Showing posts with label deer resistant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deer resistant. Show all posts
Coreopsis (and Company) in the Cottage Garden
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| Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' in bloom with companions Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' (foliage left) echinacea (multiple varieties back) and purple phlox 'Nicky'. |
Three plants of Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' PPAF were added to my cottage garden in 2011. I was so impressed by the performance and beauty of this coreopsis, that I purchased five more plants this spring.
This 2010 introduction in the Big Bang ™ series is from Darrell Probst. For several years, I've happily grown his taller Coreopsis 'Red Shift' in the deer resistant meadow garden. 'Star Cluster' is shorter at 18-14 inches high and wide, making it more suitable for the scale of my cottage garden.
Meadow Flowers Shine in Late Evening
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| The last rays of the sun shine on the willow at the end of lower path. There is order to the path edging plants, but there are"wild" flower pairings mixed in the rest of the deer resistant meadow garden. |
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| 1. Around 8:00 pm on a June evening in the deer resistant meadow garden. |
When the summer sun heats up and the temperatures rise, the best time to walk through the garden is late evening. The light is soft and the true colors are easier to capture with the camera.
1. The purple spikes of meadow blazing star (liatris ligulistylis) are backlit by gold/yellow black-eyed susans (rudbeckia hirta). White shasta daisies (leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska') truly shine in the low light of the fading sun. Wisps of feather grass (stipa) provide a backdrop for the tufted blooms of deep raspberry bee balm (monarda 'Raspberry Wine').
Garden View from Street and Above
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| Left of house is west and driveway with entry gravel garden. Right is east with the red/white and orange/yellow flowers. Front is south-facing with 2 acres of open meadow grass. There is no garden in the back (north) as our woods (2.5 acres) come up to the back deck. |
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| Paved driveway (west) ends in the gravel entry garden. |
The gravel entry garden is the first thing a visitor sees when arriving. There is sufficient space for a car to park in front of the bench. In a few years, the dwarf Burford 'nana' hollies will create a hedge to separate the gravel garden from our concrete parking area for our garage. A large oakleaf holly and a crepe myrtle flank the bench area. A row of rosemary lines the opposite side of the gravel parking space.
A Staggering Japanese Iris Vignette
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| Iris ensata. June 2012 |
Although I always dread the fall chore of digging up big clumps of Japanese iris every three years, I must admit that doing so opens the opportunity to try different vignettes.
The purple Japanese iris (tag long gone and so it is unknown) is a great bloomer. With my last division of this iris, I planted it graduated—or staggered—up a slope rather than on the same level. My logic was that each clump grows quickly and by planting each divided piece up the slope instead of grouped on the same level, I could hopefully extend the number of years before needing to divide again.
The Red and White Garden
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| OVERVIEW: Red and white garden, straight ahead, left. Orange and yellow garden on the near left by a new path cut-through. Green shrubbery (osmanthus fragrans and hollies) on the right. June 2012 |
The "red" in my "red and white garden" is delivered through monarda 'Jacob Cline' along with a mass planting of bright red salvia greggii, crocosmia 'Lucifer'. The red salvia blooms first, followed by the monarda, then the crocosmia.
The white daisies are planted uphill and for now, provide most of the "white" in this garden. Note: A yellow-blooming St. John's Wort shrub (left of the bench) provides the axis between the "red and white garden" and the "orange and yellow garden." The yellow centers of the daisies tie in with the yellow blooms of the shrub.
Native Wildflower Ratibida Columnifera Repels Deer?
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| Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat, upright prairie coneflower, thimbleflower) with Santolina pinnata (green Lavender cotton) in the background. June 2012 |
Debuting in my deer resistant meadow garden this year is the US native wildflower, ratibida columnifera, commonly called Mexican hat. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center database, the foliage of this native has a strong smell that repels deer. But wait—there's a catch! The same database says that deer will eat this flower. Hmm...
Currently growing beside my open meadow where the deer congregate each night for slumber parties, there's nary a nibble so far. I've not detected an offensive smell—but I'm not a deer!
Blooms in the Gravel Garden
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| The hollies in the foreground will mature to create a hedge behind the bench. May 2012. |
Je ne regrette rien. I regret nothing. The conversion of several hardwood mulched garden beds and gravel parking space to one large gravel garden is working. Over one year later and I'm a very happy gardener. The history of the gravel garden can be viewed with this link.
Gravel gardens aren't for everyone. We don't live in the southwest or west coast where gravel is widely used. This is the southeast where folks love lush lawns, flower-packed or woodland gardens.
We live on a large rural property of over four acres with two acres of meadow grass out front while the back half is in woods. We have a sufficient proportion of soft grass, forest and gardens to balance the portion of gravel used.
Our house is English-inspired, but adapted for our climate. The same is true for the gravel garden. The inspiration comes from England, but it must work here in the southeastern United States. When using gravel, I had to use something locally quarried to be affordable. No expensive pea gravel here. Our house is gray cedar shakes. Our gravel is gray.
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| Looking through container lavender to a low hedge or rosemary. Purple Japanese iris grow from the gravel in the dry stream. Buddleia hedge in the gravel garden along the meadow edge. May 2012. |
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| Rosemary, Japanese iris, Buddleia are all thriving with gravel instead of hardwood mulch. May 2012. |
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| The gravel entry garden is easy to keep tidy and weed-free. View is looking away from the house to the driveway. May 2012. |
Yes there are a few weeds now and then. The roots have to reach a long way down to find soil. A gentle tug and wiggle easily removes unwanted weeds.
So far, I've not watered the shrubs, herbs or perennials that are planted in the gravel. The exception was to get the rosemary and hollies for the hedge established with one or two waterings around the time of planting. The buddleia, crepe myrtles, existing hollies, nepeta, salvia greggii and Japanese irises were already mature and have not been watered at all since we added the gravel in April 2011.
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| View (from rosemary hedge) to cottage garden front gate. Existing hollies, sedum and dusty miller around crepe myrtle (left). Nepeta, patches of thyme (front & right) were existing. May 2012 Containers on right are barely visible (see next photo). |
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| April 2012, containers were added beside flagstone path. Euphorbia (front) container hasn't done well and will be replaced. Lavender (middle) is now in bloom. Salvia (large container) has been blooming non-stop. |
To keep the gravel from looking stark in some spots, I'm gradually adding containers of plants that are drought-tolerant. The salvia jamensis hybrid (large container) and lavenders (various containers), junipers and succulents are doing great.
We've been getting regular rainfall so far this year, so I've not had to water the containers. Even without rain, I've selected plants that don't need to be watered often and I'm enjoying the low-maintenance. All plants used in the gravel garden, whether planted in containers or in the ground, are deer resistant.
Perhaps one of the best rewards from changing to this gravel garden is that so much of my time has been freed up to focus on the deer resistant meadow garden and the cottage garden. (We also changed the mulched flagstone paths to gravel/flagstone paths along the deer resistant meadow garden in March 2012.)
Due to this gravel garden and path conversion, I've not been working in the garden full-time. This redesign has considerably downsized the work that I was doing when I tried to grow more plants in many beds along the driveway, parking area and sidewalk—not to mention all the weeding that I had to do in the mulched paths along the deer resistant garden!
Gardening has been much for fun for me in 2012. Je ne regrette rien.
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| Along the dry stream, a clump of existing monarda will soon bloom. The salvia greggii is also quite happy to mulched with gravel. May 2012. |
Blood Grass, Broadway Lights and a Bush
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| Spirea 'Magic Carpet' (back) Japanese blood grass 'Red Baron' (middle) Shasta 'Broadway Lights' (front). May 27, 2012. |
While rearranging the garden last fall, I was inspired to move, rather than give up on a Japanese blood grass (imperata cylindrica rubra var. koenigii 'Red Baron') that had been struggling during drought. By the end of summer 2010, the poor thing was looking rather sad and I wasn't sure if it could be saved. Surrounding it with plants to shade its roots seemed the best solution. The red color of the grass echoes the deep red of a spirea 'Magic Carpet' in my garden.
Please note: The species Japanese blood grass is on the noxious weed list of many states. In 2009, the reputation was so bad and the confusion so widespread that a local nursery couldn't sell blood grass. After a few months of waiting, I was allowed to purchase the better-behaving cultivar. If you are shopping for this grass, make sure you purchase imperata cylindrica rubra var. koenigii 'Red Baron'. It is suitable for zones 5-9.
Spirea 'Magic Carpet' has been moved more times than I can count! I think I've finally resolved my color issues with it. The spirea starts out quite orange tips in early spring, then the tip color turns to the deeper red-rust that I love. I have three of these shrubs in the deer resistant garden and there have been no issues with self-sowing. The blooms are a nice pink and I don't deadhead this spirea as I do another variety, 'Neon Flash' (also shown below).
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| Beyond the blood grass: Spirea 'Magic Carpet' (front) Stipa grass (middle) Spirea 'Neon Flash' (back). May 6, 2012. |
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| Leucanthemum 'Broadway Lights' ™ begins as a soft yellow and lightens to creamy white. Blue ageratum is allowed to roam around the path plants. May 27, 2012. |
My existing leucanthemum 'Broadway Lights'™ turned out to be a pretty good candidate to complete the combination with the spirea and blood grass. I've had this shasta for many years and use it to dot the path in the deer resistant meadow garden. A perennial for zones 5-11, deadheading is not required as the buttery flowers fade to white, but I like to neaten up the plants. The foliage remains evergreen in my zone7b garden.
I snapped today's photo when the first blooms of the shasta were open. Soon, the path in the deer resistant garden will once again be dotted with yellow daisies.
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| The leucanthemum clumps are just beginning to bloom along the path. Deer resistant meadow garden. May 27, 2012. |
Purple Milkweed Blooms Create a Buzz
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| Purple milkweed (asclepias purpurascens) attracts bees and other pollinators. A Monarch Butterfly host plant. May 2012 |
The first milkweed to bloom in my garden is ascelpias purpurascens, a native wildflower. Blooming and returning reliably this purple milkweed was purchased and planted four years ago. To date, there are only two seedlings that have volunteered nearby. Unlike common milkweed (ascelpias syriaca), this one isn't an agressive self-sowing perennial and I'd actually like to see more of this asclepias variety.
Being deer and rabbit resistant, the only issue I've had has been with the orange and black milkweed bugs eating the blooms. I pick those bugs off the flowers and send them packing.
The large globe blooms attract pollinators and the leaves are food for the caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly—though they seem to like the thin-leaved swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) when choosing plants in my garden for egg-laying. There have been times when I've had to move Monarch caterpillars from the swamp milkweed to the leaves of the purple milkweed! I tend to think this is because of the location of the milkweeds, with the swamp being among lush plants that serve as good places for the chrysalis and metamorphosis.
The veins in the long leaves of purple milkweed are a deep raspberry color like the large blooms. The sturdy stems are not weighed down by the blooms, standing straight in the garden, up to three feet in height and two feet in width. It is easy to tuck this one into a small space.
Hardy in zones 3-9, purple milkweed prefers a bit more moisture when planted in full sun (as in my garden). Though, in my garden, it is planted in a rather dry area, but the roots are shaded by neighboring perennials such as nepeta and agastache.
This is my favorite milkweed in terms of ornamental uses in the garden as well as being out of the ground in time for the early migrating Monarch butterflies.
Cottage Garden Goes to the Gold
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| Coreopsis is surrounded by ground covers with near-twin blooms of light purple verbena 'Imagination' and heliotropium amplexicaule. |
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There is another possibility regarding the seeds. I sowed a packet of "mixed cottage garden" seeds that included annuals and perennials. Perhaps this coreopsis came from that mix instead? The hint at this possibility is that coreopsis is also growing among hesperis matronalis (Dame's Rocket) that must have come from the mixed packet—along with a barrage of susans (yet to bloom).
Before you all attack me with your gardening hoes, Dame's Rocket is not yet on the invasive list here in North Carolina. The plant is invasive in other states and countries. I'll have to manage it properly to prevent it from escaping the confines of the garden.
The coreopsis blooms have been going strong for at least three weeks, but I've not had to deadhead at this point. Yesterday's heavy rainfall beat the plant down a bit, but it is bouncing back and not drooping too much given the beating.
I've not seen any rabbit damage, but I've not seen any rabbits in the garden so far. There is a feral cat hanging around, not to mention a few black snakes and a hovering red-tailed hawk. This coreopsis is also growing out in the deer resistant garden and I have seen many deer. So far, so good.
I'll let the coreopsis grow as a test this year. If it performs well, I may just let it remain in the cottage garden. I have enough already, so I will deadhead the coreopsis and not let it go to seed.
As for the color gold—right now, I'm enjoying the glowing brightness among the purple blooms.
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| Coreopsis with Dame's Rocket (invasive in some areas). |
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| Coreopsis with purple larkspur (and buds of purple cornflower, not yet opened). |
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| The "back side" of the coreopsis as viewed from the porch after the rain. The "faces" of the coreopsis follow the sun, just like sunflowers. |
| 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. |
Sages Spring in the Garden
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| A mix of salvia greggii and salvia nemorosa in the cottage garden, viewed across the blooms, but there are many companions surrounding these sages. |
When I began my research into deer resistant plants, salvia topped the list. The first salvia greggii planted in my garden is the beautiful 'Navajo Bright Red' (difficult to find). A grouping of five is still flourishing and delivering masses of blooms in spring and fall. During the heat of the summer, the blooms are sparse, but the foliage of the plant, evergreen in my zone 7b garden provides year-round satisfaction—characteristics of all greggii varieties.
Maintenance is similar to butterfly bushes (buddleia). I cut back and shape salvia greggii in late winter, removing the dead wood and to keep the plant flexible and full of foliage to produce the blooms.
The plants are tough as long as they aren't overwatered or stand in wet soil. Drought-tolerant, deer and rabbit resistent, the results of using the sages for gardening in full sun is rewarding.
I now grow salvia greggii in the cottage garden, the deer resistant garden and in containers—in planned vignettes, randomly mixed and literally contained. For the versatility and low-maintenance, salvias are among my perennial favorites.
Is there a downside? Yes—salvia greggii is very difficult to photograph! My photos are rather dark because I had to wait for evening or cloudy days to capture the colors and shapes of the blooms!
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| Salvia greggii 'Navajo Bright Red' began in full sun and is now partially shaded by a mature weeping willow. Companions, monarda 'Jacob Cline' and crocosmia 'Lucifer'. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Texas Wedding' is a creamy white. Planted at the edge of a path in front of roses, a potted hosta (shaded), daylilies and saliva farinacea 'Victoria Blue' (yet to bloom) are companions. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Diane' (dark purple in front of burgundy loropetalum) surrounded by other sun-loving companions in the cottage garden. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Autumn Sage' and 'Dark Dancer' randomly mixed across the deer resistant meadow garden. April 2012. |
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| I purchased this salvia last week, but when I got home, there was no ID tag! The color is a creamy white with pale peach tones and dark stems. Planted with salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' and thyme. April 2012. |
| 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. |
Use Your 'Imagination' Verbena
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| Verbena tenuisecta 'Imagination' blooms spring, summer, fall until... |
Rated as an annual by most sources, every plant returned, making this verbena as hardy as any zone 7b perennial that I grow. It must take a seriously cold winter to kill it off. Thinking that 'Imagination' was a tender annual, I allowed it to self-sow.
Wait—there's more! I sowed seeds again in fall 2011. Maybe too many seeds! While it is lovely, meandering around tall plants and over short plants, it could easily takeover the garden. That said, it's easy to pull out. The color is a soft-purple, making it compatible with every color in my garden.
Don't worry about watering or babying this 'annual' as it is a tough plant for full sun to partial shade. Never drooping or complaining, it blooms continuously for three seasons. Deer, rabbits, voles and even a groundhog passed on this plant.
If you don't know what to plant as a meandering ground cover, just use this 'Imagination' verbena.
| 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. |
Favorite Garden Photos of 2011
There's much to enjoy (and learn) from reviewing garden photos. Here are a few of my favorites from 2011 that I love for the colors. Some photos were taken near while others far away. Click the photos to view in a slideshow lightbox.
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| Hemaris thysbe (hummingbird moth) visits the liatris ligulistylus in my meadow garden. |
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| Zinnias in my cottage garden. |
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| Fiery colors at Dole® Plantation in Hawaii. |
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| Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France. |
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| Leopard's Bane in a garden in Paris, France. |
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| Pink prevails in my deer resistant meadow garden in June. |
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| Rich red monarda 'Jacob Cline' in my east garden. |
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| Blue nigella and pink autumn sage in my cottage garden. |
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| Battery Park in New York City. |
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| In a North Carolina public garden. |
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| Bright colors in my meadow garden. |
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| Stipa (grass) and spirea (shrubs) in my front deer resistant garden. |
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| Ring around my sundial in my cottage garden. |
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| Agastache, flax and salvaia in my deer resistant meadow garden. |
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| Larkspur and rose campion in my cottage garden. |
| 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. |
Easy Colors, Easy Plants
When walking through my garden on this rather warm November day, the basal foliage of all three plants was easily recognizable. Seeing these hardy favorites today was a reminder to spread the word to other gardeners. The yarrow and nepeta are easy to divide and the salvia 'Cardonna' is a self-sowing favorite. Would you believe—there are still a few remaining blooms on the nepeta in my cottage garden! Deer, rabbits and drought don't faze this plants. Plant all three in the spring in full sun. Well-drained soil is important to keep the plants happy. Achillea 'Moonshine' zones 3-9 Salvia 'Caradonna' zones 4-8 Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' zones 3-8  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. |
Lush Foliage with White Berries
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| Nandina domestica 'Alba' November 15 2011 |
This nandina, as with most plants that come to my garden, had to pass the deer resistant test in order to have a permanent location outside of my cottage garden fence. Unfortunately, deer eat nandinas. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
For at least four years, I have grown the 'Alba' outside my fence. Every winter the deer devoured the foliage. The deer will literally eat nandina down to stems and stubs. It's sad to see, but the shrubs do bounce back. The nandinas sprouted new foliage every spring and were fine in the summer. That said, they were never going to be fully enjoyed or allowed to mature with the yearly winter feast.
Over the last few months, I have moved all of my nandinas (I have one other variety, 'Gulf Steam') to locations inside my cottage garden for more enjoyment. I had to first remove a few other shrubs to make the space. The changeover has now been completed.
Nandina 'Alba' is a great evergreen shrub for zones 6-9 and can handle sun to part shade. Though it is drought tolerant, the nandina responds well to some pampering. I can't report on foliage color changes due to the deer dining, but in the summer, the leaves have a wonderful blue-green tint.
I love to underplant shrubs, so I am keep my 'Alba' nandinas trunk-pruned like small trees. Only two of my three nandinas survived the deer destruction.
I transplanted one to a small spot beside a stone fence corner and the gable gate to the cottage garden. The nandina replaced a phlox whose color had changed from purple to salmon pink. It is underplanted with ajuga repans 'Chocolate Chip' that holds up well in summer droughts and doesn't spread as enthusiastically as other varieties. This ajuga has dark leaves and blue blooms in spring. I chose to underplant the nandina with this ajuga (also moved from another part of the garden) because there are blue-blooming geranium 'Brookside' along this same path.
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| The poor little deer-devoured nandina (now beside the stone corner column) deserved to be protected. November 2011. |
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| Given another chance, the nandina is underplanted with ajuga repans 'Chocolate Chip'. November 2011. |
This nandina is planted beside the bridge to the stream. I added lots of good soil and compost and smoothed the area. With the large oakleaf hollies backing this area on the outside of the fence, I'm going with a white-flower theme.
An underplanting of seeds includes white snapdragon 'La Bella White' and my favorite sweet alyssum 'Carpet of Snow.' I usually plant snapdragons and alyssum in the spring, so this is a fall sowing experiment.
To the sides of this nandina, I sowed seeds of black peony poppy for spring drama, to be pulled out for summer when a division of phlox paniculata 'David' will bloom along with the alyssum. The snapdragons, phlox and alyssum are fragrant.
As gardeners, we show patience and optimism as we plan and create new garden areas and wait months or years for the results.
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| The new bed will include fragrant white phlox, sweet alyssum and snapdragons for 2012. November 2011. |
| 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. |
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