July Bloom Day--Happy to be Here

It was a wild week that saw intense, hurricane-force winds wreak havoc across the Chicagoland area, and at my house we lost power for three days. Now that the electricity has been restored it is a relief to be home and posting for Bloom Day, hosted monthly by Carol at May Dreams Garden. So without further ado...

There are lots of umbels blooming in my front garden right now, namely these cilantros which have bolted and the 'Moonshine' yarrows still going strong in the background.


Hyssops (Agastache foeniculum) are starting to bloom...

...as the native monardas (M. fistulosa). Finally! I guess my threats to them last year made an impression.



I have no idea how or when these got here...they're some type of Rudbeckia I think, but which kind? Possibly the classic Black-Eyed Susan (R. hirta), but I honestly don't know!


These Candy Oh! roses from Proven Winners were a free trial last year...I've done no spraying or maintenance and they seem fine. I don't love their really small blooms but they're bringing some color to a forgotten spot on the side of the house.


There is a sea of salvia nemorosa 'Plumosa' mixing with prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)...


...and daylilies...


...including this great wine-colored passalong from Mr. McGregor's Daughter. Unfortunately it's languishing in a rather dry spot (although everything is languishing in dry conditions, but that's another story).

In the rain garden swamp milkweed (Ascelpias incarnata) is blooming...


...but the most interesting plants in the whole garden right now are these yellow coneflowers (Ratbida pinnata):

I planted these last fall and they've exploded! Pretty much all the blurry greenery behind these flowers are more yellow coneflowers. I can't wait until they're all in full bloom; it should be gorgeous. On the downside, I think they've crowded out all my nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum), which are conspicuously absent after a lovely show last year.


I've included this picture to give you a sense of how tall these flowers are. That fence? It's four-and-a-half feet high. As you can see the yellow coneflowers clear it by about six inches. I had no idea these would get so tall and robust! I now need to figure out how to balance them so they don't choke out anything else!

For those of you in the Chicago area, I hope your gardens came through this week unscathed. It's shaping up to be quite the challenging year for gardening, between the cold, rainy spring, severe storms, and now weeks of hot drought (the rain Monday fell so fast it didn't make much of a difference). It's time for tough plants to act as such!

Also blooming, not pictured:
Coral bells
Big-leaved aster (Eurybia macrophylla)
Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

PS-Yes I know I'm a little early with this post but it's Friday tomorrow, and I didn't want to risk missing Bloom Day due to weekend laziness. I hope you understand.

Botanicide

This is a crime scene.


These are the grisly photos of plant homicide, and the victims are purple prairie clovers (Dalea purpurea).

The identity of the murderer (or murderers)? Rabbits, at least one. We've had a minimum of one rabbit take up residence in our yard and it was spotted at the scene of the crime (multiple times). Whether there are additional accomplices has not been determined, but what I do know is that rather than enjoying these rare prairie beauties that should look like this (while starting to bloom)...


...and in combo with the yellow and pink of yarrows and remaining columbines...


...I'm stuck with this sad, sorry sight of decapitated stems:


The only silver lining to this cloud is that I'm pretty confident that the tulip murderer from this spring was the very same rabbit (or rabbits). And, I will now diligently research what products can prevent rabbit damage and go on the offensive. Especially next spring when these are sprouting.

The Best $20 I Ever Spent

It may not look like much, but the APS40 Seed Starting Kit from Gardener's Supply Company revolutionized seed growing around here. It consists of a water reservoir, moisture wicking mat, a styrofoam pegboard and seed cells, and of course a plastic cover to retain moisture before seed germination.

Historically I've had problems with watering seedlings. Either I water too much and they end up damping off, or I water too little and they dry up. What's worse, whether I'm watering well or not, the force of even a small stream of water from a watering can often damages delicate seedling stems, which for me has led to the loss of many healthy seedlings that just got flattened and never recovered.

So I thought to myself this past winter that I would finally invest in a seed growing kit that was self-watering. I chose the APS 40 after much research because the water wicking mat was supposed to keep soil moist for five days (which to me sounded like a long time between refillings).

When it first arrived I was wary that the styrofoam pieces would be cheap and flimsy. So far this year, through two rounds of seedlings, they've held up remarkably well with no real cracking or flaking of little pieces to speak of. As for the water refilling timetable, five days was a massive underestimate! There were times my APS 40 went for two full weeks (i.e., 14 days not 10) before I had to refill the reservoir with water, all the while keeping the soilless mix evenly and thoroughly moist. To ensure it works, you've got to follow the directions closely and be sure the mix is well connected with the mat to keep the water wicking up. But if I could make this work successfully, I'm confident that just about anyone can do it.

My other reservation was that popping the seedlings out of the styrofoam cells would be difficult. Getting seedlings out of plastic trays has always been my bugbear with transplanting. In all honesty, I was flabbergasted at how easy it was to get the seedlings out. A little push from the bottom side and they came right out, with a perfectly intact root system. This feature was quite possibly the best part of the entire system.

To show you how crappy our spring and early summer weather has been, I am just now packing away my APS40, and it's July 3rd! About a week ago I finally transplanted my last basils and coleus plants, which had to wait as long as they did because of dreary, cool weather through much of early June. Clean up of the seed starting kit was the proverbial breeze: I rinsed the reservoir, pegboard and seedling cells, and I soaked the water wicking mat (per the directions) in some bleach water and it's now drying on my porch, waiting to be packed away with the other clean, dry components.

If you've struggled with seedling issues like damping off, forgetting to water them, crushing them while transplanting, or just general frustration at how much babying they need, I highly recommend you shell out $20 for an APS 40 (or APS 24 if you start fewer seeds). Gardener's Supply also sells replacement parts in case those styrofoam pieces turn out to be flimsy. (However, I skipped their seed starting soil mix because seriously, I can get perfectly good soilless mix for a fraction of the price with no shipping cost at my local garden center.) If you're thinking of starting cool-season vegetables in your air conditioned house for a fall crop, you would be wise to consider it!

As you can probably judge by the title of this post, I bought the APS 40 with my own money and received no inducement or compensation from Gardener's Supply Company to write this review.

June Bloom Day--Full Stride

A hectic week means a late post for Bloom Day, which is hosted each month by Carol of May Dreams Garden. But this is quite possibly my favorite month, and I'm happy to share some of what's blooming here. So without further ado...


Prairie phlox (P. pilosa), or as Gail from Clay and Limestone refers to them, Practically Perfect Pink Phlox.


Unknown pollinator on a sand coreopsis (C. lanceolata).


Peonies before rain damage...they're still OK now but looking a little worse for the wear after some intense rainstorms recently.



'Moonshine' yarrows are day-glow yellow.


Sand coreopsis, salvia and a peony.

Also blooming but not pictured:
Yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integgerima)
Coral bells
Alumroot (Heuchura richardsonii)
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Nectaroscordums (N. siculum)

Rain Gardens 104: Maintenance

You have a functioning rain garden! You've chosen the site, dug the garden and planted it with region-appropriate, flood/drought-tolerant natives! Now what?


Well, there is a small amount of maintenance involved. As with any garden, in the first year when the plants are new you will probably have to water. No, the irony of watering a rain garden is not lost on me. But unless you get regular rains at least once a week or so for the entire spring, summer and fall, you will probably need to water at least a little bit to make sure the plants are established. Like any other garden, observe your plants to know when watering is needed. Are their leaves drooping? Do they look dried out? If so, it's time to water.

Once the garden is established, you can expect the normal type of maintenance you would with most perennials: weeding and dividing. I do my best to mulch my rain garden because it helps cut down on weeds, but with so much moisture in the soil you can bet that weeds will grow. Be prepared.

Also, if your rain garden plants are really happy they can end up looking like this:

out of control! They can get floppy, rambly, and generally unkempt looking if you let them (this is a reality of many native plants...they often do not have the prim habits of their more cultivated cousins).

If this happens you should be pleased that your plants are doing so well, and then you should do whatever you need to make your rain garden more aesthetically pleasing. That can mean dividing sedges, zizias, etc. until they're in smaller and more manageable clumps; it can mean removing overzealous plants like Physostegia; it can mean cutting back things that are getting out of hand. This year a couple really hard downpours knocked over a bunch of my zizias, so I just cut off the broken stems and flowers. The foliage still looks nice and there is no reason for undue messiness. The roots are still absorbing plenty of rain water.

However, you shouldn't be shocked or uncomfortable with a "naturalistic" look if you're growing a rain garden with native plants. It's going to happen. So keep it looking "pretty" naturalistic. For example, I like this:


Lastly, be aware that mulch floats. As I mentioned before, mulch helps cut down on weeds and I think it just makes gardens (rain or otherwise) look nicer. But yes it will float around when the garden is full of water, and after large rains you will need to clear it off plants and redistribute it. This really isn't difficult or time-consuming, just something to be aware of.

And that's it! Now you know how to create a beautiful, ecologically friendly rain garden! Please don't hesitate to leave further questions in the comments, and see the previous posts for more info:

Rain Gardens 101: How to Choose a Site
Rain Gardens 102: How to Dig the Garden
Rain Gardens 103: The Plants

Designing with Natives: Spring Bloomers

This is a simple yet serendipitous pairing: Camassia (C. scilloides) with prairie smoke (Geum triflorum).

The camassia (in the background) has the classic "bare ankles" problem: its flowers are on stalks above a little clump of wimpy basal foliage that just lays there. But put prairie smoke around it and the ferny leaves and interesting flowers/seed heads will perfectly cover the blank spots!


You can see the prairie smoke a little better here. These plants only get to about 10-12" tall, so it's like the camassia is just a head taller than the prairie smoke.


I wish I had planted these closer together, and hopefully the prairie smoke will need dividing in a year or so and then I can surround some of the camassias farther back with more of them. I also like the mix of the icy blue and rich pink flowers. These photos are from a couple weeks ago and now the Geum is moving into the "smoke" phase. But what a nice coincidence this pairing has been in my south border! If you're in the temperate zones 4-ish to 8-ish, give this duo a try!

Rain Gardens 103: The Plants

I sincerely apologize for how long it's taken me to make this post!! I intended to complete my little "how to create a rain garden" series in a couple of weeks, and it took me well over a month! Ah well, the important part is that we're continuing now...

So you've selected a rain garden site and done the actual digging of the garden...now it's time for the fun part: the plants!

As in all gardens, rain or otherwise, the adage "right plant, right site" should be observed. All your plants will have to be able to tolerate repeated flooding as well as periods of dryness, unless your rain garden site is really swampy. For this reason it is generally recommended that rain gardens use native plants (meaning those native to your region).

Face it--at some point you'll probably be experiencing some degree of drought, and deep-rooted natives are usually better equipped to handle dry conditions as well as soak up intense amounts of water. On top of these qualities, native North American plants also host numerous pollinators and other forms of wildlife, including butterflies and birds.

So without further ado, here are recommendations for rain garden plants for sunny sites and shadier sites, all of which are hardy in approximately zones 4 to 8. I grow a number of these in my rain garden, and others I have researched as part of various article assignments. I've included flowers and sedges and one grass species. Sedges are really better suited to rain garden conditions and they sort of take the stylistic place of ornamental grasses in these settings.

Rain Garden Plants for Sun


Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea): Great plant! Host for swallowtail butterflies, will get very robust with lots of water and full sun.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata): Lovely pink color, really needs full sun. As a milkweed it's also a monarch host plant.

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae): Can be floppy, consider using on the berm.

Blue Flag Iris (I. virginica): Beautiful classic purple iris flowers. Needs full sun; mine are being dwarfed by larger plants and struggling. I suggest planting them when you first start the garden to avoid this situation.

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale): Good late-season yellow color after most plants are done flowering. Does not actually cause sneezing.


Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana): Beautiful, distinctively shaped pink flowers. Inaccurately named; not obedient at all. Will spread prodigiously in moist conditions; this is good if you need to fill space, otherwise be prepared to fight back.

Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum): Reaches 5-7 tall with spikes of white flowers; grow it in the center of the rain garden so other surrounding plants will complement it.

Porcupine Sedge (Carex hystericina): Very robust in full sun.

Muskingum Sedge (C. muskingumensis): Can reach up to 3' tall; also takes partial shade.


Fox Sedge (C. stipata): Very interesting, spiky-looking inflorescences.

Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): Beautiful soft texture, consider growing on the berm or a spot that is not the wettest in the rain garden.

Rain Garden Plants for Shade


Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis): Great red color and wonderful for hummingbirds. I have actually witnessed a hummingbird at mine here, in total suburban wasteland.

Great Blue Lobelia (L. siphilitica): Gorgeous blue, not as tall as cardinal flower.

Pink Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua): Unique purplish flower; rare plant.

Graceful Sedge (C. gracilima): Up to 2' tall, arching habit.

Bur Sedge (C. grayi): Distinctive inflorescences.


Pennsylvania Sedge (C. pensylvanica): Good for the berm, not the soggiest spot. Will spread slowly over time.

Astilbe (genus Astilbe): Please note: this is not a native plant, but a moisture-tolerant shade plant! I do not grow astilbes in my rain garden but they were once recommended to me as a potential choice by a reputable source in the midst of an interview. Since shade flowers are in short supply for these conditions, I figured it was worth mentioning, native or not.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of all these plants, but for good photos and more information please see Illinois Wildflowers. They have a section on wetland wildflowers, as well as prairie ones (some of which are included in the list for sun here), and grasses and sedges. Although it is named "Illinois," the plants on this website are native to much of the Midwest and Eastern U.S.

So to Recap:
Remember, there are lots of other options out there, depending on where you garden! Always consult local sources for what is native to your area, and evaluate your particular site conditions for the appropriate plants. These are suggestions only!

Next up...rain garden maintenance!