Spring is here and at Wayside Gardens we want you to have your best garden yet! We’ve cultivated a list of our favorite new perennials of 2019 so that you can fill your landscape with some of our most unique, exceptional, and highly recommended plants! Here are five perennials that we’re obsessed with for 2019!
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Life isn’t always about pastels and primary colors. They say the darker the berry the sweeter the juice, but does that hold true for the rest of the botanical world as well? Take a walk on the dark side and see how amazing these unique plants can truly be!
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Ghouls and Goblins won’t kill you. But these plants could.
Many of the garden plants we grow for ornamental reasons got their vibrant, exotic colors as nature’s way of saying “Warning—Poison!” While most of these are innocuous enough sitting in pots or in the garden, if ingested they could cause illness of varying severity, and sometimes even death.
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One of the numerous negative ecological effects of urban development is a higher rate of soil erosion. Forests naturally hold on to soil with their roots. Trees slow the fall of raindrops to keep them from disrupting the soil. The natural bumps and hillocks in the landscape break up the flow of water, giving it more opportunity to be absorbed by plant roots and filtered through the soil before it winds its way into creeks, streams, and rivers. These natural soil-defense mechanisms do not exist in developed land, where rain falls on rooftops, asphalt, and flat lawns covered in relatively sparse, shallow-rooted plants. All this means that on developed land, wind and rain carries off much more top soil, dumping it into storm drains and into the water table. This not only degrades the soil quality, but also dumps soil into the local water supply, along with oils and often-toxic pollutants.
For the sustained health of your garden and your community, you should try and minimize erosion and runoff as much as possible with careful garden design. Where downspouts empty onto your yard or where storm waters flow through it, you should take every effort to absorb and filter this water. A well-designed garden will capture water effectively, keeping plant roots moist much longer while also holding on to the soil’s nutrients and keeping pollution out of the local water table.
Read MoreThe Labor Day holiday comes at the perfect time for busy gardeners! Bearded Irises should be divided every 2 to 3 years, and Daylilies need division every 3 to 5 years. Late summer is the best time to do this, so make a morning of it and do both at once!
Bearded Iris is very easy to dig up, because the rhizome sits at soil level. Carefully dig it up, keeping as many roots as possible, and wash it off. Then check the rhizome carefully for soft areas and small holes. Remove all of these undesirable areas with a sharp knife, then divide the remaining rhizome at its natural joints (shown at right with a red arrow). Trim the foliage back to about 6 inches, and re-plant the new rhizomes.
Like everything else about Daylilies, division is very simple! Just dig up the plant, taking care to keep as many of the roots intact as possible. Then plunge two garden forks back-to-back through the center of the plant and gently pull them apart, dividing the plant in two. Repeat until you have smaller clumps. Trim the foliage back to about 12 inches and re-plant the new clumps, hilling up the soil and fanning at the roots.
Now that you have many more new Bearded Iris and Daylily plants, you might consider creating an accent planting of just these two perennials. They both appreciate sunshine and good drainage, and bloom successively, with the Daylilies often encoring to keep the Irises company! This way you can dig up and divide the entire planting every 3 years, and keep your garden growing in beauty.
Read MoreBlack Gamecock is probably the most popular Louisiana Iris available, a
beautiful, dark, and interesting full-sun perennial for your summer
garden. The dark purple to black flowers will bloom in June and July
for an impressive mid-summer show. Combine with other Louisiana Irises
and moisture-loving plants for a fuller effect.
This is one of those plants that solves a problem in your garden – it
will grow in that low wet area that drowns your other plants. Louisiana
Irises are perfect for bog gardens and the edges of ponds. They need
constant moisture to thrive – do not let them dry out between waterings.
Black Gamecock spreads pretty fast, creeping through your garden,
creating a wonderfully natural wild-flower look that really compliments
water features and dense green garden designs.