To Each Their Own

At my last job I brought in a number of perennials for a friend who worked in another department.  She, in turn, brought in some plants to share and gave me first dibbs.  I chose this liatris because I did not have any purple in bloom after June and I thought it would be a nice addition.  She looked at me and said, are you sure you want that plant?  I don't know if she thought I already must have one or if she assumed I liked a fancier type of plant (I brought her dahlias and irises) but I had no reservations. This plant loves its space and has been a real joy in the garden.  I planted it next to the rudbeckia and bee balm (the garden variety types, no pedigrees needed) and the effect is lovely.

This is actually my second time with rudbeckia (or, black eyed Susans).  The first time I planted them in the yard they looked beautiful for one season and then were not seen again.  I don't know if I accidentally weeded out the plants and any seedlings (rubeckia likes to seed itself, but not obnoxiously like the coreopsis, or at least it's not obnoxious in my yard.)

The red bee balm on the other side of the liatris is a couple of years old.  I grabbed a seedling from a friend's house a couple of years ago since the pink and purple bee balm I'd purchased didn't do anything special and eventually petered out.  The red seems to be doing well, but in the recent humidity has a recent case of powdery mildew.  I gave it one application of sulfur spray (it's a fungicide for plants) and that seems to be working.  I don't advocate using biological warfare in the garden since you never know what the downstream effect will be, but I was afraid that the powdery mildew would spread to my nearby peonies, so I did a quick application explicitly following the directions on the packaging.

While planting common varieties of plants may not seem exotic or unique, they do provide reliable consistent blooms.  And if you like to repeat a plant in your landscape (which I recommend) a plant that seeds itself or can be divided is a really good pick if you also like to save money as well as time.

Less is More

I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking a garden has to be big and crowded to have impact.  Some of the prettiest gardens I have admired are lovely because of their simplicity.  This one with the rock and ornamental grasses is just outside a doctor's office and the other photo with the rhododendrons in bloom was taken behind a hospital building.

When I walk by gardens like these I never see anyone laboring over them but yet they look clean and well cared for. Each garden has its own personal style and fits into the environment like it was meant to be there.

Both the Walgreens and Dunkin' Donuts in our neighborhood have upgraded their landscaping to include a garden "island"  to buffer their entrances and parking lots from the busy intersection they border.  If it wasn't for the fact that I am always driving by both places, I would have included photos of those areas as well.  Suffice it to say that if you find yourself thinking that gardens mean nothing but work and money, think again.  If Walgreens and Dunkin' Donuts can afford the time and resources, you can, too!