Home and Garden Blog: Plants G-L

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Hemaris thysbe and the Liatris ligulistylis

Hemaris thysbe (clearwing hummingbird moth)
visits the Liatris ligulistylis (Rocky Mountain blazing star). June 17, 2011.
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There's a Hemaris thysbe on the Liatris ligulistylis. I can't say that three times unless I've had three cups of coffee. It also helps to be wide awake so I can tell the difference between a hummingbird and a hummingbird moth.

Hemaris thysbe is better known as a clearwing hummingbird moth. Liatris ligulistylis is better known as Rocky Mountain or meadow blazing star. Both are natives, though the blazing star is typically found west of Missouri.

Host plants for the moth include honeysuckle (lonicera), hawthorn, cherry and plum (prunus) trees. The moth enjoys the nectar of blazing star and other garden favorites such as bee balm and phlox. Just like a butterfly, this moth starts as a caterpillar and undergoes metamorphosis.

Blazing star grows 4-6 feet in cultivated gardens. I provide supplemental water, but it survived the 2010 summer of 90 days over 90°F like a trooper. This blazing star can be grown from seeds and is suitable for zones 4a-9b. I have good, strong blooms this year, so I hope to gather seeds before the Goldfinch.

Blazing star is not rabbit resistant. I have to spray the base of this plant with repellent to keep the lumberjacks from chopping it down. This is the second year for my plant and the bunnies munched it quite a bit when it was first planted. It grows rapidly if you can keep the rabbits away during the growth spurt in spring.

I cannot say for sure if the liatris is deer resistant. If the rabbits eat it, then there is a possibility that the deer will go for it when other food is scarce (or, when they are particularly lazy about finding food in the wild).

What about companion flowers?

Monarch butterflies are particularly fond of this nectar plant, so I have it growing just up the slope behind the swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata).

Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' and 'Blue Stockings' and Echinacea 'Ruby Star' are the companions in bloom right now. I just cut back the rose campion as the blooms on that one were fading and it was time to collect seeds. The garden surrounds this plant, so I also have a chocolate joe-pye (dark leaves, will bloom white), milkweed and bog sage on the lower side. Russian sage is starting to bloom up on the same level beside the coneflowers. In other words, I grow about anything I want with this versatile perennial wildflower.

No matter how difficult to spell, type and pronounce and protect from rabbits, liatris ligulistylis has a permanent home in my garden.

Left front: liatris ligulstylis (meadow blazing star).
Right front: echinacea 'Ruby Star' (coneflower).
Back: monarda 'Raspberry Wine' (bee balm).

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Louisiana Iris for Water Features

Not all of my garden is growing on dry land.

Within the cottage garden flows our manmade stream that receives full sun. A small section was created to grow water garden plants. With the water constantly in motion, I grow sturdy plants that can take the currents, or can be sunk (pot and all) into the stream. The motion of the currents makes it difficult to grow water lilies.

The color scheme for the flowering water plants is blue and white, to coordinate with the surrounding land-lubbers on the banks of the stream and in the background.

A small, but deep bend in the stream
is suitable for growing sturdy water and marginal plants such
as Louisiana Iris, calla lily, white butterfly ginger
and the native Great Blue Lobelia.

There are two early bloomers in my stream—Louisiana iris (blue) and calla lily (white). In summer, a pot of Great Blue Lobelia will bloom, followed by the white butterfly ginger in August. While the blooms aren't going to be shop-stopping, the foliage alone provides a bit of interest in the water feature until I cut back any brown foliage.

Space is very limited in the stream and the Louisiana irises (a native plant from Louisiana) expand rapidly and I will eventually have to keep the clump in check. This is a consideration if you decide to grow any water plants in a native pond. My plants cannot escape into the wild since they are contained in a manmade area that does not feed into a natural water source.

I planted the irises directly into the stream, using rocks to anchor the roots until they were firmly established. Pots can also be used, immersed in water and held down by rocks to keep the pots from floating away. The Great Blue Lobelia is planted in a pot with the top completely submerged. There are also mesh bags that can be purchased to anchor plants in water or bog gardens.

The blooms last one day, but as long as foliage stays green and pretty, I don't cut them back. I do not lift the irises in winter as they overwinter in the water without any difficulties in my zone 7b area. I keep them in situ all the time—even when we unplug the stream pump to stop the flow of water. Because this is the deepest area in the stream, there is always water collecting here when the pump is off. These irises are suitable to bogs, too.

There are now many hybrid varieties of Louisiana irises available from specialty growers. I purchased an iris locally and it was labeled as "Blue Louisiana Iris." Therefore, I do not have the complete information about this plant. My uneducated iris guess is that it is probably the native, iris giganticaerulea Small (giant blue iris), not a hybrid.

I want to learn more about the iris hybrids as they are available in interesting colors (link is for information purposes and I have not ordered from this iris farm) such as red, purple, white and yellow. While they are great for water and bog gardens, you can grow Louisiana iris in garden soil with watering and feeding.

Given the rapid rate of growth and expansion, my small planting area in the stream will soon be filled with the blue Louisiana irises and I'll have no space for all those interesting cultivars!

Louisiana iris; May 2011

The irises will eventually expand
to fill this small space in the stream.
A Great Blue Lobelia (native) is growing
in a pot to the right of the main iris clump.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Lilacs are Here, There and Everywhere

Lilac 'Miss Kim' in full bloom in my home garden.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina; April 2011.

Fragrant and beautiful, lilacs are perhaps among the most romantic of the spring-blooming shrubs. There are modern offerings of this old-fashioned shrub that make it possible for me to grow lilacs here in my warm, zone 7b garden in North Carolina. Lilacs perform much better in the cooler northern zones. This shrub has been reliably deer and rabbit resistant in my garden. No munching, even though the deer walk right past the shrub year-round as they sneak through my shrubbery to drink from our water feature!

It has taken four years for my 'Miss Kim' to bloom abundantly. I first planted her in full sun and she toasted in summer. I transplanted her to a space between two tea olives (osmanthus fragrans) to give her some shade. Between the fragrance of the lilac and the fragrance from the tea olives, the combined perfume is very heavy and can be enjoyed from all area of my garden. Not unlike walking into a department store and being overcome by the scent of hundreds of perfumes!

Another reason why I squeezed 'Miss Kim' in between the evergreen tea olives is because she gets to be a bit dowdy looking when not in bloom. So, I let her bloom. Take her photo while she is stunning, then cut the panicles of perfume to bring indoors.

Lilac 'Miss Kim' (syringa pubescens susp. patula)
zones 3a-7b
4-6 feet
full sun (partial sun is better in the warmest zone)

While visiting JC Raulston Arboretum in mid-March, I found 'Miss Kim' blooming along with a cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata). The cutleaf lilac has an open, airy form and is taller and looser in structure.

Cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata)
zones 4-8
6-10 feet
full sun

Cutleaf lilac at JC Raulston Arboretum.
Raleigh, North Carolina; March 2011.

Blooms of cutleaf lilac.

Nearly everywhere we went in Paris—tucked into city streetscapes and along the River Seine; or growing in full glory in the parks, such as the Jardin des Plantes—lilacs were in full bloom for the first week of April. While the shrubs were not labeled, there was no doubt about the fragrance! By the time we reached Provence, I had stopped taking photos of lilacs, but they were still blooming in abundance, especially in our quiet little neighborhood in Aix-en-Provence.

Lilac in full bloom in Jardin des Plantes.
Paris, France; April 2011.

Garden Inspiration: Lilies and Bee Balm in Buffalo

Missing out on the July 2010 Garden Walk Buffalo, I had to tour vicariously through the reports of other garden bloggers. Gardeners, such as Gail at Clay and Limestone were all wowed by a combination of bee balm (monarda) with lilies!

I can do that—because I already grow the plants! All I need to do is a bit of garden tweaking to replicate the inspiration.

Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' is a big player in my cottage garden as well as in my outer gardens (aka "the deer resistant gardens"). Also growing inside my cottage garden fence is the perennial 'Starfighter' lily. However, the lily is NOT deer resistant, so I will replicate the Buffalo inspiration inside the cottage garden. All I need to do is transplant the lily from behind my azaleas to pair it up with the monarda.

Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'
with echinacea 'Prairie Splendor'
and annual castor bean in the cottage garden.

My favorite color combination is a mix of blooms and foliage colors that work with cool reds (magenta) and burgundy. The oriental lily 'Starfighter' is a natural to fit into this combination. The 'Starfighter' is a sister to the famous 'Stargazer' lily.

The 'Starfighter' is around three feet tall in bloom, so I will transplant it on the far side of the monarda which is the opposite side from the coneflowers. The lily will be between the monarda and salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'. The monarda and the salvia will keep the roots of the lily shaded—a necessity in this full sun location in my zone 7b.

My 'Starfighter' is now in the fourth year in my garden and is rated for zones 4-9. Oriental lilies are best transplanted in the fall, but I can safely shovel out this growing clump to transplant it in early spring. Since it flowers in July, the plant should have time to catch up and bloom again this year.

You can also plant new lily bulbs—and monarda plants—this spring, so there is plenty of time to recreate this garden inspiration at your home, too!

Oriental lily 'Starfighter' blooms in July in my garden.

Geranium 'Rozanne' Update

Geranium 'Rozanne' blooms and foliage
work well below roses and coneflowers
June 16 2010

"In the third year it leaps" is an appropriate description for the growth habit of perennial geranium 'Rozanne'. The first two years of growth were not that impressive and I had to protect the plants from rabbits. It is now October, and 'Rozanne' continues to bloom, though not quite as heavy as in June. I'm now convinced that I want to keep this perennial going—and if I had more space, I wouldn't hesitate to grow it—rabbits be darned!

With a bit of supplemental water through our driest and hottest months, 'Rozanne' never looked unhappy for more than a day. I cut back the geranium whenever she gets too long and leggy. This keeps the mounding shape in check and encourages more flowers.

Cranesbill geranium 'Rozanne' can be grown in zones 5-8 in full sun or part sun. I have to provide a bit of afternoon shade here in the hot south by growing it below my roses and coneflowers. The mounding (if shaped) habit is 12-15 inches in height and width. Left unchecked, it can sprawl several feet in every direction. 'Rozanne' is an introduction from Blooms of Bressingham® Nursery.

Geranium 'Rozanne'
with spires of salvia 'Victoria Blue'
August 2010

'Blushing Butterflies'

Gaura 'Blushing Butterflies'™

With dancing wands of dangling flowers, gaura lindheimeri 'Blushing Butterflies'™ doesn't stop blooming in hot, dry summers.

It has been years since I've grown gaura and I had forgotten how pretty she can be from late spring until frost. My past experience has been with the lovely white 'Whirling Butterflies', a fabulous perennial that I grew in the somewhat neglected mailbox garden at a previous home.

I planted 'Siskiyou Pink' in this garden in 2007, but I kept moving her around—not a happy ending, but that was my doing and I can't blame the poor plant! 'Siskiyou Pink' has dark red foliage, can grow up to five feet and is a parent of the compact 'Blushing Butterflies'. 'Blushing Butterflies' fits into smaller gardens or containers with a height and width of 24 inches.

Grow all three of these gaura in full sun gardens in zones 5-9. Neglect is okay with gaura.

Handling drought conditions, once established, she's a low-maintenance plant that will reward you with her long, wispy wands throughout the summer. The humidity doesn't seem to phase the varieties of gaura that I have grown. Don't crowd gaura in the garden because she needs air to perform. A breeze moving through her stems not only keeps her healthy, but adds to her beauty.

Blooms come and go all summer long without deadheading,
but gaura can be cut back if needed to shape the plant.

I removed a sprawling rosemary that had grown a big gnarly in the cottage garden. Wispy gaura is a lovely replacement, planted by the flowing stream. Fortunately, I found a large pot at a local nursery so I didn't have to wait for the plant to grow up to fill the space.

Companions include lamb's ear, sedum, salvia and lavender in this narrow strip of garden bed that separates the gravel path from the stream. This area of the garden has sun all day long and no drip irrigation. Plants that perform well in drought or xeric conditions are best.

Hummingbirds and other pollinators are attracted to gaura,adding to the delight of growing this perennial in the garden.

Stems laden with water following a heavy rain,
gaura will spring back up as she dries during the day.

The "Other" Blooms in June

The last day of June 2010 brings an end to twenty-one straight days of temperatures in excess of 90°F. I don't have accurate information on the number of days over 100° or the days where the heat index was in the triple digits. During those twenty-one days, the rainfall went north, south, east and west of my garden. Finally, in the middle of the night, I heard the rain. Relief.

Now, I can reflect on all the beautiful flowers in the garden, captured in photos but unable to fully enjoy in the unbearable heat.

The "other" blooms in my garden often take a backseat to grand-stand performances of agastache, bee balm, coneflowers, coreopsis, nepeta and salvia. While the blooms of these "other" plants are more limited, they fill significant niches in my garden.

The "Emerald Isle" (photo below) beside my stone walk is still a work in progress. The ground covering hardy ice plant (delopserma cooperii) is a good match for the mounding betony (stachys hummelo).

Over the last four years, the two perennials have been filling in the space between the stone walk and the dry stream, beneath the high canopy of a crepe myrtle 'Tuscarora'. In spite of the tree, this spot receives a pounding by the sun on the southwest side of the house. Zones 5-9 can grow the ice plant in xeric conditions; Zones 4-8 can grow the betony; full sun. Both are deer and rabbit resistant, although there is the occasional sampling of a betony bloom.

Balloon flower (platycodon grandiflorus; photo below) is an edger along a section of cottage garden path, adding color when the azaleas fade. I've long lost the label for the exact variety of the perennial balloon flower! This is an "out of sight, out of mind" perennial that has been under-appreciated until recently. I am determined to collect seeds this year to sow with shasta daisies, so I've not deadheaded for rebloom. Zones 3-8; part sun; doesn't like to be transplanted after established.

The balloon flower (second photo below) mingles well with rose campion (far right pink), perennial heliotrope 'Azure Skies' (ground cover at bridge), garden phlox (pink bloom in middle).

I have a love-hate relationship with the unknown variety of chaste tree (vitex agnus-castus; photo below was shot in the evening light, making the blooms appear more blue).

I love the flowers, color, form factor and the fact that bees and butterflies are drawn to it. Therefore, I will not be without this tree. The chaste tree grows in my butterfly garden with St. John's Wort 'Sun Pat' (hypericum), bee balm 'Jacob Cline' (monarda didyma) lantana 'Miss Huff', bronze fennel, milkweed (asclepias tuberosa and incarnata), agastache, salvia, verbena and coreopsis.

What I hate are the hundreds of seedlings that sprout below since I can no longer reach the top to deadhead or cut back the tree. I also planted a 'Shoal's Creek' variety in my meadow above the butterfly garden. This variety has an even more lovely bloom and I've not had a seedling problem. However, that one isn't planted in rich garden soil!

I have trained the unknown chaste tree so that there is a trimmed-up trunk, but it can also be treated like butterfly bush with a late winter shaping. Zones 6-9; full sun; drought-tolerant and can be used for xeriscapes; deer resistant.

Last, but not least, are my daylilies. Once upon a time, I had quite a daylily (hemerocallis) collection at a previous home. Here, with limited space inside the cottage garden fence, I grow two re-blooming varieties, the lovely yellow 'Happy Returns' and the pale yellow-white 'Joan Senior'.

I had grouped these daylilies together for a yellow garden bed. However, hot summer droughts were parching the foliage. I am in the process of moving the daylilies to another location with more moisture and less sun.

The yellow blooms look great with perennial heliotrope 'Azure Skies' and the cobalt blue blooms of Brazilian sage.

Daylily foliage is eaten by rabbits in early spring and the blooms are eaten by deer in the summer. So, I won't invest the money or the effort in growing any exotic varieties. Zones 4-10; sun to partial shade.

Although these plants haven't been given much attention, I would be hard-pressed to garden without their presence.

Repeat: Yellow Flower Power

Due to formatting issues with the new template, some readers could not view the text in Flower Power: Yellow. This is a repeat of the same information, with larger photos. Thank you.

Yellow flowers light up my garden, shining all day and into the early evening hours. Pale yellow works especially well with purple, blue or white companion plantings. I love the varieties that have long bloom seasons with little maintenance that can handle the full sun and well-drained soil in zone 7b. Of course, to be on my list, these have been reliably deer and rabbit resistant.

Shasta daisy (leucanthemum x superbum)

Leucanthum 'Broadway Lights' ™This shasta daisy begins with pale yellow flowers that turn white. It is perennial in zones 5-9. This shasta dots my garden path. Blooms summer to fall with deadheading and I find the white varieties to also be deer and rabbit resistant.

Green santolina (Santolina pinnata)

The mass of pale yellow buttons on the emerald foliage of green santolina stands up to the heat and humidity better than gray foliage varieties. This drought tolerant perennial is suitable for zones 5-11. The foliage is evergreen, but too much heavy rain can create an interesting "part" in the middle of this mounding plant. I love it in spite of the interesting hairdos!

Blanket flower 'Yellow Queen' (Gaillardia x grandiflora)

Even after the petals fall, I love the yellow pom-pom seed heads. Deadhead to keep the blooms coming and control the self-seeding. Use this drought-tolerant perennial in zones 3-10. It looks especially great when paired with agastache 'Purple Haze' or salvia 'May Night'. Long-blooming all through the summer and into autumn. There are more colors, too!

Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata 'Creme Brulee')

This little coreopsis would probably rather be in your garden instead of mine! I have moved and divided it several times in the last three years. Nonetheless, it puts up with my indecision and keeps on blooming. It really needs a well-drained location to get through the winters in zones 4-9. I have two new coreopsis that I planted in 2009—both with changing colors. So far, I'm very excited about coreopsis 'Autumn Blush' and coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'.

Yarrow (Achillea 'Moonshine')

For bright yellow-gold in spring, this achillea puts on a big show when grown en masse. Drought-tolerant achillea likes tough conditions in full sun and lean soil in zones 3-9. In my zone, 'Moonshine' cranks up in late April/early May and blooms well into June when I cut back the stems to the basal foliage.

There are a few more yellow blooms in my garden—such as spring-blooming daffodils, snapdragons and California poppies that are beautiful and ignored by rabbits and deer. Still, your experience may vary with any plants on my list, depending upon the critter population and availability of food in the wild and your neighbor's garden.

If you'd like to read more about my garden in print—here's a note from The Grumpy Gardener at Southern Living Magazine:

There's a great story about your garden in the July 2010 issue of Southern Living! I don't know who wrote it, but obviously the guy's a genius! Everybody should pick up a copy.

Flower Power: Yellow

Shasta daisy (leucanthemum x superbum)

Leucanthum 'Broadway Lights' ™This shasta daisy begins with pale yellow flowers that turn white. It is perennial in zones 5-9. This shasta dots my garden path. Blooms summer to fall with deadheading and I find the white varieties to also be deer and rabbit resistant.

Green santolina (Santolina pinnata)

The mass of pale yellow buttons on the emerald foliage of green santolina stands up to the heat and humidity better than gray foliage varieties. This drought tolerant perennial is suitable for zones 5-11. The foliage is evergreen, but too much heavy rain can create an interesting "part" in the middle of this mounding plant. I love it in spite of the interesting hairdos!

Blanket flower 'Yellow Queen' (Gaillardia x grandiflora)

Even after the petals fall, I love the yellow pom-pom seed heads. Deadhead to keep the blooms coming and control the self-seeding. Use this drought-tolerant perennial in zones 3-10. It looks especially great when paired with agastache 'Purple Haze' or salvia 'May Night'. Long-blooming all through the summer and into autumn. There are more colors, too!

Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata 'Creme Brulee')

This little coreopsis would probably rather be in your garden instead of mine! I have moved and divided it several times in the last three years. Nonetheless, it puts up with my indecision and keeps on blooming. It really needs a well-drained location to get through the winters in zones 4-9. I have two new coreopsis that I planted in 2009—both with changing colors. So far, I'm very excited about coreopsis 'Autumn Blush' and coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'.

Yarrow (Achillea 'Moonshine')

For bright yellow-gold in spring, this achillea puts on a big show when grown en masse. Drought-tolerant achillea likes tough conditions in full sun and lean soil in zones 3-9. In my zone, 'Moonshine' cranks up in late April/early May and blooms well into June when I cut back the stems to the basal foliage.

If you'd like to read more about my garden in print—here's a note from The Grumpy Gardener at Southern Living Magazine:

There's a great story about your garden in the July 2010 issue of Southern Living! I don't know who wrote it, but obviously the guy's a genius! Everybody should pick up a copy.

Garden Path Irises

This is the third year for the Japanese irises (iris ensata) in my garden. I began by using the irises along the dry stream. I am gradually dividing the clumps each fall. These divisions have been planted in groups along a garden path.

Of the three irises that I grow, my favorite is a lavender-blue, but the only one positively identified is the white 'Mount Fuji'. Although the blooms don't last very long, the foliage remains beautiful until fall. Most of the time, the irises are ignored by the deer, but an occasional bloom may be picked. I've not had sufficient damage to be deterred from growing the irises and consider the perennials to be deer tolerant.

Japanese irises prefer rich, moist soil, but mine easily survived drought, once they were established. Growing in full or partial sun in zones 4-9 and reaching heights of 24-36 inches, these are easy perennials to use in the garden.

The irises are great plants to use with coneflowers (echinacea) and bee balm (monarda) for a similar bloom time. I also use swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) for summer bloom and recently added joe pye weed (eupatorium dubium) as a fall bloom companion.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel.

Hardy Geranium

In the shadow of roses and scampering along the path, hardy geranium 'Rozanne' is proving to be a great performer in the garden.

My plants had a difficult start as they were nibbled so badly by rabbits that only three survived. This year, with the help of a repellent with natural ingredients, the rabbits have stayed away and the geraniums are glorious.

There is another hardy geranium in the cottage garden. 'Brookside' is edging the path beneath my azaleas. Both work well for edging the paths, but 'Rozanne' is gaining ground as my favorite.

Hardy geranium (cranesbill) 'Rozanne' is rated for full to part sun in zones 5-8 and is from Blooms of Bressingham®.

The ground-covering foliage habit is perfect for hiding the fading foliage of alliums and Dutch irises. Daylilies and coneflowers also make their way through the geraniums with no problem. The mounding habit of the perennial is covered by a lovely display of dainty blooms. The flowers should repeat until frost.

I'd love to have additional plants, but with the wonderful 36 inch width, it only takes a few 'Rozanne' geraniums to edge a path!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

She's Back! Rose Campion Returns

Rose campion must have a fan club! Each week, my blog receives multiple searches for this self-sowing garden plant. To please her many admirers, rose campion has returned for an encore performance.

Rose campion, also known as lychnis coronaria in certain garden circles, joined my zone 7 garden in 2007. The original mother plants have returned and are now about one foot in width. The kids are randomly sprinkled along the garden slopes below the mothers.

The slender silver foliage of rose provides a nice contrast with the foliage colors and shapes of neighboring plants. In one location, rose campion has taken up residence beside autumn sage (with a similar bloom color) and lamb's ear (with silver foliage). This accidental trio gives rose campion an interesting camouflage cover—making her look like stalks of blooms on the lamb's ear.

Rose campion is a short-lived perennial for zones 3-9, but with the self-sowing tendencies, she seems to be an easy plant to keep around for years. The seedlings may not bloom the first year. I have moved a few of the young around the garden as they are very shallow rooted and easy to transplant.

These drought-tolerant plants thrive in dry conditions and aren't bothered by any four-legged critters nor pests. Too much water or too much humidity may turn the foliage to a bit of mush, but cutting them back to the basal foliage in midsummer will help. (If you want the plants to self-sow, leave a few of the flowers.)

Rose campion is such an easy, pleasing plant—go ahead and try a few in your garden, too!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. .

Bronze Fennel for Butterfly Gardens

The fronds of bronze fennel look like thick, dark clouds looming behind the spring-flowering perennials. Through the summer, the fennel grows tall, strong and stately—topped with lacy yellow flowers. Bronze fennel is not only ornamental, but serves a purpose in the life cycle of certain butterflies.

Suitable for zones 4-9, bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum') is easily grown from seed.

So easy to grow, that I highly recommend cutting off the flowers before they set seed. I didn't deadhead my three large fennel plants last year and have THOUSANDS of seedlings around the plants!

The tap root is very, very long. I removed a mature fennel last fall and part of the taproot is still in the garden because I would have upset a mass planting of coreopsis to continue digging. I now grow the fennel at the outside edges of my main gardens so that I don't have the seeds or the roots around my best perennials.

Now that I've given you the bad news, there is a very good reason to grow bronze fennel.

The fluffy and fragrant herb is a host plant for the caterpillars that become Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterflies. The caterpillars feed on the fennel until time for the metamorphosis. Currently, my fennel is literally covered with the caterpillars—a very good sign that there will be many butterflies to come. The caterpillars show up all summer long and into fall.

But, wait—there's more!

This year, I noticed little needle-shaped green sticks all over the fennel, too. On closer inspection, I found dozens of praying mantis nymphs. With a little research, I have learned that the eggs are laid in the fall and hatch in the spring. These little creatures will prey on other insects and even hummingbirds. Still, they are beneficial insects to have in the garden.

Bronze fennel will always have a place in my butterfly garden. But, I will be more diligent about deadheading this year!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel.

Dainty Flax is Heavenly Blue

If you love dainty and delightful blooms, then you must add linum narbonense 'Heavenly Blue' (flax) to your garden. This flax is the easiest plant that I've ever grown from seed. It's so simple to sow and so undemanding to grow.

When I was sowing spring-blooming annual seeds in November, I decided to sow a few perennials, too. My 'Heavenly Blue' flax is a perennial in zones 5-9. Having no experience with flax, I sowed seeds in three different locations. The seeds not only germinated, but I have blooms for the first season!

This perennial fits into so many different places—just give it well-drained soil, full sun and very little water. I am using the flax between daffodils and pink agastache in one section of the garden and with burgundy gaillardia and yellow achillea in another location. There are a few plants in part-shade and rich soil beside my roses, but those haven't bloomed, yet.

Flax has an interesting bloom sequence. When I go out at 7:30 am, there are a few blooms. By 10:00 am, the plant is covered with blooms. By 4:00 pm, there are no blooms. It repeats this bloom cycle daily.

According to Diane's Seeds, where I purchased my seeds, this flax blooms from late spring until summer and will repeat bloom with a cutting back. It will self-sow in the garden and I'll take as many plants as I can get!

The upright foliage is a nice blue-green and with very wispy arches—beautiful with or without the blooms. I've had no problems with either deer or rabbits so far, so I'm optimistic that the critters will ignore the flax.

My only regret is that I didn't sow more seeds. This is definitely a keeper and a mass planting will be stunning!

Pick Your Favorite Color of Blanket Flower

Not your mother's blanket flower! No longer the ordinary orange and gold, blanket flowers (gaillardia) are available in a wide range of colors. From experience, I've learned to purchase gaillardias only when I can see the actual bloom color.

Great for a long bloom season, drought, deer and rabbit resistance, gaillardias are very reliable in my garden. I'm not a collector, really!

The quest for solid color "daisy shape" plants that the deer and rabbits won't eat led me to the gaillardia. Blanket flowers are quite at home in hot, dry locations and require no pampering. If deadheaded, they will rebloom again and again. If not deadheaded, the bi-color varieties will seed everywhere. I wouldn't mind it if the solid colors would seed around, too!

Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri 'Grape Sensation'
Zones 7-9
18 inches high x 3 feet wide
Full sun

This grape is sensational with salvia 'Diane', cottage pinks (dianthus) and stachys 'Helen von Stein'. I gathered seeds from the grape last fall and divided the plant with the idea to eventually fill up one bed with this combination. It's still too early to know if the seeds germinated. Until I have enough for a mass planting, lavender 'Grosso' and a few purple to deep pink agastache are in this section of the garden.

Gaillardia 'Yellow Queen'
Zones 3-10
18 inches high x 18 inches wide
Full sun

This yellow gaillardia is planted with salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue' in several locations as well as mixed with purple verbena bonariensis, nepeta 'Walkers Low' and achillea 'Cornation Moonshine' in another location. I collected and purchased seeds to see if all will bloom true to color.

Gaillardia 'Tokajer'
Zones 3-9
16 inches high x 12 inches wide
Full sun

Gaillardia 'Tokajer' disappeared last year, but I found it again when moving perennials in the fall. The location was too shaded, so I had only a few blooms. I have moved it to a sunny spot with other orange as well as purple perennials.

Gaillardia 'Tizzy'
Zones 3-9
18 inches high x 3 feet wide
Full sun

I really like the deep orange color on 'Tizzy' as well as the fluted petals. This gaillardia blooms almost non-stop. Last year, I kept it separated from other orange bi-color gaillardias to make sure it consistently bloomed the same color. I just moved it up to the butterfly garden with salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', agastache 'Navajo Sunset', agastache 'Purple Haze' and echinacea 'Sundown. There are also purple alliums, Homestead Purple verbena and a few other plants—based on purple and orange—in the same section of the garden. I have high hopes for continued success with this one.

Gaillardia 'Burgundy'
Zones 3-9
24 inches high x 12 inches wide
Full sun

Another fabulous bloomer, 'Burgundy' is great with coreopsis, especially 'Red Shift'. I'm using this gaillardia in a garden bed based on blue, dark red and yellow. Other perennials include achillea 'Moonshine', blue flax and agastache 'Blue Fortune'. I plan to add salvia 'Mystic Spires' blue to the area. This is definitely a keeper, so I've also planted both collected and purchased seeds of this one to try for a mass planting.

So where is the old gold and orange gaillardia? At the feet of monarda 'Jacob Cline', crocosmia 'Lucifer' and salvia 'Navajo Bright Red'. Every time I see a gaillardia bloom bi-color, I dig it up and move it to the same location. I should have a rather big mass planting this year!

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