The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Category Archives: Perennials

Daily garden journal – 1/21/25

Posted on by Posted in Perennials, Winter interest .

This has become an issue:

Those little Baptisia seeds disperse EVERYWHERE in my garden in winter and by mid-spring, they emerge and while they’re a pain in the ass to yank out with their taproot, they’re also spindly, weak and nothing like what the beautiful mother plant looks like.

I planned to remove all of the spent blooms in summer, didn’t do it, and then planned the same in the fall and again, didn’t do it.

So we will suffer in spring yet again. I’ll be sure to show you the seedlings/growth to back my argument with corresponding curses thrown in.

Unknown – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

Hello reader, are you ready?

The race is on.

I vaguely remember planting this a few years back and had given up on it. Then it bloomed last year as a um, I guess, pleasant surprise?

Well it’s back again and it doesn’t fit in at all in its current location. And the flower is kind of ugly and ok, fine, I don’t like it. But I can’t just dump it, right?

Sorry, the race.

What the hell is the name of this? I feel like …

I swear on my children I just thought of the name. So funny. I was going to say the word “bone” or “hood” was in it and that prompted the answer:

It’s Monkshood.

Sorry to have fired you up to only let you down. But since you’re here, do I have your permission to remove it? Anyone want it?

Helenium – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

I’m happy to call this perennial by its proper name, Helenium, rather than by its common name, Sneezeweed, as someone had requested in the Comments section a few weeks back. Let’s remove the negative connotation, shall we? We’re all sneezing and suffering enough with allergies this fine autumn season that we don’t need another reminder of the struggle.

Helenium

Although fun story: the name sneezeweed comes from the fact that the leaves were used in ancient times to make snuff tobacco which the paranoid people inhaled to force themselves to “sneeze” and ward off evil spirits. I’d have used it back then too. I’m a ward-off-the-spirits kind of guy.

The flowers are fading but it’s still making an impact in the garden as we hit mid-October. I’d given up on Helenium years ago as I couldn’t get it to remain upright even when I cut it back in the summer to try and manage its height.

But, as we gardeners all know, the harder we try the worse off we are. We get too involved and we mess it all up. Leave a plant like Helenium to its own devices, and boom, it finds a way to thrive. As it reseeds throughout my garden now, I make a formal note in my garden spreadsheet to “stay the f away” and let it be on its own.

And that continues to work.

Your garden lesson for today.

Should it stay or go? – DFP

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

I don’t like daylillies. Never have.

Those less common and “more interesting” are nice, but still not my cup of tea. Sorry, not sorry.

Yet, I still have a bunch of these boring fellas who continue to reside in the garden. I’ve had them for over ten years now. The yellow blooms are BORING and kind of messy post bloom. All sorts of mushy and blech. But I keep them around because they do fill one purpose: They take up space, space I don’t have to concern myself with, space that is not covered in weeds.

But dude, did I mention they’re ugly? They do nothing for me. Look at this pathetic excuse for a “flower”.

They have to go, right? I’m better than that, right?

What would you do?

Ironweed in Fall – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Fall color, Perennials .

Well that escalated quickly. Just a few weeks back, these perennials were blooming a beautiful purple/blue and now, they’re not. Call me crazy, but I’m still a fan of the Ironweed in fall, even if the color has departed.

Ironweed in Fall

Those seed heads are handsome and I’ve got no issue with them falling off and going wherever they want to go.

Baptisia seed pods – DGP

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials .

One of the selling points for Baptisia (False Indigo) has always been the winter interest of the black seed pods. And when you’re in a cold climate like that here in New Jersey (zone 6B) you’ll take whatever you can get. But, and this is a big but, the Baptisia seed pods, as one would expect, drop those seeds all over the garden as the fall and winter winds pick up and new plants pop up EVERYWHERE in the garden come spring.

Baptisia seed pods

And, those new plants, which sounds exciting and free of charge, are nowhere near the beauty of the mother plant. What I’ve discovered is that the stems and leaves are more, um, spindly (if that’s a word?) and thin and weak and I’m not a big fan.

So, I’m planning to get out ahead of it this fall by removing all the Baptisia seed pods to save myself on the labor of yanking the seedlings out in spring and let me tell you, they’re not easy to yank with a nasty taproot.

Hopefully I’m not too late.

Willow-Leaved Sunflower – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

No plant in my garden is more fun than the Willow-Leaved Sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius):

Willow-Leaved Sunflower

In certain spots, it’s close to 8 feet tall. In others, it’s tangled in a war with its neighbor. Or it’s bent at a 90 degree angle like the pic above. It’s multiplied like mad over the years and I allow it. Wherever it shows up is acceptable. It’s too dynamic to not let it do its thing.

In spring, the emerging foliage is twisty and dainty and frilly and airy and fascinating and I’m constantly asked about it. To get that level of interest in spring/early summer and then the mass of yellow blooms in mid to late summer is almost too good to be true.

As you probably know about me by now, I long for “wild” but desire and long for “order”. It’s a hell of a tightrope walk to strike the proper balance. I’m getting better at it, but it still keeps me up at night. It’s dumb, but also 100% true.

Willow-Leaved Sunflower tickles the devil over my left shoulder.

And pisses off the other holy dude over my right.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Daily Garden Photo – Obedient plant

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

Quick note: for those of you who get notified of my new posts via email, I just found out I’m limited in the number of emails I can send per week so you won’t be seeing the email notifications until I can work something out. Or pay up to allow the vendor to send more.

More to come. My apologies for the mix-up.

For today, I give you a mass of Obedient plant or Physostegia virginiana ‘Vivid’.

I came to acquire these through “what the hell, I’ll try it” and ordered three online. A decade later and I think I’ve cornered the market in the Northeast U.S. They spread underground through rhizomes and fill an empty spot so, so quickly. I’ve spent many a fall evening ripping out a few by hand, relocating them to where they can fill another void.

Rinse and repeat.

I’ve had no issues controlling them. If they wander where I don’t want them to wander, I pull them out with ease. And your factoid for the day: They are referred to as “obedient” since you can bend their stems in any way your heart desires and they’ll remain that way.

Yes, I do it on the regular. For fun.

My only issue to date: I use them as a groundcover in the front of the garden beds but their legs aren’t always so handsome. Then can yellow a bit as you can see in the pic above. Because of that, my mind has determined that I need a shorter groundcover in front of this groundcover to hide the discoloring. But it has to be tall enough to actually do just that.

The design game never ends.

And we’d never have it any other way.

Daily Garden Photo – Ironweed

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

I’m going to attempt something new. It will more than likely fail. But who cares? It seems like a good idea at this exact moment so I’m going to run with it.

The premise: post one photo of my garden each day with a corresponding blurb. Maybe it will be as simple as “I like it” or “How bad does this look?” or maybe I’ll share the background on when I first planted it or what inspired me to try it in the first place. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll shake your head in awe at my my magical abilities or you’ll shake your head in disgust, questioning my sanity. Maybe even a combination of all four. Fun, right?

And here’s the kicker: I’m going to attempt to do it for 365 days straight. One year. Straight. Never missing a day. This is where you guffaw and say, “Sure, John. I’m sure that will happen.” Doubt me, I dare you.

So here’s day 1, September 4th, 2023. Enjoy.

What you are looking at below, the tall purple-blooming perennials, are Vernonia noveboracensis or New York Ironweed.

Ironweed

My inspiration to purchase it: After a tour of the High Line in New York City, I vowed to find taller perennials I could add throughout my garden. This plant looked awesome growing out of the abandoned railroad tracks. Wild and weedy, in a good way. And also super tall. Striking and a focal point.

My biggest design complaint/obsession in my own garden was a lack of much needed height to break up similar heights on so many of my other perennials and shrubs. And I wanted something natural that fit my aesthetic and would thrive in my conditions. Translation: something native. Translation: NY Ironweed.

I planted three of these, four years ago and it wasn’t until year three that they popped, reaching a height of close to seven feet. My biggest concern is mistakenly pulling the newly emerging plants in spring when I’m ferociously weeding. But I studied what they look like in that state to prevent such a tragedy and made sure to not pull them where they reseeded in other areas of the garden. Will they become unruly with all of the reseeding? Bring it on, I can handle it.

Here’s to day one of the Daily Garden Photo initiative, even if it only lasts one day.

Garden tour – 7/20/23

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Ornamental grass, Perennials, Summer .

The purple coneflowers continue to multiply year over year and filled in this spot so swimmingly. In front of them are Allium that I like to think keep the critters away with their pungency and all. I also recently added a Little Bluestem ‘Standing Ovation’ here because, why not.

This vignette personifies what’s blooming all over my garden right now. Loads of bee balm, mountain mint and ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass. All have remained full proof over the years. Well that’s a bit inaccurate. The bee balm does suffer from powdery mildew, but I just cut it down and it’s like it never happened.

More Bee Balm next to a recently reseeded Ironweed. I so love reseeding perennials that I like and hate it for those I hate. Deep stuff.

More Mountain Mint that I don’t recall planting in this location. See, gardening is easy.

And all the creatures that visit here thank me.

I share pics of the Verbena every post on this blog but I can’t get enough of them. They are the gift that keeps on giving with all of the reseeding year over year. That is cash saved and that is good.

And OMG do the butterflies, bees and moths spend a lot of time here. I couldn’t get a photo without the moths getting in the way …

… while I tried to snap this …

… and this …

… and this.

I have more Joe Pye Weed than I do any other plant in my garden. And they’re all on the precipice of blooming which transforms my garden as we head into the heart of summer.

Speaking of precipices, the Button Bush just recently displayed a host of those glorious buttons. Will be kicking ass in no time.

Triple the precipice pleasure as the Ironweed are about to bloom. I went nuts planting this after seeing it on the High Line in New York City. It’s getting out of control in an awesome way …

… where it will soon light up this section of garden.

Another little bluestem fronted by ‘Sweet Kate’ Spiderwort.

Let’s take a closer look at the beautiful color on this grass. Can’t get enough.

Just one more, sorry.

For the third year in a row now, one black-eyed Susan has bloomed within this Switch Grass. It makes me happy and I cherish the symbolism. Just not sure what that symbolism is quite yet.