Comment

Comment by Hilary Homer on August 26, 2009 at 3:21pm

For shade plants, my favorites are lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) and columbine (Aquelegia). LOTV has nice green foliage that stays lush all summer. Columbine has scallopy leaves that look pretty when the plant isn't in flower, and you can have pretty much any color you want. A cream-colored variety has naturalized in my backyard and I love it. I don't have any myself, but I hear good things about carpet bugleweed (Ajuga reptans), esp. 'Chocolate Chip.' It is a spreading groundcover that grows in shade and can survive under black walnut trees. It has blue-violet and dusky green leaves.
LOTV is also resistant to the black walnut's mischief.

Comment by Mark Sweetland on August 24, 2009 at 11:55pm

Yes, Sara's is the best place around for perennials. Don't know why I didn't think of it, except when you said locally, I thought within a 15-minute drive. Anyone who has never been there, go this fall, a wonderful time for planting perennials. And consider going a bit further down the road, to Hurd Orchards, for apples and much more.

Comment by Jay Ross on August 20, 2009 at 7:43pm

This just in from Jackie:
"Yes - it was Sarah's Garden Center. She is a Kepler (sp?) - Remember Kepler's on Chili where Hess and car wash are now? Her first name is actually Cathy I think. Michael Warren Thomas has more info. They are a great garden center, with plants for our growing region, and I believe they grow most of the product they sell. They are west of here, maybe Brockport. Top quality."

Comment by Mark Sweetland on August 19, 2009 at 10:38pm

From Horticulture Magazine, the top 5 native perennials:

NATIVE PERENNIALS

69. Lily • Lilium
Canada lily L. canadense • L. catesbaei • Oregon lily L. columbianum • Michigan lily L. michiganense • leopard lily L. pardalinum • L. parryi • wood lily L. philadelphicum • Turk's cap lily L. superbum • Shasta lily L. washingtonianum

70. Bee balm • Monarda
M. bradburyana • bee balm M. didyma • wild bergamot M. fistulosa • western wild bergamot M. menthifolia • horsemint M. punctata

71. Prickly pear • Opuntia
eastern prickly pear O. humifusa • chain-link cactus O. imbricata • plains prickly pear O. macrorhiza • starvation cholla O. polyacantha • sheathed cholla O. tunicata var. davisii • O. whipplei

72. Beardtongue • Penstemon
200+ species, including P. ambiguus • P. angustifolius • P. barbatus • P. digitalis • P. eatonii • P. nitidus • P. palmeri • P. pinifolius • P. procerus • P. strictus

This is in answer to a question Joanne asked at our last meeting. My vote was with Bee Balm, before I even looked at this!

Comment by Mark Sweetland on August 19, 2009 at 10:08pm

Yes, Wendy, Bee Balm is one of the most wonderful perennials for full sun, or even partial sun. A link is attached: http://www.paghat.com/beebalmjacobkline.html

Comment by Mark Sweetland on August 19, 2009 at 12:04am

Best Perennial--- Joanne and all, a suggestion for full sun and low maintenence, such as where the irises are in the Thurston/Ravenwood community garden: Bee Balm (or Monarda, as also known.) This is in response to our last meeting, where you asked for a list of 10. My other suggestions are Black-eyed Susans, or Coreopsis. All bloom until frost once they start. My fave is Bee Balm, a member of the mint family. Flowers attract bees of course, and hummingbirds love them. Jacob Kline is a popular one that I have had for 25 years. (Cline? sp.?) They do not fail to come up and they spread lightly but without fail. Bee Balm if deadheaded will also send up additional side flowers. They come up from the roots each year, and if not deadheaded, will also reseed. They are a wonderful summer plant. Jacob Kline is a red variety, but there are others. In fact, the photo at the top of the page that I use for an icon is Bee Balm.

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