Monthly Archives: August 2012
Back in February, I wrote about the fun I had browsing the Klehm’s Song Sparrow catalog, and as expected, made a few purchases soon after.
To date, one of those purchases stands out from all the others. Her name is Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats to her friends) ‘River Mist’:
While it is still early in the plant’s development, I can say it is already an absolute winner. The seedheads just recently emerged and they are fantastic:
And even better than the seedheads, is the beautiful variegated foliage on this ornamental grass:
Like the common Northern Sea Oats, ‘River Mist’ is shade tolerant and I have mine in a partial shade location (morning sun only). It just lights up in the afternoon shade and works well with others:
A few additional bits of info on this ornamental grass:
- Ultimate size is around 3′ x 3′ (mine is at about 2′ since it was planted in March)
- Survives in zones 3-8
- Deer resistant
- Can handle wet soil (woo hoo) and even survive some standing water
- The seedheads will mature to a purple/bronze color later in the summer/fall
To truly evaluate a plant, it takes years to watch its development so ‘River Mist’ will be watched closely the next few years. My biggest concern is the reseeding over the winter and into next spring. That could be an issue.
For now, it is an absolute stunner.
A day like today is when I thank the high heavens that I have a garden blog.
But not for the reasons you think.
Yes, I love sharing my garden successes and sweet flower pics with you all, but nothing gets me through a bad gardening day like exposing all of my warts in this forum for all of the the world to see.
Throw in some wonderfully sarcastic comments on top of that and I’m on the road to recovery.
It’s out of my system and I’m ready to move on.
Sarcasm is involved in all aspects of my life. I use it at work. I use it at home. I encourage the kids to use it … and they are starting to master it as well. It works for all of us.
So why not extend that to the management of my gardens? Here are some examples of “garden-casm” I used as I painfully walked around my garden today.
Enjoy:
Normally, I like balancing an entryway with the same plant on each side so it frames said entrance. But isn’t it cool to cut one to the ground just to mix it up a bit. Fun, right?:
Oh wow, didn’t realize I carried this new found style to another part of the yard. How awesome:
I like how the yellowing leaves play off of the orange fruit of the tomato. I knew not keeping up with the watering was smart:
Oh cool, the tomato is splitting into two. Double the fun!:
I’m really liking a weed enhanced pathway. So natural and so low maintenance:
It’s kind of fun to try and find the kale or tomatoes amongst the weeds in the raised bed. It’s a bonus when you can locate a hiding creature:
My aphid study project is coming along swimmingly:
I will always love the spirea because it looks great year after year:
Nothing fits better in my garden than a tropical plant. I mean, you’ve seen the pics, my landscape screams tropical paradise. And man do they thrive and get nice and big by mid summer: 
Did I mention how well spireas also hold up into the fall?:
One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to put a plant that takes a while to leaf out in a prominent and highly visible spot in the garden. Whoa, slow down Anemone, it’s only August:
Ah, I feel better already.
And look, even the weather looks great as we head into early evening:
John
When we last discussed my experimental pruning of Joey Pye (experimental in that I’m strictly following the advice of Tracy DiSabato-Aust), there were new bud breaks just emerging where I had previously pinched back the new growth.
It has been three weeks since that update and luckily for you fine reader, I’ve got another one for you today.
First off, the Eupatorium (aka Joe Pye Weed) is in full bloom right now:
And looking damn good along side Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’:
But enough of the niceties, this is about pruning and science and crap.
As a recap, here is the new growth prior to it being pinched back in early June:
And then pinched:
And then the new buds breaking soon after:
And the blooms from those buds, as of today:
As you can see in the photo below, the pinched areas in the front, where the blooms are just now appearing, provide the planting with a layered look that I really dig:
You can appreciate the layered look even more from this side view:
This mass of Joe Pye Weed has always looked good and performed beautifully in the past, but now with this new layered look (seen best from the most common vantage point) I am loving it even more.
I’ll have some additional updates on my other pruned victims plants in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for them.
This stuff is fun, yo.
John
The latest and greatest going on in my garden:
Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ is now in full bloom and is completely covered in bees all day and night:
I strategically planted this shrub right next to our deck so the scent could be enjoyed by the family. That plan worked out well as my daughter picked up on the smell this week and loved it. However, the plan back fired as the kids don’t like all of the bees and run for cover. One of these days those naive bastards youngsters will understand the beauty of bees.
We had an unexpected outbreak of syphilis in my neighborhood this week (long and scandalous story) but being the resourceful gardener and holistic professional that I am, I came to the rescue and harvested a bunch of Lobelia siphilitica for those affected:
So it was nice to help out my diseased neighbors and all, but honestly, I am more impressed by the color on the blooms of this perennial:
Yes, I know many think of the Althea (Rose of Sharon) as a weed or “old school”, but you cannot deny how great these blooms look when back lit:
Speaking of back lit, how can you not love the blooms on Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’ (Purple fountain grass) this time of year:
Yes, this may not be my best black swallowtail pic, but I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I chased this SOB for almost an hour trying to get the best possible photo. I eventually had to settle on this shot as she sat in the tree and laughed at my futility:
We will meet again and I will capture her in all her glory like never before.
Game friggin on.
John