Utah Valley Gardens: Sedum

Received part of my order from Springhill Nursery. The backordered plant is a Dianthus Desmond, siz of them, actually.

The way they packed these shows, to me, that they really care about them arriving healthy and unblemished. The plants are all very well protected and they all are in very good condition. The instructions with that came with them said they are to go into the ground immediately. And, so they shall. When I unpacked them the root systems were very well developed. I will definitely order from Springhill Nursery in the future.

Caryopteris Summer Sorbet

at maurity

I have two other Caryopteris, Dark Knight and Sunshine Blue, that I planted in April of this year and I love their easy growth habit and the beautiful blue flowers all over them, at the ends of their long graceful stems. Sunshine Blue has light yellowish-green leaves that really dictates where you place the shrub, it just doesn’t look real good where it currently is so I have plans on moving it soon. The Dark Knight has darker green leaves that allows it to go next to just about any other plant. This one, Summer Sorbet, shares both foliage colorings and it may work in places the Sunshine Blue won’t. I’ll have to try it to see for myself.

They all tolerate some drought, perfect for my dry conditions here in Utah. Intolerant of wet, poorly-drained soils, so my clay has to be worked really well with compost and I am a little worried about this winter’s snowmelt. It will be a true test to how well I have compensated with the compost.

As long as the roots survive Caryopteris will come back and flourish. At any rate, they can take hard pruning each spring which will promote vigorous new stem growth. And all of the blooms come on new growth anyway.

They are commonly called Bluebeard, Blue Spirea, and Blue Mist. I’m not sure I have ever heard of them before this year but, so far, I’m glad I did. They make really lovely shrubs, at only 2’-3’ tall and wide, and make a really nice focal point to the border.

A bonus is that it is aromatic when brushed against and they all attract butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. What more could you ask for in a shrub?

Sedum Improved Golden

at maturity

This one is billed as one of the finest ground covers for sunny dry slopes and banks. I don’t plan on using it on a slope or bank but my yard has no shortage of dry sunny places so it should fit in everywhere. I planted a Sedum Autumn Joy this spring which grew into what could best be described as a stalk of broccoli. I wasn’t real impressed but the pictures of it in full bloom told me to have patience. Once it bloomed, after the weather began cooling off, I knew I just have to have some more. The coloring started as a light pink and soon turned into a brilliant red that simply complimented nearly everything around it. I love this plant. I don’t see it being used as a groundcover because it grew to be 10” tall. I picture groundcover as being only a few inches tall and spreading outwards. Autumn Joy is a stalk but I plan on buying more anyway.

Then I saw this little beauty. And when I learned that I would not have to wait until fall to see the flowers I was sold. This one blooms in late spring and early summer and grows to only 5”-9” tall, which is more in line with my ideal of a groundcover, yet still a little tall. I bought six of them and hopefully they will spread quickly without being too invasive. It is described as a ‘hardy’ creeper which I am beginning to understand in garden nursery parlay means it is a bit invasive. It is to be spaced 12”-18” apart so there is another sign of its invasiveness. But it does have such beautiful yellow sumptuous flowers, doesn’t it?

Hollyhock Brilliant Miniature

at maturity

I have always liked the look of a bunch of Hollyhocks in bloom but their lankiness and the prospect of having to deal with plant supports in the middle of a flower bed put me off. These little guys only grow to be 30” tall and seem like they just might be what I was looking for. They bloom all through summer so they will add a splash of red anywhere I need it.

Aster Snowdrift

at maturity

My three Aster Alma Potschke plants steadily grew this summer into nice looking shrubs, patiently waiting until the weather cooled off, and then they simply burst into a beautiful mound of pink flowers, seemingly overnight. I was so impressed with their proliferation that when I saw these Snowdrift with their blizzard of delicate white daisies I knew the perfect place to show it off. I am going to place six of these in front of and surrounding my two brilliant red rose bushes. I can’t wait to see this combination next September and October.

They grow 4”-6” tall and spread 20”-24” so this is my idea of a groundcover. It is a care-free and very hardy selection of a native American wildflower that is a favorite with butterflies.

You just gotta love it.

Liatris White

at maturity

I planted a Liatris Kobold this spring that sadly did not survive our hot dry summer. I really like the non-standard shape of this plant. It just isn’t rounded or mounded or bushy like the typical perennial with its spikes that reminds me of cattails I used to see around the lake I grew up near as a kid. They weren’t white, of course, but there is something about the shape that I want in my garden. Besides I am not going to let these hot summers tell me I can’t have one of these so I will try it again and this time put some groundcover to keep its roots cool.

I was surprised to learn that Liatris is actually a bulb. Another surprise is that they bloom from the top down. Two more things that take it out of the realm of ordinary flowering plants.

They say you have to be careful with where you place white flowers for fear of it washing out the other colors but I am going to put five of these in a narrow strip along the north border of my property to help hide a chain link fence, interspersed with red Hollyhocks. They only grow 3’ tall and the fence is 7’ tall but it’s a start. I’m planning on putting some sort of a vine to grow along the top of the fence to help cover the rest of it. Maybe a honeysuckle.

Continuing my inspection of what survived this year, here is bed B3:

This bed was nothing but grass when we moved here in May 2004 and it wasn’t in real good shape. I had a general idea of what I wanted here as soon as I saw it. The bed starts as wide as the concrete pad, at the far north end behind the cherry tomato, and then narrows in towards the fence and will gradually curve back out and circle back to the fence at the south end to form a large round area for a tree. Currently the area is 26 feet long without the large round area for a tree and will, by next fall, be 36 feet long.

All of these plants, except the Butterfly Bush and the Tomato, both at the far end, were purchased as one of those instant garden deals from Bluestone Perennials.

Achillea Angels Breath

Also known as Yarrow. This Achillea was unknown to me and I really like its small bushy habit. The typical Yarrow, see next photo, stands much taller with long thin branches ending in a ‘platform’ that butterflies like to hang out on.

Achillea Coronation Gold

This is the typical Yarrow I am familiar with. I was hesitant about planting this because I am familiar with it from my childhood in Indiana. These grew wild in the fields behind my house and I had always thought of them as weeds. They attract butterflies like crazy but still I’m afraid of it becoming invasive. There are also red varieties which look pretty good. Maybe this is a different variety than the weed I grew up with. I’ll have to wait and see what it does next year.

Arabis Snowcap

Commonly known as Rock cress, this is supposed to be a groundcover with white flowers covering it from April through June. It has not flowered for me, but then it is only one year old.

Aster Alma Potschke

This Aster is one of the New England Aster’s, (sounds like one of those blue blooded sophisticates) it didn’t begin flowering until recently and has grown pretty steadily over the summer. It’s a semi-woody plant that should be covered with bright neon pink flowers until frost. This is another butterfly and bee magnet. Love having these around.

Buddleia Black Knight

I bought this one to replace the two that I killed this spring due to a miscommunication on pruning. I was under the impression that you should cut it back to the ground in spring to make it come back more bushy. The two I had last year were beautiful so I was really looking forward to them being even bushier this year, but alas, it was not to be. This plant is suppose attract butterflies by the hundreds. I have heard that it does, but my garden is so new that the butterflies must not know it is here yet. Yeah, that must be it. I just know they will begin flocking next year. I will NOT prune it as severally as I was told to next spring. Lesson learned.

Chrysanthemum Shasta Alaska

This is one of the main reasons I wanted a flower garden. This plant, along with the Echinacea, just exudes cheeriness. How can you not be a peace with a bunch of these free flowering beauties around? I’m pretty sure that next year it will bloom like crazy.

Coreopsis Early Sunrise

Another one of my all-time favorites. Coreopsis cannot help but brighten up any garden. This is an All-American Selections Gold Medal Winner and is fully deserving of the honor. The bright yellow contrasts so well with the dark green foliage that you can’t help but demand that this be a part of any garden bed.

Dianthus Agatha

This Dianthus is one of the most fragrant of the pinks. One description I read said it was one of the modern pinks. Now, I don’t know what that means but the picture showed flowers that looked double, although I don’t think it is a true double. Earlier this year I had planted some Dianthus Zing Rose in one of the front yard beds and they bloomed a deep rich red all summer. This one didn’t bloom but the foliage looks almost ornamental grass-like. I like it so far even without the blooms.

Echinacea Magnus

Purple Coneflower. As I mentioned earlier, this is one of those flowers that no garden should be without. It is robust, drought tolerant, native to the U.S. blooms all summer through October, excellent for cut flower arrangements and it can even be used medicinally. What’s not to love about it?

Nepeta Walkers Low

Catmint. Blue-violet flowers and fragrant, low-growing and a very prolific bloomer. I was afraid it would increase my neighborhood cat problem, what with all of the bird feeders I have hanging around, but that has not been the case. This plant does attract a lot of bees, for which I am very happy. I have never seen so many bees in my yard as I have this summer. Very nice.

Rudbeckia Goldstrum

This is another of those bright, cheery plants that blooms all summer until frost. Commonly known as Black-eyed Susan because of its large velvety brown center. Bees and butterflies love it and if you don’t deadhead it the birds eat the seeds. I wish I had a large field to dedicate to this plant because it looks really great in groups.

Salvia East Friesland

I have seen this called Meadow Sage, it has the typical purple spikes associated with salvia but is more compact. Last year I planted a couple Salvia Plumosa in one of the front beds and it became lanky and unsightly, this one is not supposed to do that, which is why I was willing to try another salvia. It is very fragrant and attracts bees by the dozens, always a good thing.

Sedum Autumn Joy

Sedum is also called Stonecrop. Someday I’m going to find out where these names come from. This plant surprised me. I am familiar with sedum from when I was a child, my grandmother always had sedum growing around her roses but they were short and I always thought of them as succulents and therefore more like a cactus without the spikes. I learned that this is known as an ‘upright’ sedum which explains why it is so tall. It looked more like a broccoli stalk than a true flower plant, but when the top began turning pink and then red it really began to come into its own. I’m planning on getting a few more of them.

Thymus Pink Chintz

This is creeping thyme. I’m a bit disappointed because it hasn’t ‘creeped’ as expected. It is commonly used in between paving stones and I don’t have very many pavers yet but thought I should be ready. I planted a flat of them after seeing a picture of it in bloom and was told that it can be walked on so I thought it would great to help combat my ‘creeping weed’ problem. It doesn’t seem to want to do anything so it’s another one of those plants that I have to have patience with.

Veronica Blue Carpet

I have always had a thing for spiky plants. Some psychologist will probably tell me something I don’t want to hear about it, but anyway, Veronica is one of those plants that has such a variety of beautiful blue flowers that I just had to have some. You couldn’t tell by these pictures but they do have pretty blue flowers. I started out with three varieties but one of them just shriveled up in this very same bed as these. I moved one of the plants into a front bed where it gets afternoon sun and it is doing much better than in this bed of full all day sun, it actually bloomed. So I think I will move the others there as well.

Veronica Sunny Border Blue

This Veronica has the best color of the three I planted. Honest, I've seen the pictures. The foliage is pretty thick and sets off the flower stalks very nicely. It thrives in clay soil so it will do well here once I get it into some afternoon shade.