Hit the Dirt; What's Pretty in the Summer

Hi there this is Claire Ackroyd and you're listening to hit the dirt this hot dry middle of the summertime is a difficult time in the garden there's not a lot of energy for gardening that I can see. I think the main job for the garden this time of year is to keep it watered and enjoy it. So if you're going to enjoy it you need something that's there to look at. So I thought it would be worthwhile spending a little time sort of with observations and comments on what is looking pretty at this time of year. All the spring flowers are done and it's a long way till Fall Foliage time. And so here's a few of the things the perennials that are really carrying us for color at this time of year. And these are some of the real workhorses with one or two lesser known things thrown in the bee barm looks great now. I did a tour of my friend's garden to see what was looking really good in the good gardens gardens and the bar is wonderful. Mo nada. It doesn't do well unless it gets fairly deep moist. Not too hot spot but with good soil it'll grow almost anywhere it's a very adaptable plant. It is one of the most popular. Hummingbird plants which is nice it's a

good plant for midsummer. It's a horrible plant you can use it to flavor. It's the source of the flavoring in Old Gray tea. The two popular ones have always been Cambridge scarlet and Crossthwaite pink. A red one and a pink one. Those of more or less been replaced by two called Garden View red and stones throw pink which are very good they're nice bright clear colors. And their big advantage is that they are much more disease M.D resistant. The problem with the bar being that it's a rather mildew prone plant. So garden view red and stone's throw pink are very resistant to mildew and looked great at this time of year. There's a nice one around called blue stocking It's a German plant I think Blau is the German name which is kind of nice. And it's a rather sort of striking heavy purple color and it's rather good plant and it will bloom a very long period so if you can find that one try that one. Right the other obvious one is that a little is a lot of people are put off by they lose by the rather common naturalized yellow orange

one. It's not yellow at all it's orange and a lot of people go oh I hate that a little is thinking only of that one I think is a little bit unfair to hate the old naturalized orange one is kind of a handy plant. But there are wonderful day lilies. There are thousands of daily lives and there are some beautiful plum colors enormous peach colored ones some very good Reds and lovely clear yellows in lots of sizes and lots of shapes configurations of flowers and so if you don't know just how versatile a plant they are go have a look for something a little is they're wonderful and they'll bloom now in the very hot weather they're very adaptable they'll grow in parts on full sun poorish soil. Very very handy plants. Theys is of course everybody loves daisies. I've picked a couple here I CAN THEY SURE really needs no introduction everybody's growing a can they share now it's kind of a popular herbal plant but it's a great garden subject anyway a great big pink daisies. The old ones have drooping petals pink drooping petals and a

rather sort of coarse orange colored cone in the center of the flower. There are new ones that whose petals don't droop and the color doesn't fade with the sun. But even the drooping petals fading one of the old Bright Star second issue is still a wonderful plant and grown in grow anywhere but grown in good soil they get massive in the Great Big Beautiful. These are the sort of rose pink daisies I love them. Very good plant. There's a nice one called White Swan Which is an off white which gives you a color contrast as well. Of course there there is there's the black eyed Susans It's almost no point in talking about black eyed Susans they're so common they're great. I love them. If you're going to grow black eyed Susans as a garden plant get one called Gold Star. It's shorter sturdier better quality plant lilies not to miss list. I get very confused between the difference between Asiatics and Orientals I don't think my geography is up to that. Can't handle the difference or the Orient as a geographical let alone a botanical question. But the lives

are wonderful and our great plants from Maine they love the heat. They don't mind growing in a hot dry situation and are gorgeous on through the summer. If you pick within that there's a lot of different groups of lilies. The one that I measure all others by is a thing called cousin Blanco which is Oriental and it's enormous sort of dinner plate sized white fragrant flowers. I love white at this time of year. It's hot and tired. There are a lot of colors look sort of wasted and white is bright and beautiful and fragrance is nice big flowers is nice so little is becoming more popular. 10 15 years ago so very few little is now you see lots of them. And my last pick there are slightly lesser known on a much different scale but the Veronicas Veronica spectator is the midsummer species for Veronica's lots of Veronica's around and blue fox icicle and red fox and a Blue Peter red fox an

icicle a blue a red and a white spike for on Ika which gives you a very pretty shape contrast to the daises and the sort of more balloon the shape things in the spiky Veronicas are lovely and I will do this again in about three weeks. I will look at what's in bloom at the middle of end of August and see what we can use to keep color in our garden. Until then keep listening to Dolly are you this is Claire rock garden I'll be on the air again in a week.