Tag: perennial

Posted on in Plant Profiles

Grow This Iris for Foliage, Not Flowers

Iris pallida_DBG_LAH_0971While most people grow bearded irises for their rainbow of spectacular blooms, Variegated Sweet Iris (Iris pallida) is prized for its striking variegated leaves. Yes, it blooms in late spring with lovely violet-blue flowers, and your nose will appreciate their delightfully heady fragrance.

But long after the flowers fade, the stiff, sword-like leaves, with their vertical stripes of green, white and cream, will remain an exclamation point in the landscape. Plants grow two to three feet tall, and clumps spread over time.

(more…)

Posted on in Plant Profiles, Xeriscape

Presenting Autumn, Starring Rabbitbrush!

Chrysothamnus nauseosus_Rabbitbrush_Cylindropuntia_Cholla_ChicoBasinRanch-CO_LAH_2989-001With intense sulfur-yellow flowers covering its gray-green foliage, blooming Rabbitbrush demands to be noticed. In fact, the prairies of eastern Colorado are almost blanketed with it—something we never notice until it blooms. Interspersed with prickly cholla cactus and some perennial range grasses, it forms the essence of western landscapes. But it’s not just for the wide open spaces. Rabbitbrush is an excellent performer in the garden as well.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Blue Mist Spiraea

Caryopteris clandonensis_Bluemist Spirea_XG_ColoSpgs-CO_LAH_5819Spring flowers have turned into berries and seed pods. Without their blossoms peonies are mere green bushes, and even the annuals are looking a bit peaked. Don’t despair, however. The show isn’t over yet. One of the best perennials (or small shrubs) for Colorado gardens is Caryopteris x clandoensis, more familiarly known as Bluebeard or Blue Mist Spiraea.

The latter common name can cause some confusion. Caryopteris isn’t a true spiraea. The “Blue Mist” part is spot on. The airy flowers in periwinkle blue really do seem to hover over the tips of the stems in a lovely cloud. The plants can reach two to three feet wide and tall. Foliage is a bluish gray-green, with long, soft, serrated leaves.

(more…)

Posted on in Plant Profiles, Xeriscape

The Perfect Purple Pea Plant

Baptisia australis_Flase Indigo_HAS-CoSpgsCO_LAH_0247I fell in love with Baptisia australis (aka Blue False Indigo) the first time I saw it in full bloom at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Then again, I do have a “thing” for purple flowers (which probably explains the profusion of cat mint, May Queen sage, and Veronica growing in front of our house).

Baptisia is a perennial; the plants die back to the roots after the first freeze. However, come spring the plants quickly grow into attractive mounded shrubs about three to four feet in diameter. If that is too large for your space, there’s a dwarf form that only reaches half that size. (more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Plant Profiles

True Blue

Papaver_Blue Poppy_LakewoldGardens-WA_LAH_0564_fsLike many gardeners, I have a “thing” for blue flowers. Lobelia (below), Blue Mist Spiraea, cornflower (Bachelor’s Buttons), and Borage all find a spot in my garden. I’d love to include Himalayan Blue Poppies, hydrangeas, and morning glories but they don’t do as well in my soil and climate. (The poppies need constantly damp soil, hydrangeas need acidic soil to turn them blue plus they’re not hardy enough. The morning glories do well in my greenhouse, but outdoors they usually freeze before them get around to blooming.)

(more…)

Posted on in Plant Profiles, Surviving Winter, Xeriscape

A November Garden Beauty

Eriogonum umbellatum var aureum - Sulfur Flower Buckwheat_DBG_10200118_LAH_7145My daughter was staring at the planters surrounding her patio, full of bedraggled and wilted plants. “I know it’s November, but is there something I can plant that will look nice now?”

Of course we’re not going to get the delicate flowers or green abundance of late spring or summer, but dead doesn’t have to mean ugly. Some plants manage to look good even after freezing nights and the season’s first snowstorm.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Blood Geranium

Geranium sanguineum 'Lancastriense'_Bloody Cranesbill_HudsonGardens-CO_LAH_2751Its name may be suitable for Halloween, but the Blood Geranium, aka the Blood Red Cranesbill, Bloody Cranesbill, or Geranium sanguineum, is anything but gruesome. In fact, the name comes from the bright crimson color of the fall foliage, rather than from the flowers or any tendency of the plant to bleed! In fact, Blood Geraniums are excellent plants for Colorado gardens.

Cranesbills are a type of perennial geranium with deeply divided leaves rising from a central point, and colorful flowers ranging from white through baby’s blush to shocking pink. Some flowers have brightly veined petals, as shown in the photo. The plants grow approximately 12 to 18 inches high and spread as wide or wider.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Autumn Joy

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' @Briargate 10sep05 LAH 089As the growing season winds down we begin to focus on turning autumn leaves, dried grasses, and striking seed heads, but for some flowering plants this is their time to shine. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ will star in your fall garden.

Plants grow from a single crown, becoming an upright clump 15 to 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide. The succulent, rounded leaves and stems have a gray-blue cast. Stems are topped with large flower heads that start out dusty-pink and become a rich bronze as they age—the ideal colors to complement fall’s russet and gold.

(more…)

Posted on in Plant Profiles

Sneezeweed

helenium-sneezeweed-csutilxeriscapegarden-9aug2006-lah165rWhy would you grow a flower called Sneezeweed? Picture a striking, three-foot high perennial covered with 2 to 3 inch daisy-like flowers of yellow, orange, red, rust, and copper. The leaves are six inches long, lance-shaped and dark green. Actually, the name comes from the use of the dried leaves and flowers as snuff; the pollen is unlikely to cause hay fever. However, handling the plant can cause an allergic reaction, so it’s wise to use gloves. Also, the plants are bitter and toxic, so keep them away from small children and pets.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Plant Profiles

Garden Fireworks

Helictotrichon sempervirens - Blue Oat GrassWith the Black Forest fire fresh in my mind, I’ve been wondering, how could we celebrate Independence Day without any sparks or explosions? I’m just not in the mood for fireworks! Well, being a gardener, I started thinking of all the plants that could be part of a 4th of July garden. What plants remind me of fireworks? What blooms now? Here are my suggestions—what can you add to my list?

(more…)