An August update on the Hill Garden succession planting.
The last update was in
mid-July, with
Rosa 'The Fairy' in full swing.
Very soon after the daisies were finished (
see July), they were cut down to their second or third set of leaves. Cutting them this way might encourage them to make a second flush of bloom later this month.
Soon the Purple Coneflower (
Echinacea purpurea) started bursting on top of the Hill. I have had success in sowing it myself from seed, probably since it is one of the easier plants to grow. It has really filled in this year. It was given the "chelsea chop" (or herbaceous pruning to those of us State-side) around the end of June to encourage it to bloom a bit later and have mulitple stems. It worked great this year!
Hidden amongst the coneflowers are half-a-dozen very small Russian sage plants (
Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Little Spire'). So far, I am not thrilled with this plant because it is so slow growing. Maybe all Perovskia are slow growing? (Christine, any help??) Perhaps it is just because it is a dwarf? Or maybe because it is part of a succession and therefore has to compete a little bit for its sunshine earlier in the season?
I do love how its blue flowers look in front of the large leaves of Canna 'King Humbert' (rather funny name, huh?). These cannas were potted up in my basement in April, sat for a while in their pots on the Hill while I thought about adding them (ok, they sat for a couple of months), and were just officially planted last week. I like them a lot here.
That is it for now. The roses are recouping on the hill side; the lambs ears are regrouping from having their languidly lolling flower spikes cut down to stubs (a good mulching was needed after that yucky job).
Waiting to see what the rest of the summer brings!
I love the dark Canna leaves amongst the coneflowers.Makes a very pretty bed.
ReplyDeleteThe hill garden was/is so beautiful this year, Julie!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful creation!
Love the photo of coneflowers with the dark canna leaves in the background! Isn't it fun to try to get a constant stream of something blooming? That's what I'm working on in my front yard.
ReplyDeleteYour hill garden is lovely. I'm having the same problem with my dwarf firebush as you are with your sage. It's a little more dwarf than I was hoping!
ReplyDeleteOh, your hill garden looks so good! Love the dark leaves of the cannas with your coneflowers. Very dramatic!
ReplyDeleteLovely plant combinations. Everything looks so lush. Fab!
ReplyDeleteYou must have a clone of my russian sage as I've said the same thing about mine! - awfully slow to make a big impact in my garden aswell. I went and bought one of the bigger ones to try and achieve what I was after though it's not that great either.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful summer border. As for the Russian Sage, I ditto your perspective. I've thought about this for several years as mine just sit there year after year with one or two spikes. I bought small plants and I think the secret to its success is to buy big, one or two gallon pots. I could be wrong but this is my guess.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're having fun! Just stopping by to say hello...
ReplyDeleteYour coneflower and canna is a nice combination! My Russian Sage is not prospering either. I thought it would be huge, but other nearby plants are swamping it. I think it may be too humid and hot here for its liking.
ReplyDeleteAll of your plantings look so lush. My Russian sage is hanging in there.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking lovely, be patient with your Perovskia, mine took a long time to settle down, quite a few years, but this year, wow, its fantastic ! I have taken loads of cuttings to make more, so I guess I will have to be patient too !
ReplyDelete