We went out driving today, because it’s been so rainy that there’s no way to actually work out in the garden because it’s far too wet. So instead, we stopped by one of the nurseries (Morning Star Farm) in the area that we went to for the first time last year, and again, we weren’t disappointed, at all. I love Laurie because she grows some things that we don’t find elsewhere, and she’s really helpful in finding stuff that will thrive for us. She’s right on the Connecticut River and thus a full zone warmer than we are.
So here’s what we got:
Hibiscus Pink Clouds We were really psyched to see a hardy Zone 4 hibiscus. The flower looks almost tropical. I’m not quite sure where I”m going to put this one. (or any of these, actually. I need to think!
[In searching around for how to care for this guy in the fall, I found this note here and wanted to jot it down:
Hardy hibiscus needs very little care over the winter. Its roots are hardy to zone 4 with no protection. They die to the ground each year and the new spring growth rises from the roots. After a hard frost in the fall, cut the plant back to four to five inches. The old stem stubs will remind you where they are in the garden. This is important because it is the very last perennial to emerge. Often, they don’t show signs of life until late May or early June. Many gardeners assume their hibiscus plant has died over the winter, so they dig up and destroy live plants without giving them a chance to emerge.]
Catananche caerulea Cupid’s Dart. It’s like a combination of two of my favorite things. I love daisies, and I love blue flowers, and this sort of looks like a blue daisy. I’m in love.
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Purpurascens’ I’ve only got two hardy grasses so far, and I’m always looking for another one. Laurie looked this one up in the books to be sure it’s hardy to zone 4, and was happy to report that it looks hardy to 4a even. Very cool. I want to find a spot in front of a stone wall, I think.
Buddleia davidii ‘Black Night’. Frank thinks we’ve tried this one before, but I’m not so sure. We have a pale lavender Buddleia that unfortunately Frank’s truck ran over when the brakes failed earlier in the year. It’s only a zone 5 plant, but I have it right in a corner where the snow plow guy piles up the snow, so it almost always gets lots of snow insulation, and seems fine, three years in a row now. So if I can find another spot like that, I should be fine.
Sedum stonecrop mohrchen. This plant just jumped out at me and wanted to come home. I have some Autumn Joy sedum, but this one had bronze purplish foliage and is quite striking. I need to find something to contrast it with, and it’s all bent in a weird shape as if it was stretching to reach the sun, but I think it’ll do great.
Campanula porscharskyana–Serbian Bellflower. A blue flower for June, July and August? Frank’s going to have to stop me from buying more and more blue flowers, but I’m all psyched, because I don’t have many blue flowers late in the year.
Campanula persicifolia blue. I know, I know! Another blue flower. But it’s pretty, and I love blue flowers. I need blue flowers at this time of the year. Stop me.
Ornamental strawberry. Frank picked out this one, and it’s really cute. I think the blossoms on the one we have are a bit more red than pink. Laurie promised this variety is hardy to zone 4.