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
20 comments:
The tall, purple spikes in the background are agastache 'purple haze' that is also about 1 foot taller than expected!
Cameron
Hey C.
I managed to have some Echinacea despite all the bunnies. Must have taking the plants to the nub, but some survived. Not nearly as many there once where. Today, a bunny is hopping in the back garden like he owns it...I suppose he thinks he does. H.
Helen -- the bunnies go for my rudbeckia, but I managed to keep them off of it with the I MUST GARDEN repellent. One echinacea clump was munched in the outer gardens. I have a lot of echinacea seedlings this year from sowing seeds last fall. I'm surprised those haven't been eaten by the bunnies. There is a rat snake that has taken up residence and the red-tailed hawk killed the little bunny that visited daily. I see the big bunnies hanging around the edges of the woods every morning and evening. It's only a matter of time before they try the garden again.
A lovely combination! I have such a hard time getting echinacea to grow here. I have planted it a number of times and it just disappears in the winter and never returns! You have inspired me to try it one more time!
They look great together! And who couldn't love a name like Raspberry Wine?:)
I can't get over how far ahead you are than me with those plants! Some of my Echinacea have buds and maybe two or three are open......and MAYBE one of the Monarda. Living in a slow 7b.
That is a combo I wouldn't of thought of, but it's striking. The rains we've had this season have really made a difference in the size of some of my plants too. I planted 3 Monardas last fall and only one is blooming now. My Echinaceas are all at different stages which is a bit strange too. :)
Cameron, They really are a wonderful duo! I have several monardas and they are blooming now, just in time to dance with Echinacea purpurea and liatris. gail
I like those together, too. I grew monarda a long time ago, and it was quite spready. I decided to try it again last year, with a Petite Delight (I think), and this year, decided to get a Jacob Cline for a corner area in the back yard. It will be near some Magnus coneflowers and tall, yellow blooming rudbeckias.
I just love these two together. I wonder if I can find a spot to squeeze them into?
Good morning Cameron,
All your combinations are stunning. And I do love the raspberry colored monarda. Your coneflowers are making a very pretty show too. It looks as though you can see them easily from your porch... that makes it even nicer.
We had all that rain in May and now none in June... but I think it was a nice boost for the garden to get it early this year.
Meems
They look good together.
I like the blue agastache spikes behind.
It's pouring rain again today. I guess I'll soon have a jungle instead of a garden!
A bit more about this planting:
The grouping contains only 1 monarda in a 4" pot that I planted in September 08. It was green at the base all winter.
There are 5 coneflowers around the monarda that were also planted in September. Those were from Lowe's Hardware in larger pots and in bloom. The blooms lasted until October. It will be interesting to see how long these echinacea bloom this summer.
Unlike a lot of the newer coneflowers, these were inexpensive. There are even seeds available in 2009, so I may get some to sow in the outer gardens.
This area of the garden is protected by the house on the north and the garage on the west. It gets a lot of winter sun (like the front porch), so it may be more like zone 8 than 7.
Cameron,
Your coneflower and monarda combo looks great. My coneflower is growing like it's on steroids this year also. I'm sure its all the rain. I'm excited because the orange echinacea 'Orange Meadowbrite' I planted last summer has returned and in its original orange color. I'll e-mail you a link to some pics.
I also put in some monarda this spring. I planted 3 small plants I got from the herb section at HD. Needless to say I have a large clump now but no blooms yet.
You inspired me to get some blue agastache. I've always loved how it looks in your garden. I found some last fall. I picked the wrong spot for it. It is as tall as I am now and definately needs to be at the back of a garden. I think my friend Sandra will be getting my two agastache plants. I just don't have a spot with enough sun for it. Boo hoo.
Guess we'll be getting your rain tomorrow.
Vikki
Cameron,
That's just stunning! I love Raspberry Wine, ours just started to bloom. It does spread really rapidly. It's so true about he inspiration, our problem is there never seems to be enough room for all that we want to do. --Randy
I love that combination.
Hi Cameron, that is a lovely combination. Makes me want to try monarda again. Are you having trouble with the Japanese beetles eating your coneflowers. Last year they made a mess of mine with help from the earwigs.
Marnie
It looks like summer in your yard already. Great eye candy.
Just don't have your blooms yet.
Of course you are a little warmer then NJ.
Same in my garden--everything growing tall. This is the year of giant plants in NC. I have that Bee Balm and love it. Sure does stand out huh?
This is a great combination. I'm always amazed at the intricate design of Monarda. Just beautiful!
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