Dusty Miller saved my gardening butt this summer

Dusty Miller fills a pot.

An accent plant that has always bored me a little worked its way into my heart this past summer and I now declare “I love Dusty Miller.”

Botanically speaking, its Senecio Cineraria. Native to southern Europe (but with less attitude), it is a perennial to zone 9, but an annual up in these parts. When it is grown as a perennial it flowers in a lovely, little yellow way its second year. But I will have to take the southern gardening books word on that one.

Dusty Miller is a nice brightening, focal point in the shade garden.

I think it works so well in the landscape pallet because it has the brightening, highlighting aspects of a white plant, but toned down enough to not over-pop. I used it in a pot in my sunny perennial border when celosia I had planted petered out. I loved how it filled in and added a nice texture.

Over in the shade, pond area, it acts as a lovely focal point; an unexpected spray of featheriness. And it is great in my planters that flank my French doors (one side gets sun, the other-not so much). It gets just a little leggy when it doesn’t get a lot of sun. But just a bit.

Dusty Miller works well in a shage container.

Dusty Miller works great in arrangements and guess what, it is reported to be deer-proof. You can root cuttings of it and it dries nicely, so try bringing in cuttings of it for a fall arrangement. When dried, it actually looks exactly as it does when it is alive and growing.

Dusty Miller, you have elevated above the other hoop house spikes and vinca vines. You are a star.

Kiss my aster

Purple perennial asters pop in the fall border

I could kiss my perennial aster I love it so much.

I am not sure of the particular variety , but I believe it is ‘Purple Dome.’ It is hardy to zone 4 and was purchased at Home Depot when it was in bloom. All the tag gave me was “Hardy Aster.” I used to poo-poo all the blooming perennials that are pushed at you in the garden centers, but they do help you plot your progressive blooming if you pay attention.

Asters are great additions to the perennial border. They are easy to overlook because you need to wait to September for the payoff, but its a big one. A couple shots of their royal purple help to pick up the dappled bits of purple throughout the garden and bring the whole plot to life.

They also bring out the bluish tones in the fieldstone path and complement the blushing red rouge of the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.”

Run out while the getting is good and plant yourself some asters. You could also plant them in a pot and and wait to get them in the ground by October 1.

Anyone can have a pond in their backyard

A diminutive pond makes a nice splash by the patio

If my diminutive back 40 can support an aquatic ecosystem, anyone’s can.

My patio pond area started with a store-bought, maybe 25 gallon pre-formed container that I dug (and dug!) a hole in the ground for. Then I added water and stirred! The fountain is an old cistern pump from the farm I grew up on. It is rigged simply with a pump and piping from Home Depot. This really is a do-it-yourself project for anyone and any space. The field stones came in handy in hiding the edge of the container. And the plantings soften the stones.

Part of the success of my pond is the dappled shade it resides under. An Emperor I Japanese Maple (hardy to Zone 4) canopies the space. The shade helps to keep algae at bay (no pun intended) big time. I think the shade also pops the color that occurs in the area.

As far as the plantings, can you ever go wrong with a tuft of impatiens. The coleus ‘Sedona’ is a delicious focal point and backdrop and the Creeping Jenny naturalizes the area. Hosta abound and a cup of duckweed purchased in the spring spreads prolifically throughout the season and I love the lime green and the little circle created by the spitting stream of water. The duckweed also keeps the water shaded and clear.

Anyone can have a pond. Shade is the key to keeping it clear.

Late Summer Garden Memories of the Minnesota State Fair

Late Summer Garden with Garden Goat

Do you have an iconic garden image or landscape design that sticks in your head, maybe even inspiring a plan that you have incorporated into your own home?

I hold memories of a late-summer garden that was installed by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society at the Minnesota State Fair, sometime in the very late 1990s. Designed by Lynn Steiner, Northern Gardener contributing writer, former Northern Gardener editor, and author of the Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan series, it was yummy.

Backed with ‘Karl Foerster” grass, ‘Goldsturm’ Rudbeckia and Russian Sage, it was peppered with purple coneflower, liatris, and ‘Nearly Wild’ shrub rose, and dotted with bergenia, salvia, and sedum ‘Autum Joy.’

Damn…it was late summer in Minnesota. It was inspiring to Minnesota gardeners as they stopped and scribbled down the details. This combination of northern gardening favorites is often-used today, but this was one of the first times I saw it realized.

When planning a back bed in my own yard, I drew inspiration from this bed. I added ‘David’ white phlox and backed the whole affair with an Annabelle Hydrangea. A ‘Pavement Purple’ shrub rose replaces the “Nearly Wild.” The bees love it as they plants bake in the sun.

Do you have a classic design that sticks in your mind?

A Tale of Two Pink Flamingos

My love of garden ornamentation began in the window of the Coast to Coast hardware store in the small town of Gaylord, Minnesota. It was right around the corner from the Sibley Hotel, which my Grandma owned and ran her catering business out of.

The Coast to Coast was a bastien of tchotzke, a haven of knick-knacks. In the packed front window perched a white plastic stork, a mother duck and three chicks, and the greatest of all, two pink flamingos. Long before they became kitschy, these darlings were regal. A way for the rural to elevate themselves to elite garden party status. I stared at them through the glass, with the same sickness of heart that teen girls swooned over David Cassidy.

I don’t recall exactly how they came to be mine, but they landed in our muddy Minnesota yard never to leave. One has migrated elsewhere, but one still is with me, keeping an eye on the backyard, reminding me to never take this whole garden design thing too seriously.

 The stork still hangs around as well, his baby delivering days dried up. The ducks are who knows where.

The 36 year-old (or so) pink flamingo is of another breed from the flimsy Menards birds of today. He is in for the long haul.