Viewing comments posted by Ispahan

One of my favorite grasses. The foliage looks compact and unassuming for most the season, not unattractive but not showy either. In late summer, usually early September, the plant sends up the most amazing, airy foxtail-like plumes that start out with pink-lavender tones and then slowly age to a warm creamy-tan color. The plumes collect morning dew which then shimmers when caught in sunlight. Also looks amazing when backlit by the sun. When in full bloom, the plant is gracefully arching. It is not at all floppy, even when growing in shade, but is much more graceful than the stiffly upright, rigid 'Karl Foerster' which is a close relative of the grass.

Performs well in both sun and dappled shade, but if growing in sun it needs to have consistently moist soil. This grass is a "sleeper" which draws raves when in bloom yet doesn't seem to be commonly planted. Maybe because it doesn't look very exciting when out of flower and growing in a nursery pot and people tend to overlook it?

This grass is very well behaved with very slowly expanding clumps. It can be propagated by seeds but I have never noticed any self sowing tendencies.

One of the prettiest grasses and its late flowering season makes it all the more valuable. A true winner!

One of my absolute favorite new plant discoveries. This plant is rock hardy and shrugs off heat, drought, cold, rain, wind and anything else you could think of throwing at it. When mature, it maintains a perfectly manicured domed form that remains in impeccably abundant flower for months and months. Foliage is delightfully scented to humans and therefore is avoided by rodent pests (rabbits and squirrels). Flowers are adored by bees. I have observed dozens of happy honeybees and bumblebees nectaring on a mature plant. This plant is rumored to self seed but I have not yet noticed any seedlings. If I had the space, I would plant dozens of this plant. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it.

A truly lovely species lily that has shown remarkable heat and drought tolerance during the summer of 2012, quite the contrary to everything I have read about this species in books. My bulbs, planted in autumn 2011, have now been in bloom for almost a month and still have buds left to open. Color is beautiful and the fragrance is out of this world--light, sweet, delicious, wafting and totally addictive. I planted my bulbs quite deeply--8-10 inches deep--but I am still seeing signs of above ground stem bulblet formation. Hopefully that is the start of a thriving colony! I look forward to seeing how these beauties perform next year.

An interesting hardy geranium with gorgeous chartreuse-tinted new growth and abundant medium purple blooms. If truth be told, this cultivar is much more interesting for its foliage than for its blooms. Bloom color is a dull flat purple, with none of the changing colors or iridescence of other cultivars like 'Rozanne'. This plant is moderately vigorous and has shown reasonable heat tolerance, even as bare root starts during the heat wave of 2012. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it overwinters well.

UPDATE 28 June 2013:
I LOVE this cultivar. Its lackluster flowers last season were probably due to being newly planted and struggling with the heat and severe drought. This year, in their second season and in much cooler conditions, 'Blue Sunrise' is amazing. Gorgeous foliage and a robust yet compact growth habit. As far as I can tell, this is the only chartreuse-leaved cultivar that is reliably hardy in zones 5-6. The flowers are sterile (no seed pods observed, much like equally wonderful 'Rozanne') and have now been in full bloom for 4 good weeks with no signs of stopping. Recent Chicago Botanic Garden trials from 2012 published in Fine Gardening magazine rated this cultivar a solid 3/4 stars, a very good rating. Well deserved!

The fragrance of this plant is honey-like and charming, especially when wafting on a summer breeze, but it is extremely vigorous and can easily overwhelm and smother smaller plants. I planted it because it is said to attract bees and hover flies, but the bees in my area ignore it in favor of more attractive nectar sources like basil, agastache and Russian sage. Occasionally I will see tiny sweat bees and common house flies on the blooms.

A delightful little bulb that flowers in late summer, often sending up flower stems with open blooms almost overnight. Although this looks like a delicate plant, it is very hardy and easy to please. Spreads slowly by clumping and reseeding. Foliage is short (about 6 inches tall), strappy and unobtrusive. It emerges in the early spring but then dies down for the summer. It occasionally will send up a few leaves at flowering time that will last throughout the winter. A treasure!

I planted several rooted cuttings of this cultivar in my garden early this spring from High Country Gardens. They took a while to start growing, but they eventually took off and now have been in bloom for the past six weeks at least. Each flower spike slowly elongates as the season progresses, so the plant gradually becomes showier with each passing week. The blue-violet color of the blooms blends easily into a mixed border and looks absolutely stunning when backlit by the sun. Bumblebees and honey bees frequent the blooms, which is one of the main reasons i planted this cultivar. I am curious to see how it winters in my area.

I can't comment on this cultivar's attractiveness to hummingbirds since those delightful little creatures are not found in my inner city Chicago area.

One of the most amazing perennials I have ever seen or grown. It takes a while to become established, but once it settles in it becomes graceful, charming and elegant, much more so than photos could ever reveal. It blooms from late summer through fall with loose "see through" panicles of electric chartreuse-golden yellow, an unusual color that looks stunning at all times of day. It attracts a nice variety of pollinators as well. It gently reseeds when happy, but never to the point of becoming a pest. Truly one of the unsung heroes of the late summer/ early autumn garden!

A sweet and charming cottage garden flower that gracefully weaves its way through whatever is growing nearby. It blooms nonstop with an abundance of simple, wildflowery blooms that are very attractive to pollinators. Color ranges from vivid electric cobalt to hyacinth blue to a more pale lavender-blue depending on temperature and lighting conditions. The flowers can take on temporary pinkish tones when newly planted but the coloring will correct itself as the season progresses. One of my favorites; I will always have space in my garden for 'Rozanne'!

UPDATE 28 June 2013:
What a wonderful plant! I have this plant in full blazing sun, partial shade and almost full shade, and it does surprisingly well in all areas. In full shade, plants are a bit sparser and lankier but still manage to bloom well.

This plant is not a tidy, compact specimen. It is a sprawling weaver that can and should be placed closely among other plants so it can scramble up into them. I happen to love this informal, cottage look.

I lost two of my less established plants over the winter due to severe frost heave. They were unmulched and we had a long and difficult winter with no snow cover and countless freeze-thaw cycles. My other 15 plants returned beautifully and are now larger and more amazingly floriferous than ever.

I have been taking advantage of sales and buying up as many 'Rozanne' as I can find to tuck in throughout my garden. It is non-invasive and non-smothering, and to me it is the perfect garden unifier! It is probably my overall favorite cranesbill.

My spring-planted specimens of Geranium 'Sandrine' are one of the few hardy geraniums I put in that have been growing actively and blooming in the intense heat and drought of summer 2012. New growth is a lovel chartreuse that ages to a nice dark green. Flowers are vivid fuchsia/magenta that not only looks good in the garden but is attractive to pollinators as well. I have not yet overwintered it, but if it survives this may one day be one of the prettiest plants in my garden!

UPDATE 28 June 2013:
Soon after posting my original comments above, all three of my plants suddenly died, probably due to extreme heat stress even with regular deep hose waterings during severe drought conditions. They were never seen from again. However, this cultivar was pretty enough that I planted three new specimens this spring. One of them is starting to grow and form flower buds, one plant is just sitting there (but suffered very minor rabbit damage), and the third plant unceremoniously died. 'Sandrine' is lovely, but if it doesn't survive this time around I will not bother to replace it.

So far, Geranium psilostemon and its hybrids like 'Patricia', 'Dragon Heart', 'Anne Folkard', 'Anne Thompson' and now 'Sandrine' have all been very weak and unreliable growers for me in zone 6 urban Chicago. The only G. psilostemon cultivar that has been reliable is 'Tiny Monster', but this one takes much more after its Geranium sanguineum parent!

An exquisite little bulb that is an excellent source or early spring bee forage for native bees. Will naturalize and spread by seed very easily but, in my experience, will never choke out other plants. It sets seed and the unobtrusive foliage dies down rapidly soon after flowering. I love this plant!

This is one of the most over planted and unattractive plants in my area. Attractive specimens do exist, but they are few and far between. It usually looks rangy, weedy and the blooms are of a muddy, washed out color whether pink or blue. I have three established specimens that I am itching to take out and replace with another hydrangea that is more attractive and reliable, such as 'Annabelle' or 'Little Lime'. A truly inferior cultivar!

A gorgeous Phlox dicaricata selection, 'Blue Moon' has fragrant blue-lavender blooms that remain in peak condition for at least 4 weeks in spring. Blooms are lightly fragrant and are an excellent early nectar source for butterflies. Bees seem to ignore phlox in general. Foliage is glossy and attractive. Not drought tolerant.

One of my favorite new perennials. Shrugs off heat and drought and blooms in attractive waves of pink blooms. Looks much like an ever-flowering pink sweet woodruff. Foliage has a skunky odor but it doesn't bother me since it is seldom noticeable on the open air and it repels squirrels, rabbits and other vermin. Flowers are beloved of bees which is the main reason I have planted it in my garden.

A gorgeous, vigorous and shamefully underused hyacinth cultivar. It has a much more graceful, wildflowery look than the stiff Dutch hyacinths. Flowers are highly fragrant and are very popular with the early spring bumblebee queens that are freshly emerged from hibernation and looking for a old source. This cultivar perennializes and multiplies very well. More expensive than regular Dutch hyacinths but worth every penny! This is an AGM winner from the Royal Horticultural Society, an award I have found to translate very well "across the pond" as well.

A very attractive and sterile ornamental basil that produces a profusion of lovely, purple tinged leaves and continuous large spires of blooms all season long. The flowers are beloved of pollinating insects of all kinds. It is such a joy to see so many native bees working this plant!

An unobtrusive plant with unobtrusive blooms, but it is beloved by all sorts of pollinating insects that visit the blooms from sunrise to sunset. For this reason alone, I will always make sure I have a space for it in my garden.

A lovely, healthy garden rose. Flowers are fully double, pale silvery pink in color and lightly, sweetly scented. The bush has a beautiful symmetric shape and is well-covered with disease resistant dark green foliage. Imagine the health, vigor and hardiness of the old grandiflora 'Queen Elizabeth,' but on a much more attractive shrub with much more beautiful flowers. I love its name. A winner!

I live this plant so far! I planted three small quart-sized pots of this cultivar this spring and right now I have 4.5 feet tall stems with large, ever expanding candelabras of a gorgeous irridescent blue-violet shade. The flowers swarm with a wide array of wonderful pollinating insects. One of my favorites in my new perennial garden!

A gorgeous, eye-catching, screaming fuchsia pink color. This plant is in its first season in my garden and is currently 5 feet tall and loaded with larger-than-expected blossoms which are popular with an assortment of wonderful pollinating insects. It has shrugged off the extreme heat and drought of this summer. I give it occasional drains with the hose, but so far it has no mildew. It may take over my garden in the future but right now I love it!