Botanical Musings - Focus on the Good

Hello,

I hope everyone had a great July 4 weekend, and if you were in the garden, you were probably pulling hoses around like I was – doing emergency watering. I decided to have a few friends over for drinks so we could lament on how bad things were. About halfway through I had this semi-brilliant idea that we should walk around the garden not looking at what was bad, but to look at what was good. So, we had another drink and proceeded on our garden walk.

You know what? 90% was looking good and 10% was looking bad. The lesson there was to focus on the good not the bad – and plant more of it. I think that applies to life in general, so let’s focus on what’s looking good and do more of it.

Of course, with plants, what was looking good were plants that were native and plants from Mediterranean regions. They can withstand the heat and drought; they have seen it all before. As we walked around, we made a list – it’s much longer than I can give you in this short musing!

• Surprisingly enough, the groundcover Campanulas were looking good especially the ones in the wall. One would think they would be hot, and dry, and baked, but the Campanula portenschlagiana ‘Blue Waterfall’ and 'Birch Hybrid' looked good.
• Asclepias tuberosa - like 'Gay Butterflies' or 'Hello Yellow'
• Delosperma – of course they were great, it’s hot and dry.
• Belamcanda which are getting ready to bloom this time of year were looking great.
• Echinaceas were stealing the show right now in full bloom. My favorite Echinaceas, ‘Rocky Top’ and ‘Virgin’ looked great.
• All the grasses – Eragrostis, Sesleria, etc.
• Kalimeris ‘Daisy Mae’
• Lavandula
• Lobelia cardinalis in the moist part of the garden
• Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’, which may not be my favorite color, but is my favorite performer. It seldom gets powdery mildew, which is a problem with Monardas. It is upright and looking beautiful on a hot summer day.
• Verbascum
• Salvia, especially ‘Amistad’
• Rudbeckia ‘Sweet as Honey’, not quite as bright as your traditional Rudbeckia. A softer yellow.
• Rudbeckia deamii, which is more resistant to fungal problems than other Rudbeckias.

There are many things we can focus on that look good this time of year. Let’s focus on what is working and plant more of them. Focus on the positive, not the negative - that certainly helps.

Happy Gardening!

-Dave

Top Photo - Echinacea 'Virgin'

Bottom Photos (left to right): Campanula 'Birch Hybrid', Monarda 'Jacob Cline', and Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii