Friday, June 16, 2017

Flowers! And Bugs!

Enough of construction and problem solving!  I have flowers to brag about ... Russian sage, hollyhocks, penstemons and gaillardia blooming between my patio and the fence in a gaudy mess.  
This is the traditional New Mexico style flower garden, where you plant a lot of things and let them fight for room. My long term plan is to extend this planting along the fence to the right, as time and available compost permit.

The Russian sage has dozens of bees, and an occasional butterfly.  These cream or white ones with spots are common.  An orange sherbet colored one taunts me and dodges the camera.
 

And on another wall, Zebra hollyhocks (Malva sylvestris) in a small planting area between patio and barbecue grill. There are also gaura and salvia for the hummingbirds.
 

4 comments:

Joe Shaw said...

I love perennials. I don't grow many, but I love them. Your post has got me thinking that maybe I do need to try some Russian sage.

Lazy Gardens said...

Russian sage is perennial, cold-hardy, heat tolerant, and needs very little water. It has a long bloom time and is good source of nectar and pollen. Very few pests.

You can kill it easily by planting it in rich soil, fertilizing often and giving it ample water. It does best with lean growing conditions.

Janet said...

I actually managed to kill a Russian sage by ignoring it too much--it either dried out completely, or the grasshoppers got it. I'm going to try again once our monsoon rains start.

Mesatrees said...

It's always a nice treat if a gardener's flowering plants survive the dryness and climate changes.