Nice, surprise

A few nice things for Friday, starting with California poppy blooms!

I'm really excited about these, because it's rare that I actually get these to germinate and bloom. I sprinkle a couple of seed packets every year, but this is the first that I've gotten more than one plant out of them.

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Interesting that of the three beds that I sprinkled the seeds, the plants in the walkway beds are the only ones that grew (or made it to maturity).

I'm hoping this starts a cycle of self-seeding generations so I don't need to figure out the seed timing myself in future years.

Speaking of future years, here's a plant that I hope to have in my garden for years to come: Rudbeckia maxima:

It's just staring to bloom, but it's the height (5'/1.5m or more) and the blue color of the foliage and stems that really gets me!

Although I have one in my garden already, I just purchased another. I've had a hard time getting these to grow from seed.

Another new plant I just added to the garden:

Verbena hastata (American blue vervain, aka swamp verbena) grows as tall as the Rudbeckia maxima, and blooms for most of the summer. Slowly spreads by rhizomes too! I only hope it will get enough water in the prairie beds. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I know I'm surprised at how well the 'Karley Rose' Pennisetum is doing this year:

It's the one on the right behind the purple 'Vertigo', and amazingly, is still upright! This one usually flops over for me.


A short post, as there are only two days left for me to get ready for the Sustainable Backyard Tour on Sunday. If you're a St. Louis-area reader, hope to see you in my garden!

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