All the Dirt on Gardening

Any yard or patio with a bit of shade is a potential home for Native Bluebells.  Mertensia virginica is a perennial gardener’s dream plant. They are cold hardy from zones 3 to 8 with pink-turning-blue flowers for two months, avoided by rabbits and deer, require zero care, and spread slowly to form colonies.  The oval leaves come up early spring, followed by the tiny pink flower buds and then the multiple clusters of  1-inch long, bell shaped, blue flowers.   Virginia Bluebells are ephemeral, meaning that after they flower and the leaves gather nutrients for next year, they disappear completely. Every year, I intend to divide our 10-year-old clump but spring is so busy that they are gone before good intentions become an action item. Many gardeners over-plant their Native Bluebells with Hostas or Ferns but ours are just mulched, leaving their planting area empty the rest of the year.  They mature at 2-feet tall and each plant is about 9-inches ...

Stokes’ Aster, Stokesia laevis, is native to the Southern US, from North Carolina to Louisiana, where they grow in wetlands, bottomlands, and ditches. The Stokesia Blue Frills in the photo is in its third year in our garden, without winter protection.   Stokesia laevis plants are cold hardy in zones 5 to 9 and a light winter mulch will ensure their return the following spring. The blue flower varieties are the most commonly grown by gardens and gardeners although there are pink, purple and white varieties available. Stokes’ Asters bloom in June and July in full sun. Since they spread only to one or one-and-a-half feet wide, they are ideal for the front of a shrub bed.  Stokes’ Asters are easy to grow in average soil with medium moisture. They will tolerate part sun but have more flowers and stronger stems when grown in full sun (6 hours a day).  Drought tolerance is one of the advantages of Stokes’ Asters. They prefer the good drainage of a ...

Betony is more than reliable in my garden - it generously reseeds itself to the point that I pull out half or three fourths of the tiny plants every spring during cleanup. By March, the tiny plants are just a few leaves hugging the ground and are easy to remove as I'm taking off the leaves and last year's perennial stems for spring. Betony is easy to get along with - it has no special soil requirements and will thrive in sun or part-shade down to zone 4 cold winters. The flower spikes are at the top, then to both sides of an interrupted spike. The one in these photos spent the winter in the garden shed and is happily blooming and making buds. You can usually get unwanted plants from friends at this time of year. Most of my thinnings become compost. Established plants can be divided in the spring and they can be started from seeds. Many people use the leaves or the entire plant in many tea infusions and as herbal medicine, especially for headaches. The leaves are d...

There are 250 Veronica varieties including annuals, perennials, shrubs and sub-shrubs. Some grow in water and others grow on rocky hills but most grow in gardens with a minimum of care. The rock garden Veronicas do well in poor, well-drained soil in full sun and border Veronicas grow best in moderately fertile sunny locations. The primary problem gardeners have with Veronicas is that soggy soil makes them vulnerable to root rot, leaf scale and mildew.   Take care that they receive plenty of sun and are not over or under watered. Veronica Waterperry Blue 5/13 Veronica peduncularis is a mat-forming, low-growing, group of ground covers, ideal for stepping stones and growing over the edge of rock or brick planters. A 4-inch nursery pot will spread by rhizomes into a 1-foot square area in the first year. It is one of the plants recently called “step-able” because it can take some foot traffic. Two water-wise walkable groundcovers are 2-inch tall Veronica liwanensis, T...

As terrific as Rozanne, Azure Rush is said to be heat-loving and long-flowering perennial for half shade. Blooms of Bressingham says, "The blooms are a lighter blue and habit is more mounding than 'Rozanne's'. Grows to 24 inches tall by 28 inches wide in sun to part shade. USDA Hardiness Zones 5-8."  Blooms of Bressingham You may recall that Geranium ‘Rozanne,’ was the 2008 Perennial Plant Association ( www.perennialplant.org/) Plant of the Year. The Missouri Botanical Garden grows Geranium Gerwat Rozanne, or Cranesbill, in several of their gardens. it blooms for them in St. Louis from May through July.  ‘Azure Rush’ is lighter blue than ‘Rozanne,’ and it ambles meaning it is more compact with shorter internodes, so you'll have low-growing, mounded plants - 18-inches tall and 24-inches wide per plant. Best with average, medium-moist, well-drained organic soil with afternoon shade. Best grown in full sun with some afternoon protection. Organic so...

 Cold hardy in zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Veronica Woolly Silver Speedwell is blooming around the edges of part shade spots in our garden. I planted them from seed in the winter of 2010 , put out the tiny plants in 2011 and then the drought hit with record heat. The plants that survived to bloom this year are the ones that were in part shade ever since they were planted. While I would love to have had 30 plants survive, I'm glad I tucked them all around the beds to see where they would thrive. Now these plants have been through it all and should spread nicely into their predicted 24-inch width. Gorgeous blue blossoms. Veronicas come with white, pink, blue, lavender and purple flowers. Some are ground huggers and others are 3-feet tall. Look for Veronica austriaca, Veronica gentianoides, Veronica incana, Veronica longifolia and Veronica spicata. They all bloom with racemes of densely packed blue-shaded flowers except for those few w...

In searching seed listings for something blue for the part-shade flower beds, I ran across Geranium pratense and ordered seeds of splish splash. They are native from Ireland to Japan and may or may not appreciate our zone 7 summer. This blue beauty has so many names! Crowfoot Cranesbill, Bassinets, Loving Andrews, Grace of God, Mourning Widow and more. The seed fruit that forms after the flowers fade is shaped like a beak, leading to the common name Cranesbill. Geranium pratens seedlings According to the geranium website, Geranium Care , The Grace of God name comes from that clear blue flower color often associated with the Virgin Mary's veil. And, ‘Swearing a blue streak’, means to take God’s name in vain and is a common way of ‘policing up’, a curse word phrase." In addition to being a pretty, 1.5 foot tall garden plant, the flowers are used as blue dye. In our garden I hope they live up to their promise of providing nectar for bees. First Nature in Wales has lovely photo...

Today's garden column was about blue flowering plants and blue foliage plants. In case you missed it, here is the link. http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/features/local_story_332190559.html?keyword=secondarystory Brent and Becky's bulb sale just got twice as interesting: 50% off all remaining bulbs. "The Curious Gardener's Almanac" was reviewed on a blog that is new to me, Applejack . The reviewer enjoyed the book and said it is about the adventures of us commoners in the garden rather than the professionals. It sounds entertaining.