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.

Lush Foliage with White Berries

Nandina domestica 'Alba'
November 15 2011

With the arrival of cool autumn days, creamy white berries drop in weighty clusters on nandina domestica 'Alba'. This variant sport may be difficult to locate in nurseries, but should you stumble upon it, it's a great cultivar.

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.

The poor little deer-devoured nandina
(now beside the stone corner column)
deserved to be protected. November 2011.

Given another chance, the nandina
is underplanted with ajuga repans 'Chocolate Chip'.
November 2011.

The second nandina replaced a large 'Royal Red' buddleia that was taking up too much space within the confines of the cottage garden. I have an abundance of buddleia in the deer resistant gardens, so I won't miss the shrub that I removed.

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.

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.

Favorite Combination: Fragrant Phlox and Lily

A little rearranging and tweaking of existing plants evolved into a favorite combination. Inspired by lilies combined with monarda, I tucked my oriental 'Starfighter' lily up against my monarda (bee balm) 'Raspberry Wine' to replicate the garden inspiration. The two create a color echo with the raspberry color of the bee balm echoed by the throat of the lily.

In April, I transplanted 'Starfighter' to the new location. It is related to 'Stargazer' and that variety will provide a similar look. Oriental lilies are best moved from mid-September through mid-October, but moving the lily in the spring didn't deter the bloom.

Knowing that there are no guarantees with bloom times, I hoped for at least a week of overlap of the bee balm and the lily bloom.  The bloom times weren't synchronized but, I was not disappointed with the results because there was another plant that worked just as well!

The lily is fronted by the pure white snowballs of 'David' phlox paniculata and purple coneflowers. This was the first bloom season for the phlox, so the blooms were a bit sparse. That said, 'David' kept blooming and blooming as long as I kept deadheading.

'Starfighter' Lily with 'David' Phlox and
'Prairie Splendor' Echinacea. July 2011.

One month prior to the lily blooms. June 2010.
Monarda 'Raspberry Wine', Phlox 'David, Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor'.
Loropetalum shrub foliage in lower left corner.
(The lily blooms where I've placed my name in the photo.)

My photos of the combination are few because we experienced many days around 100° F during the July blooms. Trust me, the phlox and lily are fabulous companions.

There is another bonus by pairing the 'David' phlox and 'Starfighter' lily. Both are very fragrant and can be cut for flower arrangements.

To replicate variations of my combination, here's the scoop:

Oriental 'Starfighter' Lily; zones 4-9; 36-48" high.
Phlox paniculata 'David'; zones 4-8; 36-48" high.
Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'; zones 4-9; 30-36" high.
Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor'; zones 3-8; 24" high.

I grow all four in full sun in the location shown in my photos. I also grow all four perennial in part shade with success. Rabbits will eat the phlox and echinacea. I have to protect the phlox and coneflowers with rabbit repellent. Deer will eat the phlox and lily, so protect accordingly. This combination is inside my fenced cottage garden.

Wide view shows 'Happy Returns' daylilies,
loropetalum shrub, liatris 'Kobold', perennial heliotrope.

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.

Local Dining: Follow That Food Truck!

Food truck dining is taking the Triangle Area of North Carolina by storm. Foodies make a game of finding new and exciting food trucks. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and late night options are flexible and fun while the prices are reasonable. The Parlour Ice Cream truck parked behind the Chirba Chirba Dumplings Truck. At MotorCo in Durham. Roving diners search out trucks for simple fare, the unusual or to satisfy sweet cravings. Want a homemade pimento cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup? Find the Grilled Cheese Bus. Got a thing for caramel? Try a caramel apple cupcake at Daisy Cakes followed by salted butter caramel ice cream from The Parlour! Chirba Chirba Dumplings Truck. The best thing about dining from a food truck? These are LOCALLY owned and operated. In fact, my husband and I were so impressed by the many young adult owners and operators. If these folks were trying to establish a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, the cost and risk would be high. This new trend is an affordable option for breaking into the restaurant business. These friendly entrepreneurs conjure up beverages, pizzas, sliders, ethnic foods and more. Young culinary artists craft their food with a passion for quality. The results are delicious! The long lines that form outside the trucks are proof of popularity of this new food scene. The epicenter of food trucks is Durham, located west of Raleigh and north of Chapel Hill, between Interstates 40 and 85. While it is easy to find these cities on a map, the trucks are always on the move throughout the entire Triangle area. They often show up in smaller towns such as Hillsborough, Carrboro and Pittsboro. To find the names of trucks to follow on Twitter® use the search term “Durham food trucks.” As food trucks are quickly gaining popularity across all of North Carolina, check Twitter for trucks in the cities where you live or visit. The trucks typically “tweet” their location several hours or days ahead of schedule. Most maintain regular stops, but schedules are subject to change as museums, farmer’s markets, local events and private parties invite the popular food trucks to serve their attendees or guests. If you’re lucky, you may find a “food truck rodeo” or “roundup” where multiple trucks gather at the same place. There is camaraderie among the truck owners who cheerfully recommend other favorite food trucks. The trucks sometimes organize their menus around a theme, such as chocolate! Do you want a spicy, sweet chili chocolate crepe? Really. Parlez-vous Crepe did that! Parlez-vous Crepe was in Carrboro during our visit.  A Sampling of Triangle Area Food Trucks on Twitter®: Bluesky Dining @blueskydiningnc Bulkogi @ncbulkogi Chirba Chirba Dumplings @ChirbaChirba Bike Coffee @bikecoffeedrm Daisy Cakes @daisycakesnc Dang Good Dogs @DangGoodDogs Don’s Classic Ices @donsclassicices Farmhand Foods @farmhandfoods Grilled Cheese Bus  @grilldcheesebus   Indian Food Truck @IndianFoodTruck KoKyu BBQ @KoKyuBBQ Locopops @locopops Onlyburger @onlyburger Parlez-vous Crepe @parlezvouscrepe Pie Pushers @piepushers Slippin Sliders @slippinsliders The Parlour Ice Cream @parlourdurham Valentino Truck @valentinotruck Will and Pops @willandpops Not all Food Trucks are trucks. Bike Coffee set up at Motor Co in Durham. They are going to be pedaling a bike! I received no free food, pay or incentives for writing this story. However, I dined well!  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.

Wild Quinine, A Native Plant

I'm wild about Wild Quinine (parthenium integrifolium) after seeing mass plantings at The Battery Gardens in New York in June 2011. In fact, I was so mesmerized by the tiny white pearl blooms that I failed to take one photo, but found a few on the gardens website!

I returned to do a bit of research and decided that this is a native wildflower to try in my meadow garden for 2012. Quinine is a perennial that blooms in summer. Seed heads can remain over the winter.

zones:  3a-8b

height: 36-38"

light:    low to full sun

soil:      medium

Finding the plants is not impossible, but I decided to try seeds for next year. According to the instructions on my seed packet, it is best to plant quinine in the fall or cold stratify for two to three months. 

Fall sowing has always given me good results as our weather can often turn too hot, too soon in the spring. I'm not one to pamper pots, so I prefer to direct sow into the ground. 

With the moisture from autumn rains and daytime temperatures forecast for 60-70° F for the next two weeks, I'm ready to sow!  I have cleared a section of the garden for a mass planting of the quinine. 

I will add a mix of organic soil, compost and conditioner to the area; rake it smooth; sow the seeds just below the soil line; walk across the area; water with a gentle spray to keep the soil moist.

The test in my garden will be to see whether or not quinine is deer and rabbit resistant and can tolerate the droughts here in zone 7b. I'm optimistic!

Quinine is an attractor for pollinators and food for chickadees, so I'm excited about the birds, bees and blooms for next year.

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.