Knautia ‘Thunder and Lightning’

Knautia macedonia 'Thunder & Lightning'

A new addition to my garden this spring was this variegated Knautia ‘Thunder & Lightning’.   I planted it in a container for the summer and will transfer it to the garden this fall once the temps have cooled off a bit.  The magenta pink blooms make a striking combination with this creamy white and green foliage don’t you think?  It has been holding it’s own so far through this crazy weather we’ve been having this season.  This week I noticed it had started budding up and the first bloom opened this morning.  Here’s some more info on this new addition to my garden:

• Introduced by Sunny Border Nurseries
• Prefers well drained neutral soil
• Compact size makes it great for containers
• Grows 12-18″ tall and 10-18″ wide
• Blooms from June – August
• Prefers full sun conditions
• Deer resistant
• Good for cut or dried flower bouquets
• Hardy from zones 4-9

New Additions Update

Hydrangea paniculata 'Pinky Winky'

This will be the third season in the garden for my Hydrangea ‘Pinky Winky’.  It has never looked better or produced so many blooms.  Their not fully open yet, but I’m expecting great things from this ornamental shrub this year.  Here’s hoping…

Dwarf Barberry 'Sunjoy Gold Beret'

This is the second season in the garden for this tiny Berberis thunbergii.  It’s starting to form a nice mound of gold next to this unknown variegated Hosta.  I just think it’s so cute and would probably work well in a large container as well since it only gets about 6-12″ tall and 18″ wide at most.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday weekend!

VMG Plant Sale

VMG Plant Sale 2011: Wine two-toned Bearded Iris, Blue Vervain, Blackberry Lily and Yorktown Onion

This morning I made a trip over to the Virginia Master Gardener’s Plant Sale @ the Learning Garden in Yorktown.  I’ve been going to this annual sale which is held in May for the past three years and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.  Three years ago I met a previous Virginia Garden Blogger there for the first time, you know her as Janet @ The Queen of Seaford.  It runs from 9-12, but people get there early and the line gets long in no time.  Everyone was chatting about the Yorktown Onion which grows freely on the Colonial Parkway in Yorktown, Virginia.  They limit one plant per family and it’s the only place where you can one legally. The wild ones are protected by law from gathering or collecting.  Fortunately I was lucky enough to get one of these again this year.  The bulb is in the orange pot and the foliage has died back but it will sprout new green leaves come fall and hopefully bloom next spring.  That’s what happened with the one I bought 2 years ago, so I’m crossing my fingers for the same results this time around too.  I also picked up a Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis), Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata), and Wine two-toned Bearded Irises.  Now it’s time to find a home for my new babies, so happy gardening everyone and have a nice weekend and Mother’s Day!!!

Native Plant Sale

I went to the The Virginia Living Museum Spring Native Plant Sale this weekend.  My son and hubby came along and I ended up buying more than I initially intended partly due to my son insisting that I get one of everything.   He was intrigued by some of the common names so of course they were a must have purchase.  Here’s a list of what I picked up:

• Eryngium yuccifolium or Rattlesnake Master
• Helenium autumnale or Helen’s Flower
• Helenium flexuosum or Dark-eyed Helen
• Lupinus perennis or Sundial Lupine
• Phlox pilosa or Downy Phlox
• Sanguinaria canadensis or Bloodroot
• Symphyotrichum novea-angiae or New England Aster
• Symphyotrichum oblongifolium or Aromatic Aster
• Fraelescantia ohionesis or Ohio Spiderwort
• Viola pedata or Bird’s Foot Violet

New Additions

(From L-R: Lavender 'Anouk', Asiatic Lily 'Tango Ladylike' and Peruvian Daffodil)

Yesterday while at Lowes I picked up my first plant purchases of 2011.   This is a french Lavender that is highly fragrant, compact in size and heat/humidity tolerant according to the tag.  I had to buy two of them for some reason.  Don’t ask me why, lol.  This Asiatic Lily caught my eye too, probably because the colors looked pretty striking in the photo.  Last fall I added 5 or 6 new Asiatics, so I’m a bit excited to see them all start blooming.   The Daffodils were a nice find too.  I don’t think you can ever go wrong with bulbs, they are so easy to grow.  Now to find new homes for these beauties.  Hope everyone has a good weekend in and out of the garden!