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.

The Circle

(Picture from September 2009)

I worked on the circle garden this week. (It’s actually more like a half circle.) I started the idea 10 years ago and wrote about it in 2007.

It is edged with brick and a row of blue fescue (Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'). Although the fescue is supposed to be a sun plant, I think it would keep its color better with a little shade from the hot summer sun. Every spring I comb it with my fingers to remove the old dry growth. The deep blue/green color is great this spring.

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A fluffy row of silvery Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria ‘Silver Dust’) makes up the second row. It is an annual that acts like a perennial in my garden - even after a cold, snowy winter. The new leaves are showing through last year’s growth. I don’t cut the old leaves off too early in the spring. The birds think they like the soft new growth for their nests and sometimes rip the entire plant out of the ground. They look a little ratty right now.

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The third row is the yellow/green of Euonymus (Fortunei ‘Moonshadow’). It hasn’t completely filled in since I lost one to scale several years ago. I wrote about the problems with scale in August last year. The yellow/green is bright this spring.

I’m not sure I’m satisfied with the look but I’m too lazy to start over. Ten years and it’s still a work in progress.

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - November 2008

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(Christmas cactus – earliest of my cacti to bloom, white with a pink tint. )

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In the comments on my October Bloom Day post, HappyMouffetard said, “Welcome to GBBD. It's addictive, and makes you look at your garden with fresh eyes each month.”

She is right. It creates “stop and smell the roses moment.” It is addictive. Another great idea from Carol at May Dreams Gardens. I'm glad I got these pictures taken before the last two days of rain.

(Can you guess the blooms I would not have noticed if it wasn’t for GBBD? HINT: most of them.)

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Deep pink mum – a potted Easter gift - planted in ‘06 and moved in ‘07.

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Yellow mum volunteer – 2nd year.


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Calendula – re-seeds every year. Another reminder of my Grandmother’s garden.

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Sweet alyssum – continues its perfume in the autumn sun.



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Dusty Miller – flower bud removed. Proof in the picture.

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Rose – climber ‘Don Juan’ – the last rose of summer.




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Lamium – Dead Nettle under the locust tree – either ‘Elizabeth de Haas’ or ‘Purple Dragon’

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Nicotiana – another re-seeding annual

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Snap Dragon – stands bravely against the frost.

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Red Azalea – silly shrub thinks it’s spring.

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Also not pictured:
Sedum seiboldii – October Daphne – at the end of it’s color.
Lavender ‘Grosso’ – a few fall blooms.

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Container Plants

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The containers are finally planted! ¾ of the cuttings are in the ground. A week of rain has made trying to plant anything somewhat of an adventure.

Speaking of rain, the big yellow iris is completely schmooshed. The picture was taken a few days ago when the rain-schmooshing was just beginning. It’s sad that we won’t get to enjoy them this year.

I planted some vegetables in containers again – pole beans (Kentucky Wonder) and bush cucumbers (Bush Champion). Last year we had loads of beans. The bush cucumbers got mildewed and didn’t produce much after the first crop. (see 9/8/07 post) It will be interesting to see what happens this year. I'll try less plants to reduce crowding - 2 instead of 4.

I bought two Drip-It Pro watering devices from Gardener’s Supply. Hopefully, they will help keep the plants watered during the summer. I’ll let you know how they work out.

Zinnia (Burpee Candy Cane and Giant Flowering mix) and sweet pea (Burpee Streamers) seeds were planted in the large patio pot. Several other pots got various coleus, impatiens, cana, diamond frost and dusty miller.

The porch pot is a red, white and blue combination – Impatiens ‘Dazzler® Red Star’, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost®’ and a pretty blue plant that was a gift from a friend. I don’t know the name of the blue plant. It reminds me of lobelia. There won’t be much color for Memorial Day but I’m hoping to have a pretty pot by the 4th of July.

I mix the soil in a wheelbarrow and either wheel the soil to the pot or carry it in a bucket. Even though I put a few empty soda cans in the bottom, the pots are too heavy to move when full. Wooden plant dollies are under the pots on the deck.

I use whatever garden/potting soil I can find on sale. I add some soil from my dirt pile, a little sand and a bag of perlite. The mixture is usually light and fluffy.

I’ll be fertilizing with fish emulsion if it ever stops raining. I wish I could save some of this rain for August.

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Garden Clean Up

I took a lap around the yard yesterday. It’s a bit of a mess. A lot of it looks like this.

I don’t have anything that needs pruning immediately so I can work on clean up one section at a time. (Here is a handy pruning schedule from University of Virginia Extension http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nursery/430-462/430-462.html ) Ornamental grasses will have to be cut soon before any more pieces blow around the neighborhood.

I need to get the leaves out of the azaleas, clean up the tulips and crocuses, and trim some left over perennials from last year. Hostas have dead spikes and leaves of mush on the ground. Fortunately, I have paths to work from so I don't have to tromp on the garden.

Bunnies (or something) are munching on the tulips. They have all been sprayed with Liquid Fence. The deer, groundhogs, rabbits and skunks dine on new spring growth and critters in the soil. The birds pick dusty miller for their nests. I won’t cut last year’s dusty growth until June when the new growth is well established. I also use a lot of cayenne pepper in the spring to try to convince the critters to eat something less ornamental. My husband insists they are out there making salsa in the middle of the night.

The hellebores appeared like magic it seems. The purple flowers are ready to open. A two-inch patch of mysterious green appeared next to the rhododendron. I think (hope) it is Irish Moss (Sagina sublata) although I have no record of planting it there. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

The gardening season has begun in earnest. I have a very busy schedule next week but I’m trying not to panic and run helter-skelter through the clean up. It’s a grand time of year as each day presents surprises in the garden.

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(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” - has moved to the bottom of this blog. Please scroll down to see previous posts.)

Longwood Gardens

I visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square yesterday with the Coplay Garden Club and came home on sensory overload. http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

Pierre du Pont bought the Peirce farm in 1906 and began creating what would become Longwood Gardens. Today, extensive educational programs, plant research, performing arts programs, and displays keep visitors amazed.

After a spectacular lunch, we started in the Main Conservatory which was built in 1919 and houses 20 indoor gardens and over 5,500 plants.

An over-the-top display of pink poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Pink'), grey dusty miller (Senecio cineraria ‘Cirrus’), pink amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Vera') greeted us in the Orangery. The Main Exhibition Hall fashioned a peaceful splendor with fountain, palm trees and evergreens.

Winterberry enhanced the natural flow of the East Conservatory. The park-like setting is complete with a stream and grass and accented with red cyclamen (Cyclamencoum) and white Easter Lilies, (Lilium longiflorum).

And that was just the beginning of our tour of 4.5 acres of covered gardens. I’ll continue with more of the highlights next time.

Dusty Miller and Silver Mound

I love the silver-grey of the annual dusty miller (Senecio bicolor subsp. cineraria Senecio) and the perennial silver mound (Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver Mound')

The Silver Mound dies back in winter but the soft feathery green is a fluffy little clumping plant. I give it a light hair cut with the scissor early in summer and in remains in control in dry/part shade.

The Dusty Miller contrasts the evergreen euonymous and hinoki cypress as well as the annual coleus. It seems to grow anywhere – dry, wet, sunny, shady.

It is an annual in zone 6 but I have some that have wintered-over for years. I cut off any dead stems in late spring or early summer after the new growth appears at the base. The birds seem to love the new growth for nest-making. I try to keep them away by placing a pinwheel nearby or sprinkling a little cayennne pepper on the new growth. One of its best attributes in my mind - it adds another hue to the brown winter landscape.

Varmints in the Garden

Bunnies and birds and ground hogs and deer and skunks – we’ve had them all.

Right now either the bunnies or the birds are munching on the dusty miller. I’ve tried putting pinwheels near them. That worked for a while. Now I’m sprinkling cayenne pepper on the leaves. That seems to be working for now. Soon the plants will be large and less tasty to the critters.

The ground hogs stand on their hind legs and feast on the cone flowers. I use cayenne pepper there too. It seems to work – unless the ground hogs are waiting for the tomatoes to ripen so they can make salsa.

Semi-formal Garden

The wide, angled steps off our deck lead to an offset rectangular concrete pad with cement sidewalks heading off to the left and right. Each year I try to minimize the square of it and enhance the illusion of a circle. I’m not a big fan of formal gardens. I tried create the arc with different shades and textures – does this make it a semi-formal garden? (photos from 7/2/06)

When we built the deck 7 years ago, I measured a straight line about 15' from the center of the steps. Then, keeping one end at the center of the steps, I moved the other end in small increments to complete a half-circle. I laid a hose following the line and marked inside with a line of Round-up. Several days later, we removed the sod and dug and amended the soil with compost, peat moss and sand (because that’s what we had). I laid bricks flat along the edge for a border and mowing surface.

I planted the outside edge with fescue (Elijah's blue). I will need to divide & move some of the fescue to fill in spaces this year.

The second layer is dusty miller (which is semi winter hardy in this location). The price is right for these annuals and I love the gray foliage (see February 4, 2007 post). I usually add a row of pinwheels in spring to try to keep the birds from ripping out the dusty miller for their nests.

The next layer is euonymus shrubs (emerald surprise and fortuei moonshadow).

I try to keep the line of the curve in these layers. Last year I added a row of sweet alyssum to the inside mostly because I love the flower’s smell in the summer sun – again the price is right - they come up everywhere in my garden and are easy to transplant.

I’ve tried to create a focal point in the center using a large rock and a hanging solar light. This is also where I put the fallen pot in the summer.

We planted a juniper (Tolleson’s blue) off center. This tree was a poor choice for this location. It has a very hard time out in the open over the winter and will not stand up without being staked. We’ll replace it someday.

Each year I have another bright idea on how to make a circular-shaped compliment to the steps. So far, my ideas have not been entirely satisfactory – I guess that’s obvious since I ammend the plan every year.

This year I trimmed the euonymous on a thinner line. I lost some to scale so this line is not filling in as quickly as I'd like. (see December 29, 2006 post) I adjusted the rock and the solar light to be more directly on center and will move some rocks to follow the arc. I’ll still use alyssum in a row at the inside of the arc, try to keep them trimmed and have the fallen pot in the center.

And so it goes - another illustration of the best garden is always next year's.