'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.

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.

Flowers Surround the Sundial

Annuals and perennials surround
the sundial in the cottage garden. (click to enlarge photo)

If sundials reflected temperatures instead of time, the one in my cottage garden would have registered 100°F on too many days for the summer of 2010. In spite of this unusual heatwave, the annuals and perennials that surround the sundial are handling the heat with a little extra water and good compost.

The bronze sundial, a special gift, has been with me for over twenty-five years and in four gardens. For the last four years, I have moved it around my current garden in an attempt to find the perfect location. It has finally found a home in the south-facing cottage garden between the stream and the front porch. Selecting annuals on the right scale to surround the sundial was my goal for this year's spring plantings. All of the perennials were already in place and established.

Sideways view from the cottage garden
path to the front porch.

Annuals include the beautiful blue mealy cup sage, salvia 'Victoria' and Magellan 'Ivory' and 'Yellow' Zinnias. The zinnias were grown from seeds and while short enough to fit around the sundial, the blooms are as large as the giant zinnias.

The salvia 'Victoria' was purchased in April as a flat of bedding plants from a local grower. Tough in any location—I also grow this salvia along a gravel path as well as in the drought-tolerant area of the deer resistant garden—the color and shape works well in combination with many other plants. I use it with hardy geraniums, zinnias, shasta daisies and coreopsis.

The perennials, echinacea 'Prairie Splendor', monarda 'Raspberry Wine' and salvia 'Black & Blue', along with the annual Benary's Giant Zinnias are the tall plants providing a backdrop.

All of the plants want to lean south (right side of photos) toward the sun and the stream. The position of the paths in my garden are such that the staggered heights must be considered from the side and the front of this flower bed.

In addition to my enjoyment of flowers, the smorgasbord of blooms is a favorite nectar bar for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. There's always activity! Sitting on the front porch to watch, I find the pollinator antics to be quite entertaining for a gardener.

On the south side of the sundial, perennial heliotrope grows along the bank of the stream. The lavender blooms of heliotrope are non-stop from April until frost. When placing the sundial, I decided to tuck it in behind the existing heliotrope with Sedum 'Green Expectations' and a deep pink mum. The sedum and mum will bloom when the weather cools in early autumn.

Finding the right place for the little sundial took me awhile. Perhaps the sundial will remain here, in a nest of colorful blooms each summer, for the next twenty-five years.

Perennials include hardy garden mum (left mounding foliage),
sedum 'Green Expectations' (in front of mum),
and creeping heliotrope (lower front).

Links within the story are to related stories within my blog. 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.

Please Send Hostas

Look at our hungry faces

Deer Gardeners,

We're not getting enough to eat here in Cameron's garden and we need your help. After you hear our pitiful story, we think you'll want to send us your hostas.

We live in the woods and sleep in the meadow beside Cameron's house. Our fawns are born here every year. With more than 25 members in our extended Meadow Deer Family, that's a lot of mouths to feed!

You see, the weather is just too hot to forage the countryside for food. We need delivery! 

Our little fawns are learning what's good and not good to eat and it so difficult to teach life's lessons without a generous buffet so that they can pick and choose.

In the last few days, we've sampled cosmos. It's definitely not one of our favorite foods, but we're getting desperate. The orange ones are really disgusting and we spit those out. But, the white and pink cosmos aren't too bad. Still, we're just taking the tops off and not destroying the plants. We see Cameron cutting the cosmos, so we think that makes the plant grow more blooms.

Cameron has so many clumps of swamp sunflowers, so we've been nibbling those the most. She doesn't seem to be too upset with us so far because she hasn't used any yucky smelly deer repellents or put up any fences.

We tried this swamp sunflower
(helianthus angustifolius)

We reach over the coneflowers and zinnias to eat the sunflowers. We hear some of our cousins up north eat coneflowers and zinnias, but we'd rather not try them until we're close to starving. The worse thing would be if Cameron decided to put up a fence!  Then, we couldn't walk through her garden every night to hang out on her patio and drink from her waterfall.

Cameron first blames the rabbits for any ground-level garden munching unless she can prove us guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. We've seen her chasing rabbits out of the garden several times a day. Charm has even pretended to chase the rabbits a few times! We have to laugh, because Charm is so harmless. She's never given us any trouble and we're rather amused since she looks like a bit like a deer wearing a tuxedo.

We did hear Cameron ranting loudly about the rabbits eating her candy lilies. She started those candy lilies from seeds two years ago and has been waiting for the blooms. We don't want to confess that we ate those, because the lilies are on most deer resistant plant lists and it is best to let her go on thinking that the rabbits ate the lilies.

Old Uncle Deermus is losing his sense of smell. He mistakingly ate a leaf on a small castor bean plant and we're anxiously waiting to hear how that worked out for him. We've heard that the seeds are poisonous.

So, you see, we're in dire straits. While Cameron's garden is filled with plants loved by bees, birds and butterflies, there's nothing for us to enjoy.

We desperately need your hostas. To make a donation to the Meadow Deer Family, please contact Cameron. No wait, she won't plant those! You'll have to drop off the hostas in the middle of the night. We'll be waiting.

Thank you,
Meadow Deer Family

Agastache, salvia, shastas, oh my! What's a deer to eat?

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.

When In Drought, Combine Sedum and Sage

Sedum 'Green Expecations' (back) with
spires of salvia nemorosa Bordeau™ 'Steel Blue'

Having doubts about what to plant for summer heat with little rain? When the temperature or heat index hits the triple digits—as high as 110°F, the strong survivors in the garden keep the color coming. Sedum and sage partner well to use under extreme heat conditions.

There are sedum varieties available for zones 4-10 and in many shapes and colors. The succulent foliage of sedum is a perfect complement to salvias and neither plant requires much water after established in the garden.

Sedum 'Blue Spruce', 'Angelina' and other low, ground-covering sedum can easily be tucked in at the front of a border. Divide the low sedums to make more plants and conquer space in short time.

Sedums are great for the budget as they easily root when pinched and planted directly in the soil. Other succulents that can be rooted the same way include ice plant (delosperma cooperii) and the annual purple queen (setcreasea pallida). Both the ice plant and the purple queen are drought tolerant and also work as companions with the sedum and sage.

Pinching the tips of the large-leaved varieties, such as 'Green Expectations', 'Autumn Joy' or 'Purple Emperor' not only is good for shaping the main plant for a late bloom, but also provides a gardener with extra plants that quickly mature in a year.

Trio of sedum, (left clockwise)
'Green Expectations', 'Purple Emperor' and 'Beka'
with salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue'

Sage or salvias, with low water needs, are also easy to use in the summer garden. There are both annuals and perennials that can be incorporated into sunny areas.

The perennial salvia nemorosa types vary in bloom time and need cutting back for rebloom. The spires make lovely companions, but may not give you continuous bloom.

The tender perennials (hardy to zone 7) include salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue', salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue' (compact form of 'Indigo Spires') and the long-blooming annual salvia farinacea 'Victoria'. These provide blooms all summer long.

The salvia greggii varieties are more shrub-like, with most growing up to three feet high. In zone 7, they begin blooming in spring, bloom off-and-on in the summer, then put on another big show in autumn. The hot pink 'Autumn Sage' is a great long-blooming choice, though other colors are available such as the unusual white 'Texas Wedding' to the deep purple 'Ultra Violet'.

No matter which sedum or salvia you choose, these plants can stand up to the summer heat and low water conditions.

Salvia greggii 'Autumn Sage'

Salvia greggii 'Ultra Violet'

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.

A Path Seldom Seen Needs a Carpet of Snow

There is a path seldom seen in my cottage garden. On the north side of a flower-filled bed, the stepping stones allow the gardener access for the tasks of weeding or the pleasure of cutting blooms. The real performance faces south as the flowers grow into the summer sun, so this little path is equivalent to a backstage area.

I want a soft edging for the stepping stone path for my own enjoyment. I've tried a few perennials there. Lavender performed well in winter and spring, but then the tall coneflowers, salvia, bee balm and zinnias shaded it out in summer. Perennials that prefer shade get too hot next to the stones on sunny winter days.

Alyssum is an annual that is supposed to perform best in cool climates, but I decided to give it a try along the path. Using a few seeds, the experiment wasn't costly.

Seeds of the Sweet Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' (lobularia maritima) were sown in November 2009. I paid little attention to the patch that sprouted and began blooming in April. Torrential rains in winter displaced the edging of seeds that I had sown, washing away my vision of a carpet of white edging all along the path. I'm finding the dainty alyssum blooming in different places within the flower bed, at the feet of zinnias—a nice look, in fact.

Alyssum is much tougher than its demure appearance. Now, after the hottest month on record and with little rainfall, the tufts of snowy blooms are still going strong. I have not tried it in the deer resistant garden. So far, the alyssum seems to be rabbit resistant as the bunnies that raid my garden several times a day haven't eaten the blooms.

Sweet Alyssum has a honey fragrance, is an annual that self-sows and grows to a height of 12 inches. This plant is blooming so profusely, even after a light shearing, that I anticipate having volunteers next year. This is the right plant for the right place, so I'll also sow extra seeds this autumn to once again try to create a carpet of snow.

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.

Garden Inspiration: Pebble Mosaic

Many times I have admired the patterns and textures of pebble mosaics. Creating one for my garden has often crossed my mind. I even have the perfect location. How difficult can it be?

The photo was taken at the Picasso Museum in Antibes, France. Within the geometric design, wavy ripples of smooth rocks and pebbles give the design a sense of movement, just like the waves of the sea, beyond the ramparts wall. I'm sure skilled professionals created this particular patio for the Chateau Grimaldi, but artistic gardeners can construct pebble mosaics at home.

In search of instructions, I found that there are many how-to resources available that include step-by-step instructions, photos and even videos on the topic.

First of all, there are plenty of books listed at Amazon for pebble mosaics. Some of the books go into the history of pebble mosaics while others focus primarily on the instruction for DIY projects.

Pebble Mosaic Pots from Cultivating Life with Sean Conway, uses outdoor vinyl caulk for applying stones to the outside of terra cotta flower pots. I see this as a great way to test designs and patterns before working on prominent and permanent areas in the garden. A video accompanies the instructions. The pots in the demonstration are decorated with stones, but it is reminiscent of a project from my childhood. My grandmother gathered up a lot of her costume jewelry and allowed her grandchildren to press the the pieces onto an urn using this same technique.

Create a Pebble Mosaic, an article from Fine Gardening, provides examples of intricate "Persian carpet" designs and other inspirations for a garden. A stepping stone is the simplest example and may be a good first project. The author, Jeffrey Bale, shows how to create a section of garden path in detail with accompanying photos. He begins in much the same way as creating any path or patio, by digging out the ground and applying a base. Bale recommends using mortar instead of concrete since there is already gravel in the latter, making it difficult to use for insetting the pebbles.

How to Make a Pebble Mosaic  by This Old House uses a spiral-pattern mosaic inset within a flagstone walk for their example. This is what I want to try on my flagstone garden path to break up the linear throughway and create a "stopping point" to encourage visitors to pause. I originally planned to put an object, such as my sundial, in the middle of the path and then create a circle of flagstone around it.  In doing so, the sundial would get in the way of my wheelbarrow. A mosaic on the path will not be a hinderance.

I may start my venture into pebble mosaics by using a round concrete stepping stone as a level base.  Square concrete stepping stones for a base would break a project down into manageable sizes, that when put together, could be used for a patio or path. Concrete benches and garden walls can also be decorated with pebble mosaics.

Are you inspired to create a pebble mosaic, too?

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.

Queen Anne's Lace. True or False?

The dainty white lace flower looks like the wild Queen Anne's Lace (daucus carota). True.

This is False Queen Anne's Lace (ammi visnaga) 'Green Mist'. True.

My flowers were started from seeds two years ago. True.

I cut the flowers to use in arrangements so I've not had a problem with self-sowing. True.

Deer and rabbits don't bother this plant. True.

False Queen Anne's Lace should be kept away from grazing animals. True.

Be careful when cutting and handling the stems as the sap may cause skin irritation. True.

False Queen Anne's Lace looks great with blooms of red, pink, purple.... All so true!

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.

Three Wonderful "Weeds"

Just mention "weed" to a gardener, and you're likely to hear moaning and groaning. It's too bad that a few good perennials have a common name that includes that infamous word.  I've created a garden section dedicated to three good weeds—Joe Pye Weed 'Little Joe', Swamp Milkweed 'Cinderella' and Ironweed.

Although the top sections of my deer resistant garden are for drought-tolerant plants and lean soil, the bottom section is moist when it rains. Plants for the lower section are suited to rich soil and wet winters, but can survive drought with drip irrigation.

This color-coordinated combination works well with blooms from pink to purple. All three grow to a similar size and bloom times overlap, from middle to late summer. But, I didn't plant these just for a good design. These perennials are bee and butterfly magnets!

A new addition to my garden this year, Joe Pye Weed (eupatorium dubium) 'Little Joe' is standing trial in the deer resistant garden. Although this plant appears on many deer resistant lists, I purchased only one to try. If the deer leave it alone, I'll definitely add more. It is rabbit resistant. I run the bunnies out of the garden several times a day. The foliage is lovely and the blooms, just now forming, are stunning!

Unlike the tall, native Joe Pye Weed, the cultivar 'Little Joe' should reach only 3-4 feet in height. Rated for zones 3-8, it can be grown from seeds or divided in spring.

Another newcomer that is also on trial in the deer resistant garden is Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata). This is another rabbit resistant plant. Rated for zones 4-8, and growing 3-4 feet tall, ironweed looks great beside 'Little Joe' and the swamp milkweed 'Cinderella'. This native plant can also be grown from seed. It has been blooming on several stems. I decided to  deadhead a few fading blooms to test it for repeat blooms.

Swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) 'Cinderella' is such a lovely pink. The original three milkweeds were added a few years ago and I've been increasing the numbers by growing the plants from seeds. I have five new plants this year from the seeds directly sown last fall, so there is now a big mass of at least twelve plants. A host for Monarch butterflies, I'll never be without this wonderful plant.

The deer and rabbits never touch the milkweed, but watch out for aphids. For growing zones 3-8, don't give up on this plant while waiting for it to emerge in spring. Even in my zone 7b, it will wait as late as May to make an appearance, and then quickly grows to four feet in height. Since the Monarch caterpillars eat the foliage, I have this planted behind the foliage of Japanese irises that bloomed in spring, purple coneflowers, bee balm, ageratum and shasta daisies.

To break away from an all-pink theme, these plants are backed by blue Russian Sage, purple fountain grass, and coneflowers that are growing up the slope. Agastache, blazing star (liatris ligustylis) and salvias are also grown in the drier soil. This entire section of garden was completely dug out and replanted in fall 2009. It will take another year or two for all the plants to mature, increase in number and fill in the gaps.

There are two more areas that I want to use for this same grouping. If the eupatorium and vernonia pass the deer trials, I'll expand the other lower sections of the garden to make room for more "weeds."

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.

A Tall Tale of Orange and Purple Flowers

A had a plan for a purple and orange flower garden. The two colors are a favorite combination. I transplanted orange yarrow, coneflowers, agastache and blanket flowers to a section of the garden where I added purple salvias, agastache, allium and trailing verbena. This is the first bloom season for that garden and it will take a few years for the plants to mature and fill in the space.

But, this is not a story about that precisely planned garden.

This is a tale about a purple and orange flower combination created by a population explosion of self-sowing seeds from tall purple verbena and orange cosmos. The surprise is a mass planting of tall verbena that is interspersed with a perfect dose of tall cosmos.  The ankles of the two plants are discreetly disguised by canna foliage and blooms of blue ageratum. And, I like it!

All of this haphazard self-sowing took place in an area that I replenished with fresh soil and amended with compost to prepare for tropical plants. The rich soil provided the perfect growing medium for germination of seeds, but the results were entirely unexpected. The skinny plants are nicely arranged between the other perennials. There is also an evenly distributed veil of purple along the edge of the garden path. I couldn't have spaced each plant better if I had tried.

Verbena bonariensis is a perennial in my zone 7b and I started with three plants in 2007. I didn't deadhead my verbena, allowing it to freely self-seed. It is easy to move the seedlings, if desired. This verbena is:

1. deer and rabbit resistant
2. drought tolerant 
3. blooms non-stop until frost
4. tall (4+ feet in height)
5. the seeds are a favorite of the American Goldfinch
6. butterflies and bees love the nectar
7. easy to grow from seeds and self-sows
8. low maintenance

The original seeds for the annual orange cosmos, sown in 2009, and were given to me by blogger friend, Patsi at Garden Endeavors. I didn't deadhead the cosmos and allowed it to self-seed. This cosmos is:

1. deer and rabbit resistant
2. drought tolerant 
3. blooms non-stop until frost
4. tall (4 feet in height)
5. the seeds are a favorite of the American Goldfinch
6. butterflies and bees love the nectar
7. easy to grow from seeds and self-sows
8. low maintenance

Notice the similarities? A perfect match of growing conditions, attributes and contrasting color!

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.

A Perfect Ivory Zinnia Bloom

There's a new zinnia in the cottage garden this year. Magellan Ivory may be short, but the creamy blooms are 4-5 inches across. Standing below 14 inches, this is a great zinnia for containers or front edges of gardens. I'm using this zinnia around my sundial, combined with Magellan Yellow and blue salvia 'Victoria'.

I couldn't wait to show you this bloom! There are three plants in bloom right now and every bloom is perfect, just like the one in the photo. When the companions in this garden catch up, I'll show you the group together.

June 2010 holds the all-time record for the hottest month in North Carolina. The heat was rough on seed germination and seedlings. I am so pleased that this zinnia came through. Zinnias are easily grown from seeds with the right conditions, so I misted the ground after planting the seeds and watered the seedlings regularly. Fortunately, these are growing in my cottage garden with easy access to water.

I ordered many colors of Benary's Giant, my favorite cut flower, along with a packet of Magellan Yellow zinnia seeds to try. When my order from Swallowtail Garden Seeds arrived, the Magellan Ivory was a free bonus packet. I'm so glad that they sent the Ivory for me to try.

Bright white can sometimes be too much for a color scheme, but the softness of the ivory makes it easy on the eyes. Not having tried short zinnias before, I was skeptical of the impact. These blooms are definitely big enough to make a statement!

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.

First Monarch Butterfly for 2010

Finally, a Monarch butterfly arrived in my garden on July 3, 2010!  There are many milkweed (asclepias) plants in my garden (a certified Monarch Waystation), waiting to host the Monarch caterpillars.

I followed this Monarch around the garden as she visited her favorite nectar plants that are currently in bloom:

butterfly bush (buddleia)
stick verbena (verbena bonariensis)
coneflower (echinacea purpurea)
joe pye weed (eupatorium dubium)
ironweed (vernonia fasciculata)
blazing star (liatris ligulistylus)
hummingbird mint (agastache)
cosmos
zinnia

For more information about the fascinating Monarch butterflies, visit Journey North for details on the 2010 migration and Monarch Watch to learn about how you can have your garden certified as a Monarch Waystation, too.

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.

Big Leaves from Little Seeds

For a large, substantial summer annual, the castor bean plant is easy to grow. The big leaves of castor bean (ricinus communis) plant provide an impressive backdrop for bee balm and coneflowers. The dark red stems echo the color of bee balm (monarda) 'Raspberry Wine' and purple coneflowers (echinacea) 'Prairie Splendor'.

When Helen Yoest at Gardening with Confidence™ kindly shared seeds with me when I visited her garden, Helen's Haven, in September 2009, I knew exactly where I wanted to grow the castor bean. I can't be more pleased with the results.

I planted three seeds against our stone chimney, where I wanted an architectural plant to emerge from behind a semi-circle of Indian Hawthorn (rhaphiolepis indica). This planting of shrubs along the cottage garden path prevents both people and pets from getting too close.

TOXIC ALERT! The poisonous castor bean plant is highly toxic and not recommended for those with small children or pets in the garden. Handle seeds with the utmost care. 

Growing beneath the leaves of the castor bean is a patch of tall garden phlox that was planted in 2006. I wanted a tall plant that could easily be squeezed into the space without disturbing the performance of the purple phlox. Planting seeds was the best solution.

The castor bean will continue to grow taller and taller during the summer and the color scheme will be picked up through the blooms of Benary's Giant wine and lilac zinnias. A few stray zinnias are even growing with the castor bean and phlox!

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