Sunday, September 20, 2009

From seed to bloom first season - perennials

The new perennial bed is filling in with the plants that I grew from seeds this spring. It will take a couple of years until everything really has settled in and is able to block out most weeds, but I am quite happy (for now) - many of my plants have bloomed this first season:
The verbenas, poppies and daisies were the first to start blooming, already before they were transplanted to the garden.
The white poppy (papaver anomalum 'Album') is still blooming, but most of the plants are quite small and I hope that they will get stronger, larger by next summer.
Brazilian verbena (verbena bonariensis) has put up a non-stop show and I just love their colour and airy structure.
- and so do the Monarch butterflies.
Daisies have always been some of my favourite flowers - I would just wish that they had a much longer blooming time. I chose this double shasta daisy (leucanthemum maximum 'Crazy Daisy') and this first year their blooming season has been quite long, mostly because the individual plants decided to start blooming at different times.
This beautiful agastache (agastache foeniculum) also started it's purplish-blue flowers early in the summer - but ONE DAY AFTER we had this summer's heaviest rain they all died, drowned. My frantic digging of trenches didn't save these and a few more plants - darn!
Sitting right in the middle of the lowest spot and with their feet in water were the sneezeweed (helenium flexuosum) their happy little faces glowing. I'll ad some more heleniums next year to help fill in the bare spots in the bed.

Saved by the trench were the native Giant Blue Lobelia (lobelia siphilitica). A couple of them died, but most came back from their drooping state after I dug the trench.

Another native (you find it everywhere around the countryside this time of the year) the aster (aster puniceus) has bloomed and is now producing large amounts of seeds that will be spread by the wind.
Butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) bloomed although the plants are very, very tiny. After the butterfly larvaes have been there, there isn't much left - hopefully enough to carry the plants over till next year.
I didn't really expect any of the echinaceas to bloom this year, but the white variety Alba (echinacea purpurea 'Alba') has turned out a few blooms - although I have left them in small nursery pots to be transplanted to the garden soon. Looks like it was not just seeds from Alba in that envelope from the seed company.
With a little luck - and lots of work - I'll be able to post some beautiful images of the perennial bed next year.

5 comments:

  1. Oh Lene this is just great! Wow you started these all from seed!!?? Fantastic! I have the verbena here and yes it's a great butterfly magnet! My other favorite is the Helenium. You must have really enjoyed your visit with Yvonne. I wish I could spend time in both your beautiful gardens!

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  2. you must be an extremely patient person to have grown all those beautiful plants from seed. congratulations. no doubt...these perennials will reward you for years to come.
    irena

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  3. Thank you for the comments, Eve and Irena.
    I admit that it was a lot of work to "raise" those plants, but I hope that in a couple of years, I'll be rewarded.
    Lene

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  4. Wow, great post. I remember well the patience needed to grow perennials from seed. Nice butterfly shot - it looks like your photography lessons are paying off.

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  5. Thanks, Yvonne. Your comment - coming from a pro - is much appreciated.
    Lene

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