.
I knew I could get a breath of fresh air by popping over to say hello! We're in the depths of winter here, so I am enjoying your lovely flowers.
ReplyDeleteI hope your cats feeling better soon. :o) Phlox bugs? How dastardly! I love that giant patch of amsonia. I'm not quite as kind to my tradescantia as you are. It's practically a weed here and I'm forever pulling it or relocating it. However, I do have several large chunks that I love.
ReplyDeleteFinally getting here to read and comment. Hope Prissy is doing better and there are no more needed trips needed. I miss having Spiderwort in my garden. Might have to do something about that...though in VA it sure reseeded and took over!
ReplyDeleteI hope your little Prissy is better by now Sweetbay. Your garden collages are fabulous . . . intoxicating colors and one can just imagine the fragrance and butterflies all about.
ReplyDeleteAmazing and the most beautiful garden of exotic flowers . Excellent photography.
ReplyDelete