Do You Need a Rattlesnake Master in Your Garden?

Eryngium yuccifolium (aka 'Rattlesnake Master').
Looking downhill in the deer resistant meadow garden. July 15, 2013

The first time I saw Rattlesnake Master was at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.  I saw it again in The Battery Gardens in New York City and was hooked on the architectural form of this native wildflower.

This is now the third growing season and my plants have matured into tall, sturdy stalks supporting branches tipped by white globes. I grow mine in a meadow mix of flowers (daisies, coneflowers, bee balm, etc.). But I think the white globes would be spectacular against a solid green or burgundy foliage background or among grasses.

The bluish rosette foliage at the base of Rattlesnake Master resembles yucca leaves, but don't use the leaves to fight off rattlesnakes. The eyebrow-raising common name for Eryngium yuccifolium originated from the Native American tea, brewed from the roots, used as an antidote for rattlesnake bites.

The one-inch globes are made up of tiny white flowers defended by prickly bracts, so wear gloves if cutting stems for indoor flower arrangements.  The deer and rabbits haven't nipped a single globe from my plants, but bees and other pollinators are attracted by the heavy honey scent emitting from the flowers.

This wildflower is hardy in zones 4-9 and is suitable for dry to medium soil conditions in part to full sun. It's tall—three to five feet, but since the spacing is one foot apart, you can squeeze it in to tight spaces and let the globes rise above garden companions. It's a great see-through perennial, too. 

My plants have survived months of drought one summer and months of rain this year. Although I started with small plants, Rattlesnake Master can be grown from seed.

With the interesting name and fascinating form, I highly recommend Rattlesnake Master for your garden. It's an easy keeper. Really.

Looking uphill in the meadow garden.
New blooms. July 9, 2013

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 Favorite Combination: Coneflower, Salvia and Verbena

Echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry'. 16 June 2013

The cool temperatures and ample rainfall boosted the coneflower blooms to the best I've seen in years. After losing many coneflowers, including the variety featured to aster yellows disease in 2012, I'm happy to see healthy plants.

One of the short varieties, echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry' is blooming beautifully beside salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue' in the cottage garden. I love this combination when the blooms synchronize and peak in unison. The frilly, ground-covering lavender blooms are verbena 'Imagination'.

These three plants bloom over a longtime, front and center, in the cottage garden. The echinacea reblooms through the summer (supposedly without deadheading, but I deadhead to speed up the repeat). It can be grown from seeds, though I purchased my plants.

The salvia is another repeat bloomer, with the best show in early summer and again in the fall. Again, I purchased my plants, but you can grow this one from seeds, too.

The combination fits well into small spaces, but the verbena is a prolific self-sower, so watch if it spreads too far and wide. I trim it back to keep it shaped for the space and pull unwanted seedlings. The verbena blooms non-stop until frost.

Although these three plants are great together, they seem to enhance any location in the garden. I use the verbena as an edger or filler in multiple locations. The salvia is a go-to plant to use with dianthus, zinnias, black-eyed susan and daisies.

This trio is growing behind the protection of the cottage garden fence, but I grow all three in the deer resistant garden. Bunnies are more interested in the coneflowers than the deer, but in some areas, you may need to use repellents. Neither bunnies nor deer eat the verbena and I've had no issues with the salvia.

Echinacea purpurea 'PowWow Wild Berry'
perennial zones 3-8
full sun-part sun

Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'
perennial zones 7b-11
full sun

Verbena tenuisecta 'Imagination'
self-sowing annual (has wintered over, zone 7b)
full sun

Another view of 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' (one plant). June 2013

Another view of same Salvia 'Victoria' with dianthus
and daylily. June 2013

Verbena tenuisecta 'Imagination' (different location).  May 2013

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.

Coreopsis (and Company) in the Cottage Garden

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.

A few months ago, Darrell sent me an email about my experience with the color of the 'Star Cluster' here in the southeast. As expected, the coreopsis begins to bloom a creamy white and the deep purple eye spreads from the center during the cooler weather in the fall.

Deadheading isn't required for this long-blooming perennial, but I do a bit of shaping of the plants when I'm tidying up the garden.

Suitable for zones 5-9, this full sun plant is a great performer, being reliably rabbit and deer resistant. In the cottage garden, the coreopsis grows in rich soil, but is suitable for average soil such as in the drier meadow garden.

Given the long bloom season, I've surrounded the coreopsis with a number of blooming perennials to complement the plant. Those include garden phlox, coneflowers (multiple varieties), daylily 'Joan Senior' (similar bloom color) and salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'.

The dark foliage of eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' is especially pleasing to me in combination with 'Star Cluster' blooms. This is the first year for eucomis in the cottage garden, so the blooms are just beginning to form. I anticipate that this duo will be one of my favorite combinations!

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.

Coneflowers and Aster Yellows Disease

These "green" disfigured coneflowers were removed and destroyed.

I didn't plant any new "green bloom" echinacea cultivars, so what's wrong with a few of my coneflowers? While most of the coneflowers in my garden are blooming and thriving, I watched three delinquent clumps and wondered:

Did voles eat the roots? No
Are they getting shaded out by the other plants? No
Is it aster yellows disease? Yes

As difficult as it is, there's nothing to be done except to remove and destroy infected coneflowers to keep the disease from spreading by leafhoppers feeding on the plants.  Out with the bad to save the good.

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.

Favorite Accent Plant: Wine Cups

Deep rose wine cups (callirhoe involuncrata) scampers over
lavender perennial heliotrope, gold leaf tansy and purple sedum.

Wine cups splash a long way in the garden—literally! The tender stems of lacy foliage are far-reaching. The blooms lightly dance over, under and around other plants. This isn't a monster plant that takes over. You can easily cut or reroute the thin vines to your liking.

This native perennial, callirhoe involuncrata, isn't a specimen plant. This is a mingler, a socialite that loves to engage fellow plants in pleasant combinations. Place it where it can party in the garden in zones 3-9.  Speaking of party time, wine cups are early to bed, closing up in the evening and opening again with morning light.

Rabbits have a taste for wine cups. I've never tried this among deer, assuming that they'd like to attend a wine cups tasting, too. I have only one plant inside the cottage garden fence, purchased in 2010 and then moved to position it away from the prying noses of bunnies. I use a rabbit repellent. Wine cups is growing among perennial heliotrope (heliotropium amplexicaule), salvia, lambs ears and tansy—disgusting appetizers to a rabbit palate!

I have a fondness for monochromatic groupings where I use the same bloom color from different plants. Shaped like the California poppy, the wine cups are the same color as my petunias and salvia greggii 'Diane'. Soon, my gaillardia 'Grape Sensation' will be in full bloom, adding to the deep wine mess—mass.

Don't drink to take this test.

Splash! All of those wine cups blooms are from one plant.
There are also California poppies, salvia greggii 'Diane'
and petunias in the same wine color.

Stemware. Wine cups with salvia farinacea 'Victoria'. 

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 Carpet of Snow in December

Drifts of snow white blanket the cottage garden in December. On a sunny winter day, the few remaining pollinators buzz among the blossoms. So far undaunted by frost, Sweet Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' still flourishes.The honey fragrance of the blooms makes it nearly impossible to resist picking a stem to deeply inhale the scent. Braving the cold morning, I snapped a few photos of the alyssum, just before the sun warmed up the garden.

Sweet Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow'
(8:00 am, December 3, 2011)

Alyssum with burgundy leaves of loropetalum.
(December 3, 2011)

I sow seeds the tiny seeds of Sweet Alyssum (lobularia maritima) from October through March. Known as a cool climate annual, the small investment in seeds was worth the effort here in zone 7b of North Carolina.My cottage garden is a micro-climate more like zone 8a.

The alyssum patches spread remarkably wider in 2011 compared to 2010 and I believe this is due to some self-sowing.  The height is relatively low, less than twelve inches. Beginning in April, the fresh and new alyssum sprouts bloom and they gradually spread over the next few months.

The focus of my mass plantings is an edge of the cottage garden path that is seldom seen until September. The heaviest blooms crank up from September until...we shall see!

During the hottest, scorching months, I grow taller annuals and perennials to shade the south side of alyssum. The blooms take a break on the hottest days, but the foliage is still lush until re-bloom. I've found the annual to be remarkably drought-tolerant and rabbit resistant. Given that the rabbits haven't touched the alyssum, I've sown seeds outside the fence in deer territory. I'm optimistic that the annual will be deer resistant.

I am so enamored by alyssum that I have already sown seeds in a new cottage garden bed that is based upon white with nandina 'Alba', phlox 'David' and a few other favorites.

Alyssum is the perfect plant for hiding the stems and ankles of taller plants. I've given thought to growing this versatile annual in so many spots! It is a wonderful companion for annual dianthus and verbena 'Imagination' as both are still blooming on this December morning.

With the low cost of seeds, the many months of blooms, fragrant scent and food for pollinators, Sweet Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' has earned a permanent place in my garden.

Annual dianthus, verbena 'Imagination' as companions.
(September 2011)

Alyssum and tender perennial/annual salvia 'Victoria'.
(August 2011)

Alyssum blooms are fewer and smaller in the heat of July.

In the beginning.
The first white blooms of Sweet Alyssum in May 2011.
(Lower left hand corner)

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

Yellow yarrow (achillea), Purple salvia 'Caradonna' and Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' Achillea, salvia and nepeta are three easy perennials for a colorful combination. While I'm fond of purple and yellow/gold, there are other colors of achillea and salvia that pair well. The nepeta is just a great all-round companion for many designs. 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.

A Wildflower that I'm Afraid to Mention

Superstitious? Maybe. There's a lovely wildflower growing in my meadow garden. I've been afraid to write about it. I planted just one (on July 4) as an experiment. The small nursery pot quickly grew to four feet high. The blooms have started and I'm totally smitten. White, frilly blooms and lovely green foliage. The perfect wildflower for middle of the border.

Eupatorium altissimum (Tall Boneset).
August 2011 photo in my meadow garden.

Eupatorium altissimum (Tall Boneset) is native to many states from the Midwest to the East; from as far south as Texas and Florida and as far north as Canada. That's a pretty good track record that covers multiple growing zones from 4 to 9. I'm growing mine in full sun and the plant is tolerant of a variety of soil conditions and moisture.

This native is sometimes called 'white joe pye weed' or 'prairie jewel' and flowers from August until frost. Seeds can be sown in the fall in most areas, so I'll be sure to let this one self-sow. Colder zones may try winter sowing or stem cuttings to propagate.

So why I'm I so afraid to mention this wonderful, white wildflower? The deer. I could find little information on whether or not this plant is deer resistant. So far, they've left this one alone. I rush out every morning to check to see if there has been any damage. I've planted the boneset with asclepias incarnata (native swamp milkweed for the Monarch butterflies), solidago, stipa and a tall garden mum (don't ask why a mum). I hope to show you more photos of eupatorium altissimum as the fall season approaches!

If you are interested in reading more about wildflowers, be sure to check out the blog, Clay and Limestone and join her Wildflower Wednesdays series.

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.

"Super Seeded" Blue Flax

Blue flowers for spring, pretty foliage through summer, repeat bloom in fall—easy to achieve by sowing the seeds of perennial blue flax. This self-sowing perennial is wonderful for dry, sunny gardens. A deer, rabbit and drought tolerant perennial that can be mixed with other perennials as well as annuals.

It is time to order seeds for fall sowing!

Flax is a perfect partner for the blooms of annual poppies, larkspur and cornflowers from April until June in my zone 7b garden. I sow seeds anytime between September through November for spring bloom. I have allowed some of the plants to self-sow and gathered seeds to plant in specific spots in the garden. In 2010, I planted some seeds in summer instead of waiting to the sow the seeds in fall. The foliage sprouted and was evergreen through winter, then bloomed the first time this spring.

If you try to collect seeds, it is a tedious task. Wait until the pods are brown and dry, then you must carefully pull the flat seeds out of the pod. I took the time for the task last year, but now I'm doing the "chop and drop" with the foliage and letting the seeds sow without my help.

Perennial blue flax blooms
with annual California poppy in April 2011.
Seeds for both were planted in autumn in zone 7b.

To keep the foliage looking good through the summer, I cut the flax back by one third. Today, many of my flax plants that bloomed beautifully in spring are beginning to bloom again.

Throughout our days of 100° F and with no supplemental watering, all of my flax plants have survived and thrived. They never look wilted. This is truly a "hell strip" plant for xeric gardens.

Perennials on parade in May 2011:
Salvia 'May Night' (back)
Linum perenne flax (middle)
Agastache 'Cotton Candy' (front)

I grow two varieties of blue flax and have mixed the two so much that I no longer pay attention to the minor differences. Linum narbonense 'Heavenly Blue' (zones 5-9) and linum perenne are both great performers, with the latter growing a bit taller and suitable for zones 4-9.

Flowers open in the morning and drop by noon during the bloom season. You'll have to take a morning garden walk with your camera to capture the beauties in bloom. I recommend sowing the seeds thickly and close together for a mass planting that is sure to please!

Blue flax with another salvia variety.

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.

Temporary Help Needed. Must Withstand Hot Summers.

Cleome is a tall summer annual for filling big spaces.

Temporary help is needed to fill in garden space during the heat of summer. The perfect candidate must be tall, colorful and play well with perennials. Additional skills required include deterring deer and rabbits while attracting hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. A big gap in my deer resistant garden needed a summer filler to add color and height among the foliage of the fall-blooming perennials. The annual, Cleome hassleriana, fit the job description—planted among Joe Pye Weed (native eupatorium purpureum), solidago 'Fireworks', helianthus angustifolius 'First Light', stipa (grass), asclepias incarnata and a tall pink mum. Without cleome, there would be nothing but foliage in the midsection of my front garden during the summer. In spring, rose campion and larkspur provide blooms for this space. When the temperatures rise and the rain is scarce, I can count on cleome to deliver! This is one annual that I don't grow from seeds because I am still developing the space. I buy the tall annual in bloom at a local greenhouse so that I can transplant directly into the summer garden where needed. I don't have a greenhouse to do this myself and I find the price affordable and worthwhile given how barren the garden would look without cleome. These are hybrids (I don't even bother to remember/save the name), so I've not had any self-sowing seedlings pop up. This is three cleome, purchased and planted when already 4 feet tall and blooming. There are five cleome filling in the section of autumn perennials. In the above photo (click to enlarge), you cannot see the three Joe Pye growing between the cleome. The cleome not only provides height and color while waiting for the Joe Pye, it shades the roots of the companion plants, helping to retain moisture in this south-facing garden. I like a mass planting of at least five cleome. Without cleome, there would be a nothing but a low hole of foliage in my summer garden. Cleome bridges this gap from June until August, when the late summer flowers take over until frost. As for maintenance, I provide water only when the cleome leaves droop. There are no supporting stakes around the cleome, and while they are packed in among perennials, I've not noticed any need for support of these strong plants. Colorful, carefree and cheap. Deer, drought and rabbit resistant. I'll use cleome for temporary garden help every summer! Cleome shines in the middle of bee balm in late June. View is looking uphill from the garden path. View looking downhill. Foliage of amsonia hubrichtii (spring bloom) below. 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: Pow Wow Prairie Sun Evolution

Back to Front:

Echinacea purpurea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry'

Salvia farinacea 'Evolution'

Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' (not quite)

Yellow, purple and raspberry—a combination of color and form so stunning that I wish I had thought of it! Actually, I did plant something very similar and there are a few interesting twists in replicating these blooms in your home garden. I photographed this labeled combination while out and about on one of my day trips around North Carolina and hope that my similar combination will look as lovely when mature.

The echinacea, salvia and rudbeckia are all seed-grown plants. As such, the seeds may not always produce the plants to match the photo on the packets nor images you find in searching online. I am growing rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' with echinacea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' and salvia farinacea 'Victoria (instead of 'Evolution' as shown in the photo).

Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' (maybe)
perennial zones 5-10
full sun

In my case, my 'Prairie Sun' blooms look just like those in the inspiration photo above—brown-eyed susans. My seed packet showed a green eye, instead of a brown eye. If you've grown 'Prairie Sun' from seeds, did you get the green eye or the brown eye? I'd love to know.

At any rate, I still love these sunny plants, no matter what color the eyes! I cut these susans to bring indoors and the blooms last and last and last. These susans behave like annuals, such as zinnias. The more I cut, the more branching and blooms I get in the garden.

The deer have nibbled a few blooms out in the garden. However, the plants have continued to produce lots of blooms and the deer are now ignoring the new flowers, so I'm not unhappy with the deer tolerance test. I've not noticed the rabbits eating these susans (and they love to eat the rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm').

This rudbeckia variety is definitely drought-tolerant. I've not seen any wilting in the heat and I'm rating these as preferable over the fulgida type. The susans in the most direct sun have reached three feet before I cut them back. The ones in part shade have remained under two feet.  The Goldfinch love to eat the seeds and I do expect considerable self-sowing. That's okay with me!

Echinacea purpurea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry'

Echinacea purpurea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry'
perennial zones 3-8
full sun

I'm still waiting for my echinacea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' to bloom as they were grown from seeds in a local greenhouse. Unless sown early, coneflowers tend to bloom in the second season when starting from seeds. The leaves on this echinacea are huge and rough compared to other varieties that I've tried—'Prairie Splendor', 'Ruby Star', 'White Swan', 'Sundown' and others. The deer and rabbits haven't eaten the leaves so far. Not a tall coneflower, it should stay around two feet in height.

The 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' that I've seen in bloom are indeed impressive, so I have high hopes for similar blooms in 2012. My 'Prairie Splendor' in my cottage garden were under vole attack over the winter and I've been unable to find more plants, though I do have seedling replacements coming up for next year. I am hoping that 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' will be as wonderful as 'Prairie Splendor'.

Salvia farinacea 'Evolution'
perennial zones 9-11

The salvia in the inspiration is 'Evolution', a perennial in warm zones of 9-11. I am growing salvia farinacea 'Victoria' that overwintered for me here in zone 7b from 2010. I have 'Victoria' growing in multiply locations in my garden—out in the open garden on the east, south and southwest as well as protected in a warmer microclimate in my cottage garden. The blooms on 'Victoria' are heavy in early summer, then after deadheading, I'm waiting for the second flush. In 2010, the 'Victoria' looked great in late summer and fall.

The 'Victoria' have been reliably deer, rabbit and drought resistant in my garden. If the plant needs water, you'll know by the drooping leaves. The plant perks up quickly after watering.


Whether or not you select the same varieties, I do believe this inspiration can easily be replicated in color and form with similar plants.

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.

Wine Cups Runneth Over the Garden

Callirhoe involucrata (Poppy Mallow or Wine Cups)
blooms resemble California Poppies.

A cascading perennial that blooms all summer is a delight indeed. Add low-maintenance, full sun and drought-tolerance and the "got to try it" score is even higher.

Dainty, delicate wine-red cups of callirhoe involucrata (Poppy Mallow or Wine Cups)  opening on lacy foliage give little indication that this plant that can take on hot conditions in zones 3-9. With a long taproot, try to plant this perennial in a permanent location. The seeds can self-sow in the garden, so watch out if the behavior is unwanted or your garden will runneth over with the wine cups! I've yet to have this problem because...

I've got rabbits! Added in summer 2010, I first planted the wine cups on the path side of the stream-side garden bed. However, the rabbits munched it down to almost nothing! Disappointed, I moved the plant so that it tumbles toward the water—a precarious place for rabbits unless they have acrobatic talent. As an extra precaution, I've been spraying rabbit repellent on the plant.

Companions to wine cups (front, left) include:
salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue' (front, right)
salvia greggii 'Diane' (left, behind wine cups)

The color of the blooms works so well with the other players in my cottage garden. The wine cups scramble over my ground-cover thyme and around purple sedum, lamb's ear, salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue' and salvia greggii 'Diane'. The 'Diane' bloom color is a near-perfect match to the wine cups. Soon, the gaillardia 'Grape Sensation' blooms will open to add another splash of wine to the monochromatic matches.

The bloom not only looks like a Eschscholzia californica (California poppy), but behaves the same way with blooms closed in early morning only to open up as the day warms; then closing again for the night.

This Missouri native wildflower makes a pretty cottage, rock, or xeric garden plant that's worth keeping the rabbits away. I'm committed to doing my best to protect the blooms for enjoyment from now until autumn frosts!

"Wine cups" blooms begin in May; zone 7b with full sun.
The native wildflower perennial blooms off and on until autumn frosts.

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: A Quince of a Different Color

Native to the slopes of Mount Fuji in Japan, the beautiful flowering quince (chaenomeles japonica) 'Atsuya Hamada' boasts deep maroon-red blooms in spring. The camellia-like blooms heavily embellish almost every branch of this shrub.

Most quince varieties that I have seen lean toward white, salmon pink to orange shades—whereas the deep red of this quince is almost black-red. My photo below (click to enlarge) was taken in the middle of the day with strong sun and no shade.

chaenomeles japonica 'Atsuya Hamada'
at the JC Raulston Arboretum,
Raleigh, NC; March 2011.

I spotted this gorgeous shrub on a spring walk through the JC Raulston Arboretum (click link for more photos of this quince) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Never having seen this shrub, I searched the Web for more information on the growing conditions.

The quince will grow up to 10 feet in height and is suitable for cold up to zone 5. It was introduced to the United States by Northwest plantsman, Roy Davidson. Fruit can take years to appear.

So far, I've not been able to find online retail nursery sources, but I did find this at a local nursery. I didn't bring it home as I don't yet have a space identified. That said, I am definitely keeping this on my list of possibilities. Quince is seldom bothered by deer unless the herd is without other food sources.

If you don't have deer to nibble tulips—can you imagine this quince with perfectly coordinated masses of tulips? Inspiring!

Tulips, as seen in Monet's Gardens in France,
would be perfect companions with this quince.

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 Delicious Crepe Myrtle

Crepe myrtle 'White Chocolate'
in August 2010

A scorching summer doesn't deter the blooms of crepe myrtle, a "go-to" tree for southern gardeners. There are three varieties of crepe (crape) myrtle in my garden, but 'White Chocolate' is my favorite for mixing with perennials.

I stumbled upon this unusual variety in 2006. This year, the blooms are fabulous and have been going strong for a month.

'White Chocolate' is a cultivar selected by Dr. Michael Dirr, University of Georgia, Athens. Rated for zones 7-9, this is a moderate grower to 8 feet high and wide.

Although 'White Chocolate' is a difficult crepe myrtle cultivar to find, it is listed with Monrovia. (Their website allows you to search for garden centers in your area that carry their brand.)

Once established, this tree is drought-tolerant. It is also deer resistant. Japanese Beetles will chew on any crepe myrtle, but the damage is less as the trees grow larger.

The dark burgundy foliage of 'White Chocolate' is especially beautiful when it first emerges in the spring. As the season progresses, it is more bronze-burgundy, but never fades in the strong sunlight. The autumn color is brilliant and in winter, the bark is interesting. The summer blooms are white, but the burgundy and pink tones make it a good color to use with pink or blue blooms of perennials such as agastache, nepeta, echinops and caryopteris.

I shape 'White Chocolate' like a shrub instead of a tree, but pruning must be done with careful consideration—as with all crepe myrtles, you take responsibility when you grow one of these lovely trees, so please don't commit crepe murder!

Crepe myrtle 'White Chocolate'
behind agastache 'Salmon & Pink'

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.

Agastache for August Blooms

Agastache for August color. There are at least
six varieties in this photo and multiples of those.

The hottest summer on record may also end up as one of the most colorful. The drought-tolerant agastache, the primary perennials in my garden are turning out a stellar performance! Recent rains revived the garden, making this the most colorful August yet for the deer resistant garden, established in 2007.

Labeled as agastache 'Black Adder' but it looks
a lot like 'Purple Haze' which I also grow. Zones 6-9.

Agastache 'Heatwave' lives up to its name.
(background includes purple fountain grass
and foliage of perennial blue flax). Zones 5-10.

Agastache 'Salmon & Pink' is my oldest variety that
started out in the cottage garden in 2005.
It rules the deer resistant garden. Zones 6-10.

Agastache 'Blue Fortune' held on to its color
better this year. Could it be that it liked
the supplemental watering? Or, has it matured? Zones 5-9.

Agastache 'Summer Love' plants provided by
Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. Zones 6-9.

Agastache 'Cotton Candy' has been in bloom since April.
Plants provided by Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. Zones 6-9.

In other areas of the garden, I grow 'Golden Jubilee', 'Navajo Sunset', 'Summer Sky', 'Heather Queen', 'Purple Pygmy', 'Summer Glow' and 'Coronado'. I may have even forgotten at least one! Deer, rabbit and disease resistant and drought tolerant. Loved by butterflies, bees and hummingbirds—It doesn't get any better in the heat of summer in full sun.

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 Combination: Blue Salvia and Yellow Coreopsis

Coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'
and salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'

Blue and yellow blooms partner well for a delightful color combination, especially in the heat of the summer. Finding the right shades can be a challenge. Many yellow flowers look gold and many blue flowers look purple. This section of my garden was another makeover in the fall of 2009. I rearranged plants and added a few new ones.

Coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'
begins blooming in July

At the "core" of my yellow, blue and burgundy garden area is Coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'. I adore this tall, hardy coreopsis. It begins blooming in midsummer for my zone 7b garden, but it doesn't stop until after a few frosts.

'Redshift' starts out a lovely butter yellow with a burgundy eye. As the weather cools in autumn, the burgundy slowly bleeds into the yellow for a peach-yellow to burgundy bloom. I like the shifting colors, but the fresh yellow blooms are at their loveliest right now.

I purchased gallon pots of this coreopsis in 2009 to skip ahead to a mature mass planting. Sometimes, I have no patience! I bought all that the nursery had at the time (four pots), but there are so many blooms, I ignored the "plant in odd numbers" rule. I planted all four in a square that looks like one big mass of yellow when in bloom.

Grow this coreopsis in zones 4-8 in full sun and well-drained soil. My plants are easily 36" high. This coreopsis almost resented the supplemental water that I provided during the worst of the dry heatwave this summer. Tough perennial! There has been no deer or bunny browsing.

I really wanted to use salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' as a companion. I grow so many clumps of this salvia and had planned to transplant, but they emerged so late (almost June), that I lost patience (and hope), purchasing salvia 'Victoria Blue' instead. I have now marked a large clump of 'Black & Blue' to divide in the cottage garden to transplant in spring 2011.

I also added a salvia guaranitica 'Omaha Gold' behind the coreopsis. That one has variegated foliage and dark blue blooms, but it isn't large enough at this point to be noticeable. I bought only one 'Omaha Gold' until I see if it overwinters.

Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'

Back to 'Victoria Blue'. I will never be without this salvia again! Although it may not overwinter here since it is rated for zones 7b-11, I have a good source from a greenhouse grower where I can buy it in large flats at a great price. It took this salvia awhile (June) to start blooming since I purchased small plants.

Although the deer and rabbits haven't eaten any of the blooms, some gardeners report that it may be munched when food is scarce.

'Victoria Blue' is a great height (18 inches) to use in front of taller perennials. My advice is to plant the salvia close together, about 6-8 inches apart for the best look. They don't seem to mind, and the results are far better than the recommended spacing of 12 inches.

If you are inclined to add burgundy to the color scheme, I'm using purple fountain grass and gaillardia 'Burgundy'. The gaillardia is unfortunately planted in the shade of the coreopsis! I am going to have to do some rearranging to get more blooms on the gaillardia. The fountain grass, an annual here, is a fabulous companion. I used just one to try the look and have decided that it is "the" best to go with the coreopsis and salvia, given the midsummer peak blooms that last well into fall.

Note the purple fountain grass on the left side
to add a touch of burgundy. The volunteer orange
cosmos has been pulled after seeing it in this photo!

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.

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.