Saturday, May 14, 2011

Blue Fescue, Dusty Miller and Euonymus






We all want happy plants. But sometimes I think it would be good if they were a little less enthusiastic.

By early September last year (above), the Fescue (‘Elijah’s Blue’), Dusty Miller and Euonymus (‘Moonshadow’ and ‘Emerald Surprise’) packed the bed in rows of blue, grey, yellow. The dry summer seemed to agree with them. The parched lawn wore its usual dormant brown.

Now it’s time to get ready for a new season. Last year’s growth of Dusty Miller was cut this week. New grey leaves grow from the base.

I will also need to divide some of the Fescue to fill the holes of the grasses that didn’t make it through the winter.


I got a good start on trimming the Euonymus. The shrubs put on a lot of growth last year. I guess I should be happy with their enthusiasm since they have been victims of voles and scale in the past.

I’m looking forward to a bed full of happy plants again this summer.

2 comments:

ARK said...

Love this combo! So dusty miller is a perennial in PA?

Marie said...

Thanks Amy,
Dusty Miller is an annual here in PA. But in my garden I am lucky enough to have them last for years. I don't cut them back in fall which seems to help protect them from the cold. Each spring I replace the few that don't make it through the winter.