Purple and Blue
My favorite Lobelia, ‘Crystal Palace.’ Unfortunately, it won’t take the heat of our summers, so it is with us only briefly.
The bog has turned from yellow to blue because the Iris pseudacorus is over and the purple pickerelweed (Pontaderia cordata) is in full bloom. It’s not really purple. It’s a clear blue. A few deep blue Siberian iris add to the blueness.
And the bees love it.
Verbena bonariensis in full blow. It will soon get untidy and need trimming. It’s a pity more of the California poppies behind it are not still out. That’s a pretty spectacular combination.
Hi Karen, I love your purple, blue and bee! We have grown the pickerel and you are so right in the true blue color. Do you have trouble with it spreading too much, or do you just pull the unwanteds? Lovely photos.
Comment by Frances — May 8, 2008 @ 4:47 am
I don’t know about the pickerelweed spreading too fast. There is certainly a lot more of it than last year. It hasn’t crowded out the Iris pseudacorus. I shan’t know until later if it is crowding out things like the Sagittaria. The thing that is not doing particularly well in the bog is the Siberian iris. Lots of people say this is dead easy to grow, but I have always had trouble with it. I’ve moved the Iris pallida out of the bog into adjacent moist soil. Maybe the Siberian iris would prefer that too. Do you know what it likes?
Comment by karen — May 8, 2008 @ 7:15 am
Blue is indeed a special and very welcomed colour in the garden. I love verbena bonariensis, but here I have to wait for its blooming until late summer. It isn’t a winterhardy plant in our region, but luckily it seeds well…and everywhere!
Comment by Barbara — May 8, 2008 @ 2:25 pm
hey Karen,
Sorry this is so late I have been without internet for a couple of days.
The greenhouses are between Newington & Springfield on Hwy 21
you can email me at ~ cherrygagirl@gmail.com
and I will gladly give you directions.
I am going back up tomorrow taking mom for mothers day.
The Name of the place is Rahn’s Greenhouses it’s an hour up 21 from Garden City
I think you can Google for directions
have you been to both of the Savannah’s Secret Gardens the one on highway 17 & the one off of Garrard Avenue ?
Comment by cherry — May 8, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
http://www.gardenguides.com/resources/nurseries/nursery.asp?store=1582756
hey I just find it here hope this helps
Cherry
Comment by cherry — May 8, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
Hi Karen, we do grow siberian iris here, it can tolerate damp soil, but doesn’t have to have it. I don’t think it likes being submerged. It even does okay in dry soil, just not as lush. Same goes for the yellow Louisiana Iris. I finally got rid of that one, it went crazy on me, even in the driest soil.
Comment by Frances — May 8, 2008 @ 3:47 pm
Thanks, Frances. Yes, I need to move Siberian iris out of the bog. The 2 clumps I’ve got on dry soil are not happy either, but then, I am no good at watering things. It may be that they are in pure sand and just need some organic matter.
Comment by karen — May 9, 2008 @ 6:48 am
what a beautiful picture of a bee at the flower
Comment by ewa — May 11, 2008 @ 10:11 am