April 14, 2011

perennial favorites - redux

The Meadowbrook Farmer and I have been out working in the garden this week. We did absolutely no fall clean-up last year and so we are paying the price now. Leaves everywhere, nasty, crispy flower stalks half bent over. Weeds, weeds and more weeds. It is fun though, to see the perennials popping up here and there, knowing their gorgeous glory days are right around the corner.

I thought I'd re-post my list of favorite perennials in honor of their amazing ability to survive these very long, very cold Montana winters.

Is it cheating to re-post? I hope it's not cheating to re-post.

This was written last March when all my plants were still in full lock-down mode.

Ready? Let's dream some summertime flower dreams together.

Perennial Favorites - from March 1, 2010

Are you making your garden plans yet? I know we still have a way to go, but I have just started really thinking about what I'm going to be doing in the garden this year. Flower successes that I'll repeat again, and things I'd like to change. I'm making lists of seeds, and thinking about bare spots that need filling in the perennial bed.

Bleeding Heart is one of the very first bloomers in my garden. They are so pretty and old fashioned. Last year, we planted some white ones too, and I can't wait to see how they do this spring.


Hardy geraniums are one of my very favorites. Some varieties get huge, leggy and out of control, but this one, Birch's Double, is one of a few varieties that know how to behave.


Peonies. Good gracious, the peonies. I always want to bring bouquets inside, but mine are absolutely filled with ants. I'm always afraid I'll wake up the next morning to find the kitchen crawling with the little buggers.


Dianthus. Pinks. Whatever you call them, they are a treat. Their sweet smell is so fresh and a little bit spicy. Yum.


Black Eyed Susans are everywhere in my herb garden where pretty much anything goes as far as color. Nice because they bloom a bit later in the season after most other perennials are done.


Delphiniums are quite possibly my favorite perennial ever. They have a couple strikes against them where I live, the deer love them and the wind can topple them, but they are so worth the hassle. And usually if you're a flower in my garden you have to be able to totally fend for yourself or you're outta here. Not delphiniums though. I'm willing to coddle those baby blues a bit. They're the favorite child. Shhh. Don't tell.


I'm very torn about what to do with my hollyhock patch. When they are good, they are great, but more often than not, the foliage gets very nasty looking and the ugliness overpowers the beautiful blooms.


Last year I vowed to tear them all out, but of course now I want to give them a second chance. All of my fall tough talk is gone. The birds sing, the bee's buzz, and I am deluded once again, that this year my hollyhocks will be beautiful for more than five minutes.


Another later summer bloomer is Purple Coneflower. It took a long time for me to really start liking this plant, but it blooms till frost, and you just can't say that about your average joe perennial. That reason alone earns it a spot in my heart.


There are many, many new varieties of Coneflower, and I have tried quite a few of them. Big Sky Sundown is a great color and fades to a pretty pinky orange. Very fun.


I could ramble on forever about ye olde garden, but at some point I should probably wrap up and save some for another day. A few last favorites....


Columbine, Sidalcea and Trollius.

As you can see, the "less is more" philosophy has no place in my garden. When it comes to flowers, more is more. That's my story, and I'm stickin to it.

Every year I try at least one new thing. What are the must have perennials in your garden?

Be an enabler and share your favorites.

50 comments:

  1. Those hollyhocks are a vision! I don't seem to have much luck with them. They don't want to bloom here. My garden is already lush and full, but this is East Texas, of course!
    Brenda

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  2. Dear Teresa, how I love it when I turn on my computer and you are at the top of my bloglist with a new post. Your pictures and words always make me smile: )

    A must have in my garden are hollyhocks! They are dear to my heart for my daddy gave me my first seeds. He loved hollyhocks, and though he is gone from this earth, his hollyhocks continue year after year and I always think of him and feel he is with me in my garden every time I look at them. sigh

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  3. I am a perennial lover so my list could get really long. I'm with you on the dianthus...they are my workhorse in the garden and my favorite weeder crowder. As for delphiniums, oh how I love em and foxglove. Here in SoCal they need part shade and plenty of water but they are worth the splurge. Peruvian lilly and roses round out my favorites but don't tell the lavender because they hold a special place in my heart, too. On a side note, I just took my first pictures in manual mode and hope to post them this weekend. I'm in love with my camera and ready for the next lesson, teach...I'll shoot you a line when I post the pictures. :)

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  4. More is more in my garden too, but it's usually the weeds! LOL You have the same list of favorites as I do. I love that Geranium - I'll be looking for that one at the garden center this year!

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  5. I agree with "jewelsinthegarden" who said, "how I love it when I turn on my computer and you are at the top of my bloglist with a new post. Your pictures and words always make me smile: )"...


    Amen and Amen.

    Theresa, your photos are amazing... so are your gardens along with all of your flowers. You and I have a kindred spirit when it comes to fav's.

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  6. Hi Teresa, Absolutely love your flowers and so many of your favorites are mine as well. Delpiniums are one of my favorites, foxglove and Cosmos. I am still learning what will grow here in northern Colorado, I love Bleeding Heart but they are a bit more tempermental and Dianthus-yep gotta have it. Also lillys and Russian Sage.
    Thanks for re-sharing this-I missed it the first time.
    Noreen

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  7. I am so glad you re-posted. I like them all- have a few in my garden, and now have a better idea of what I need to add.
    kim

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  8. Seriously, you need to publish a book on this stuff! Your gardens AMAZE me. I have to do a whole new landscape plan this year. We have nothing. Not one bush, not one flower. Nada. We tore everything out, and now I can't help but wonder "what the heck did I do??". Can you come over?? Pretty please? ;o)

    Mary

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  9. I absolutely adore your pictures of your perennials. Thank you for sharing!

    Pam

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  10. Soooo.... if this is a "re post" I gotta ask what the final vote was for the Hollyhocks?? How did they do in 2010? Will they be returning for 2011? I love them, especially the double varieties but I too struggle with "rust" on them... I just cut off the ugly leaves :)

    I really enjoy your fabulous garden photos, they really do inspire me! And I agree that more is more!!

    ~Chris

    PS I've heard that ants like peonies because of the sugary sap like substance they produce... it's good sign but I agree, they'd probably set up a colony in my flour bin or something!

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  11. I'm glad you re-posted because I'm new to your blog. We have black walnuts that make planting difficult, but the coneflowers thrive even underneath them - I'm really glad to know about the Big Sky color!

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  12. Beautiful garden you have there! I can't believe you have that lush of a garden in MONTANA! Mine is always a work in progress, that takes a lot of work! Love all those pinks too.

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  13. My garden is starting to grow here in Colorado! Finally! My peonies are my favorite by far. I've heard they don't flower unless the ants are all over them, although I don't know if this is true. I just planted some hollyhocks last year and can't wait to see what they do this year. Your pictures are beautiful! Such fun to look at.

    ~Shanon

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  14. Oh Peonies are one of my favorites but I don't have any in my garden. Love everything you have shown. Your gardens make my heart go pitter patter.

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  15. Oh you are killing me with those beautiful pictures!! My favorites are daisy's! All varieties!! But I do have a soft spot for cone flowers and peonies as well. Pretty much anything that is pink! :)

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  16. Oh to take a walk in your garden...I doubt I would ever leave!

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  17. Thank you so much for this post! We have been looking for perennials for our garden. We made the mistake the first year in our house of planting all annuals and yes it was pretty but a total waste of money!!! I love peonies. What do you do to make yours so healthy?

    http://lifeofasoutherncouple.blogspot.com/

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  18. I love all of the flowers you mentioned, especially coneflowers and peonies. Balloon flowers and coreopsis moombeam are kind of fun perenials. Have you planted those? I'm sure you have...just look at your beautiful gardens for goodness sake! I miss gardening so much. I even love to weed (you want me to come over now, don't you?).

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  19. Hi Teresa,
    Well our garden is a blank slate at this point. Other than 3 freshly planted hosta's and 2 ferns we're starting from scratch. One part of the garden is in the shade and the other is sunny so I'm having fun trying to figure out what I want to put 'where'. For sure I'm planting a climbing hydrangea on the shady arbor and at least one bleeding heart along with more hostas in the shade under the trees. On the sunny side I'm hoping to plant hydrangeas and at least one climbing rose will be planted to grow along the picket fence. The roses will be from David Austin...I miss the ones I left in the city! Oh...I'd also like to plant some Shasta Daisies and a rhododendron and Columbine. OH heck there's so many others that I love but I'll have to do it over a couple of years or more. I LOVE your photo's and your gardens...just gorgeous. You have a beautiful yard. Enjoy your Friday!
    Maura :)

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  20. Can I move in? It's so beautiful.

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  21. Oh, Teresa! Please take a trip to Pa to help me garden! I'll come do some wedding hair! Deal? Try as I may, My thumb is brown! I am getting a little better each year, but my garden for the twelve years we've lived here has been trial an error. I buy something that looks pretty, and it either gets overgrown and takes over or it is pretty for only a short time in the season and ugly the rest. I want flower beds with color all season long and I just can't figure it out! Yours is beautiful!!

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  22. Gorgeous!! I would love to come visit Meadowbrook Farm...dreamy!!

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  23. Daisies...really, I know it isn't dramatic or exciting but daisies are my favorite. They just bloom so stinking long, they are so happy dancing about in the yard. I love you daisies, now hurry up and peak your pretty little heads out of the ground...I'm waiting...

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  24. Definitely not cheating! I love your beautiful garden!

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  25. I know what you mean about the hollyhocks. It's a love/hate relationship. I planted them because I remember that my grandmother had them beside her garden fence. I love delphiniums but we can't grow them here in the South Carolina heat and humidity. My favorite perennial has to be foxgloves although the ones I planted last year have not returned.

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  26. Lovely - I am sooo anxious for summer and all the flowers to bloom. Not sure I can pick a favorite as so many prety ones. I really like lavendar but don't think that counts as a flower.

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  27. Oh so beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

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  28. Hi Teresa! Oh my, your garden is gorgeous. I would love to have a garden like that someday. I too have never had good luck with hollyhocks, yours are beautiful!

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  29. Love your garden Teresa....and the pictures are amazing.....I bet it is unbelievable in person! I love all the fav's you mentioned. I was going to start some holly hocks this year,but was concerned about how tired they can look.....I think I might try the miniture ones....here...
    http://springhillnursery.com/brilliant-miniature-hollyhock/p/74523/

    Love to see more of your garden...Andrea
    AndeM1@hotmail.com

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  30. My holllyhocks were rusty and ugly too, but my friend Nancy shared a hollyhock saver recipe that I included in my book Trowel & Error. It is organic and it WORKS...now my hollyhocks are perfect and I (and the hummers and bumblebees) love them.

    All joys,

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a little Green Island

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    Replies
    1. I have a few of your books Sharon,- 'roots, shoots, buckets and boots' , ' A Blessing of Toads' and 'Sunflower Houses' love them! Need to get 'Trowel & Error' now :)

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  31. ANYthing that absolutely gorgeous cannot be bad to re-post!!

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  32. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Your pictures are those that make us all wish we lived in magazines. My must haves? I love my allium as you know, but I really like roses. I have two different varieties of Buck hardy roses from heirloomroses.com and they have been true to their description - no pampering. I just don't know why people garden if they don't have at least one rose to stop and smell!

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  33. I love daylilies, especially pink ones. One of the best things about them is that they don't seem to be loved by bugs...and you don't have to stake them up.

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  34. I need to be on the lookout for that hardy geranium. That is a stunner! Beautiful photos!

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  35. Love it all! I have a passion for gardening and every year can hardly wait to get out and walk the grounds to see my favorites popping up. I live in Utah and mine are just now getting big and bushy. Delphiniums are my all time fav's! I also love pasque flower(which is the first to bloom in my garden), sweet peas, and oriental poppies. I planted some white ones last year and I too am anxiously awaiting them to show their little faces.

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  36. Love them ALL! But the pink peonies and the blue delphiniums are definitely favorites for me. It looks like you have a very "green thumb" and everything grows wonderfully for you:) Have a Blessed Easter!

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  37. This is my very first visit to your blog! Where have you been all my blogging life?! I loved this post, and your photos are stunning! I just took some pictures this morning around the yard to post for Ms GreenThumb Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday post...but after seeing your pictures, I think I need to go back and redo mine...or maybe I could send everyone over here to this link and claim your gardens as mine? Everything is beautiful! I now have you on my reader.

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  38. Shasta daisies are one of my favorite perennials. And I never met a blue flower that I didn't like; be it hydrangea, pansy, lupine; it doesn't matter if it's blue. Question: Do you start all of those beautiful coneflowers from seeds?

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  39. Thanks for reposting this one! If it were up to me, there would be no grass, just miles and miles of flowers and beautiful foilage! Im glad you mantioned the problem with hollyhocks, because I have been tempted to try them. I don't like anything that has lame foilage and would have been disapointed in the rust problem! I love discovering new things that can thrive in the hot, humid, windy, windy, windy Kansas summers, so some of your picks won't work here,but I love seeing them in your garden!

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  40. Beautiful pictures, I'm SO happy Spring is on the way. I always love a visit to your blog, it's always uplifting and inspirational, thanks so much for sharing!
    Mary

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  41. Just got home from Texas, where
    I enjoyed some inspiration at the
    San Antonio Botanical Gardens : )
    As you can imagine, it was a wee
    bit of a shock to the system to come
    home to new snow melting on the
    ground! My trip made me realize that
    I.must.have COSMOS this year!! I
    also love coneflowers.....and if you
    don't have Autumn Clematis, you
    should; it blooms in late September
    when everything else is looking
    pretty fried. Thanks for the tour, R!
    xx Suzanne
    PS: I also enjoyed your photo Q&A.

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  42. I love lots of the same perennials as you! This time of year is like greeting old friends when out clearing the winter debris. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos!
    Gina

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  43. Hollyhocks are my favorite. Last year my gardener {aka husband} dusted them for japanese bettles and they did better but alas I have the same dilemma as you, they are perect for an oh too short time.

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  44. I love a cottage garden with plants like hollyhocks and delphiniums,hydrangeas,cone flowers and peonies and here you have them all so gorgeous everyone of them. I have been told that the ants help the peony open weird I know just dump them in a bucket of water heads first that gets rid of them.

    I know am late to this party so Happy Mothers Day.

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  45. Late comment to your lovely post. As for my favorite perennials, they are the ones the gophers, ground squirrels, gray squirrels, goldfinches, and deer don't eat until there is just a stub. That is not a giant list. I understand the term "Please don't eat the daisies".

    But I do enjoy living a vicarious garden life though your wonderful pictures.

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  46. So glad I stumbled across your blog on accident....was looking at google images of Hollyhocks and yours was the prettiest "grouping" picture I could find to add to my pinterest page for plants that I can grow back here in MT. What a surprise that you are in MT too. I have been here for 6 years now and trying to figure out what I can grow here perennial wise that will grow back without freezing. I already have a lily, a bleeding heart, tulips, clematis, lilacs, yarrow and a few things I have yet to identify that have been growing here every year in our yard... but this year I added peonies ( my favorite), hastas, dahlias - I planted them ( from tubers) this spring and they took off wonderfully ( not sure if they will come back here or if I have to dig them up - but I did discover that pincher bugs/earwigs love them too ),and another favorite- Chinese poppies - love their huge gorgeous blooms I found out this spring that they survive & come back here! Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden pictures!

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  47. Oh!!! Have a question for you. I tried to grow some Ranunculus (asiaticus Pink) ( they vie for my favorite with peonies) from tubers this year here in MT but only managed to get one out of the twenty (I planted outside in the spring) to come up but it never went past the sad green shrubby part. I don't have a greenhouse so I have no clue if they would do well starting out that way. Have you tried them here at all? if not, could you, would you, pretty please? to see how they do in this part of the world? :)

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  48. Your garden is beautiful. We planted our first perennial garden this year and the delphinium really make it shine. I was surprised when they had another late summer bloom. Wonderful blog.

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