Who doesn't like raspberries? The blooms on this monarda really do have that deep berry red color. I'd like to claim the pairing of monarda 'Rasperry Wine' with purple coneflowers as my original design idea, but I can't. The combination came from a garden forum friend. I'm using a different variety of coneflower. The friend used echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' and I'm using 'Prairie Splendor' in my cottage garden.
This is the first year of bloom for these perennials. Not a bad showing at all!
The monarda is slightly taller (48" instead of 30") than I expected, but we've had a lot of rain so far this year. A White Flower Farm introduction, Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' is suitable for zones 4-9 and can spread rapidly in southern gardens like mine. I planted three in the outer gardens and one in the cottage garden last fall and every single plant is now a mass planting. I think this is a good thing as they are easy to pull up and/or move. I prefer to move them in the fall, but the monarda can be divided and moved in the spring, too.
Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor' was a Fleuroselect 2007 Gold Medal winner. While it is also supposed to be short (around 22" high), mine are taller after a lot of rain and full sun. This coneflower is rated for zones 3-9. This perennial is supposed to bloom the first year with a long bloom season. I'll provide an update on the bloom time later in the summer.Our garden inspirations often come from each other's plant combinations. Garden forums and blogs are filled with great design ideas!
Story and photos by Freda Cameron; Location: home cottage garden; June 2009