Garden Diary: the August burst continues

The pond entrance to the garden should create a sense of mystery and draw a visitor on to see what's around the corner. The curves that direct the eye to the left are there now, finally, but the plantings aren't right. Shrubs need to be placed strategically to block views and the perennial plantings need more work, particularly to contrast large, textured foliage near the viewer (Petasites japonicus x 'Dutch', Darmera peltata, Ligularia 'Desdemona') with smaller foliage in the distance.


The August burst of plant exuberance continues with Joe Pye Weed, Liatris pycnostachya, Inula racemosa 'Sonnenspeer' continuing in flower while the spent bloom of Rudbeckia maxima and Filipendula add geometric interest and seasonal complexity.




The Inula in the foreground (below) and Rudbeckia maxima further back provide an interesting study in contrasting structure (not that these look particularly well together). I'm pleased with the Inula (I ordered 20), which have grown quite large in the first season, thanks to the big roots shipped by Bluestem Nursery (link at top) last spring. The basal leaves of this plant are about 30 inches long, and I expect them to be even larger next year. Walking among these is like communing with living vegetable gnomes designed by Paul Klee.


... and most of the Inula even flowered in the first year.

Garden Diary: High Summer

We may be headed for drought. For the past six weeks occasional scattered sprinkles have left some corn fields in healthy, not thriving, growth, while others are stunted and very dry. So far, passing thunderstorms have been highly local, drenching some areas, leaving others parched.


Established plants in the garden are doing well. After several weeks of prelude, the Rudbeckia maxima and Filipendula rubra 'Venusta' are in full bloom across the "wet" prairie. I suppose this is proof of my high water table (at ground surface throughout winter and spring). This past weekend I did have to do some spot watering of new plants. The five-foot Almelanchier laevis looked close to expiration and some Kirengeshoma palmata in the woodland garden were in a state of continuous droop.

But the large, established plants are doing well and give me hope that in future summers I won't have to do any watering once root systems are well established.

Lesson learned this year: monarda does not thrive in this heavy, wet clay. Most of the Monarda d. 'Blaustrumpf' barely survived and only one M.d. 'Jacob Kline' came through winter in good shape. This will not be a plant I can rely on.

The good news. Silphium terebinthinaceum, which I planted as plugs three years ago, is finally mature enough to put up flower spikes (no blossom yet), and Silphium perfoliatum, which I planted as seed two years ago, has finally appeared and will be blossoming at about four feet. Vernonia noveboracensis, also seeded two years back, has appeared in profusion, promising a very colorful fall. And big, bulky roots of Inula racemosa 'Sonnenspeer' from Bluestem Nursery, planted only a month or two back, have taken root and appear to be well on the way to maturity and substantial bloom this summer.


A lot of yellow, I know. I didn't allow yellow in my former Rosemont garden. But in this garden in the woods, with a dark wall of trees all around, I need bright colors to contrast with the surrounding darkness.