WiseAcre Gardens

The Chapel Street planting is filling out now that I’ve managed a couple of runs to the perennial grower. I know it’s taking a long time but considering each round trip is over 900 miles people are lucky to get anything.

 Getting a bit closer on the left side

Now the right side

I’m growing a couple new varieties and am happy with them so far.

Coreopsis Verticillata ‘Creme Brulee’

The first is a real test. I only wished I took more when offered to try them out. The “Plantage” on Long Island is offering a new variety of Coreopsis ‘found’ in the owners garden and they’ve been busy propagating it for us lucky gardeners. Coreopsis Verticillata ‘Creme Brulee’ seems almost a cross between the broad leaf and needle leaved types.  The foliage is a very narrow leaf and the flowers are similar to ‘Moonbeam’ and ‘Zagreb’.

 The ‘Creme Brulee’ is blooming before the ‘Zagreb’ which is only beginining to bud.

Wouldn’t you agree this is a very nice?

 Achillea m. ’Paprika’

 I have avoided Yarrows since transplanting some ‘wild’ Yarrow into a garden years ago. That garden is long gone but the Yarrow has established a colony that only the lawn mower keeps restrained. I have a feeling if it wasn’t mowed it would have spread to the next town by now. But newer varieties of Achillea are not nearly as aggressive so I thought I give ‘Paprika’ a chance. It was just too hard to resist those nice red blooms.

 They are a bit floppy right now. Right after being planted they were hammered with one hell of a storm.

Geranium pratense ‘Hocus Pocus’

 I had to try the ‘Hocus Pocus’ just for the foliage. The color is a deep purple and it make for a great contrast against the light colored rock and the green of the Sedum. The flowers are nice too.

And now for something completely different!

This daylily should almost be considered a wildflower. I haven’t seen any of these sold in years but the supply around here is almost unlimited. Miles of roadside are lined with these large old daylilies. They’re quite tall often growing over 4 feet high. Unlike the newer daylily varieties these must be considered very aggressive. They’re not hard to controll but you better not forget or you’ll be up to your wazoo in them.

Ok the planting is done for now. I need to make another trip to the nursery but I’m going fishing first.

 Join Green Thumb Sundays

You know the place, that little spot you don’t want exposed in public. If you follow me around the corner I’ll show you one I had to deal with today.

 Don’t mind her she’s just been hanging around watching me work.

Just a bit farther

 Look over to the corner on the right and you’ll see where the sun don’t shine.

 That corner and all along the wall remains in shade all day long. But there’s no reason it has to stay bare. That is once I gave in and dug up 5 of my Ligularia. I figured if they go and wilt with the little bit of early morning sun they get at my place that they would be happier somewhere else.

 I didn’t rough them up on purpose. They’re mature plants and getting the root system meant a good clump of wet soil that wasn’t easy to wrestle around.

 One of the reasons I like Ligularia is the fact I can tell people to “plant it where the sun don’t shine” when they ask where. Not to say i don’t give the same answer to anyone who bugs me.