Monday, January 12, 2009

Amsonias Part 3, The first was not my true love.


In December, I wrote about love found in an alley and then love part 2.  Today I am posting about the first Amsonia tabernaemontana I found locally after falling in love with the one in the alley.  When it bloomed, the flowers were slightly different, and I realized it was not the same kind as my first love.  It was OK, but over time, I realized it's a bit spready, and flops over, so needs more support.  It's not as tall, either.

This photo was taken 5/6/08, and shows the amsonia coming up on the east side of the house, next to the window well, under and next to the barbed wire.  On the left is a yellow blooming helenium, or Helen's flower.


This one, taken 5/12, shows the quaking grass next to the amsonia.  There is also a clump of amsonia that has spread in and next to the goldenrod in front of the bed frame.


In bud, 5/19:


The one that spread to the area in front of the bed frame, 6/3:


Another, next to the yarrow, has joined in the blooming, 6/15, making 3 clumps in flower:


I'm not sure why I included this one, but the amsonia is still there against the house 6/18:


In late June, I was asked to have my yard toured by my local herb society, because the woman whose yard was to be toured broke her hip.  I would have rather waited until next year, but agreed, because another member who lives near me agreed to have hers toured, too.  In my preparation, I decided to dig out some of the flopping amsonia and pull up some that was out of bounds. The next photo was taken 7/10.  There is still a clump right against the house.  I don't remember what kind of cone flower I planted.  The yellow/orange flower is a crocosmia.


On 8/4, it's still right against the house, not spreading.  The newly planted foxgloves and fancy daisy I can't remember the name of are blooming.


I didn't seem to have more pics of this amsonia until 12/26.  When I first started to work on this post the other day, I thought I had mislabeled the next pic, and that it was the one by the egress window, so I waited until I could take another pic.  I should have known better than that, because the leaves are shaped a little differently, and the other does not lie down like this one.


I decided to go ahead and include the pic I went out in the cold and snow after work today to take, which is when I realized I had not mislabeled the other pic like I thought I had.


I am thankful the days are getting longer now.  Spring is getting closer.  This blogging has become my winter gardening, and I get to visit other gardens in the process.  Fun, fun, fun!

8 comments:

  1. I am blogging in winter, but I know as soon as I can spend an entire day outside, I will write much less frequently!

    Cameron

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  2. Amsonia though flopping over with height are beautiful. I love the coneflowers! They get noticed no matter where they're! Great post.

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  3. I'm just loving that flower bed! Good job. Not familiar with the Amsonia though, looks like an interesting plant.

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  4. I love the bedstead in your garden. Even when the plants are tiny the bed is there to add interest.
    Marnie

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  5. I'm not sure I recognise this plant - I'll have to look it up. As you say, it's great to discover other gardens in winter, and you have so many interesting links that I wish I had more time to explore them.

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  6. hello sue, i see you found my sisters blog, meems at hoe and shovel. that is where i continue to get my garden fix and a real live visit is in the works for feb.
    i love the iron bed among your new fav plant.

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  7. They look so pretty and I would love the water from that snow..diluted in temperature a bit to use on my lawn. This is the second of two 37-9C days here in Victoria Australia.. Not nice. Much to hot and we have not had them since last March.
    trying to use water saving granules and filling 3lt milk containers with water as I wait for hot to come through and putting seaweed mix in that and then out on the garden. Too hot for me to be out so have just taken my gardener /handyman coffee and cool water out to keep him alive. He was wise and started at 8.30 today. Tomatoes looking good but not ripe yet. Ate a plum the other day and peaches and nectarines ripening. So different to snow which we do not get anyway.

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  8. Thanks for the comments!

    Cameron, I'm thinking along the same lines you are.

    Chandramouli, Thank you for following this series and for your positive feedback. I have more coneflowers here and there. I like them, too.

    Darla, It looks like there are quite a few flowers we can both grow, but also a number that the other is not familiar with because of our zones. I don't know how far down amsonias can grow.

    Marnie, There is a big old house with a big yard that has the head and foot part of a pink metal bed frame on the edges of a flower bed in our town that I love. I have another one on the fence to my veggie garden I didn't find a spot for in the flowers.

    Linda, I'm glad I found a gardener in Scotland. I enjoy seeing what's going on with you and your allotment, too.

    Hi Marmee, I actually found your blog through Meems when she posted about visiting you. I enjoy the relationship you two share. I sometimes catch the comments you make on each others' blog.

    Jane, It's in the single digits here in Nebraska today, and I just cannot wrap myself around your heat. Send some this way, and while your at it, I'll take a few tomatoes. LOL

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.