Viewing comments posted by adknative

I have not been able to capture the 'true' colour of this phlox with the camera, in pictures it looks more pink than it actually appears in the garden. The true colour is tinged more towards a deep apricot tone and definitely shows in the range of 'coral' that's in its name. The foliage is a deep green, and the contrast is just striking.

A North American native perennial, Swamp Candles (Lysimachia terrestris) is a wetland plant that produces yellow flowers in summer, starting as early as mid-July. It grows "in swamps, bogs, and other wetlands" in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State and is found within every county inside the Blue Line except Saratoga County, NY.

Bull Thistle is not native to North America and is believed to have been introduced to eastern North America in colonial times. The blooms create seed that attaches to a very downy seed head, and it's this down that is frequently used by the female American goldfinch when building her nest, often weaving it so skillfully and tightly that it will actually hold water. Bull Thistle easily roots in disturbed areas, including pastures, cleared forests, and fence edges, as well as in ditches and along roadways.

This dappled / variegated willow is (I'm convinced) impossible to kill. Zone 3 winters don't faze it and, with the tri-colour leaves of new growth each spring, I cannot count the number of people who have asked me, "What's that beautiful flowering bush? I've never seen that one before..."

The green & white look like variegated leaves, but that spring blush looks (to the unknowing) like pastel pink flowers. And such a versatile shrub - leave it to grow many stemmed and form a bushy privacy hedge... or prune it to a single stem and make topiary little lollipops ... or let it grow, tree-like as a statement showpiece. Hot, dry summers (we went through a drought, 3 summers ago) do not even set it back... and it's a willow, so it's the perfect solution for a wet spot. Best shrub purchase I ever made.

Amsterdam Seasoning celery does have an intense celery flavour, but does not grow thick celery stalks. More similar in appearance to Italian flat-leaf parsley, this can be chopped and added to anything you want to add celery flavour to... I've used it in fresh green salads, chopped for chicken and tuna salad / sandwich-style, and also used it in cooking for soups and stews. I've also found I can grow it indoors over the winter by giving it a sunny window.

This safflower is credited to Lorenzo Trussoni, who is said to have brought it to this country from Italy in 1889. Used frequently among the Italian communities, the dried petals are a great saffron substitute when harvested fresh then dried inside.

Although Cameroon Night is listed only to zone 5, I've been growing it in zone 3 for a number of years. It's quite hardy for my northern garden. The pattern is always consistent and stands out very distinctly among the others around it ... not gaudy, just a solid and reliable bloom. It's been trouble-free in the gardens, never had issues with any pests or any sign of rust. A keeper.

As with many plants which successfully grow in my northern cold-climate gardens, Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Jean Baby') is noted as hardy to zone 4. It's growing well in zone 3b for me, perhaps due to the fact that I mulch nearly everything... or due to the heavy snow cover we have for more than five months of most years. In any case, very hardy plant despite its ethereal appearance. It is extremely low-care and, once established, drought-tolerant.

Striped Squill (Puschkinia scilloides) is indeed hardy to zone 3, I have had it growing here for nearly 30 years. It's extremely hardy, despite giving an appearance of 'delicate' beauty. And it naturalizes, with a gradual (never invasive) spread ... even in a grassy area, it will seed itself among and between the roots of surrounding plants and, in springtime, make a lovely blue carpet. Highly recommend.

I've seen several comments regarding Dorothy and Toto that suggest either it does not increase well or that it's hard to locate, as well as still being quite pricey or frequently sold out even after being out for nearly 20 years.

My response is: even here in zone 3, it has multiplied beautifully and I will be dividing it this year. (I can go ten years or longer here in a cold climate and not need to divide a daylily) ... Dorothy and Toto could be divided every several years even here, so I suspect that would be more likely where it's warmer.

It branches well so the flowers are not crowded together even when there are multiple blooms ... and rather than the price reflecting a problem with increase, I would say that the 'problem' is with its beauty ... so many people want it, that demand is what keeps the cost up there. When anything is frequently sold out, it's often because it's popular.

I've had Dominic in the gardens for more than 5 years ... which, being zone 3 here, means I consider it to be quite reliably hardy. That being said, it's also a gorgeous, deep velvety bloom. In the sun, it's a rich burgundy black-red ... when the day is overcast or the flowers are shaded, it looks nearly black.

It's always been not only pest-free but also rust-free in my gardens and has a great impact - planted near one of my Incrediball hydrangeas. When they are both blooming, the contrast is just stunning.

For those of us who like a very prissy edge, I am in love with Princess Diana. Last year was her second in the gardens, this year I expect to see a lot more going on as she should be much larger and better established. But with only two years in the gardens, she came as a small seedling ... tripled in size and put out blooms in her second summer here. - Now if she were just fragrant ... but not bad for my zone 3 gardens. Not bad at all!

Moussaka performs extremely well in zone 3. It produces multiple scapes with many buds per scape and begins blooming by the 2nd week of July. That may not seem like much but it continues blooming well into August - and still bloomed in September.

Moussaka was the ONLY daylily in my gardens that was still putting out flowers in the 2nd week of October, giving its last blooms of the year during the same week I was planting my Asiatic and Oriental lily bulbs for next year. Absolutely amazing.

I have had Egyptian Queen in the gardens for five years... reputed sibling to Wild Horses, and with a similar look: both top out between 3 and 3.5 feet, both have a very bold maroon eye on a 7-inch flower ... and, without knowing they were 'related' I ended up with both in my gardens.

Egyptian Queen''s background colour is more creamy (closer to an off-white) ... a paler 'yellow' than Wild Horses. It also has 4-way branching (vs. 3-way) and a slightly higher bud count. And while both are listed for zone 5, both do very well in my zone 3.

If they were twins, then I guess Egyptian Queen would be the 'quiet' twin... less fanfare, fewer off-spring, maybe a little less attention. But Egyptian Queen stands on her own merits and is an asset in any northern garden.

Easter Egg looks something like early traditions of pysanky (elaborate hand-painted Ukranian eggs), without the extreme detail - perhaps the reason for its name. I've grown 'Easter Egg' in the gardens for two years, and while it has bloomed very well for being so new, I do believe it is still becoming established and will be showier once it has another season or two.

That said, in zone 3 gardening, Easter Egg has had no rust, no disease, and no other problems. It's fragrant and the flowers are nearly the size of my open hand. It matches perfectly with its description: "cream self with a green throat and pattern lavender violet eye and matching picotee and gold edge." Even though its blooms are consistent every time, I still find myself looking twice to see that layered colour on the tightly ruffled edge. It's beautiful.

I have now had Earth Music for five years - large flowers on about 2 1/5-foot scapes. For me it flowers in midseason. I had to move it last year, it was in an area where work needed to be on the property, but it did put out a couple of flowers in spite of being moved.

I find this daylily carefree: no rust, no diseases, no pests. I expect it will return to producing blooms well again this year, but time will tell.

Dynamite Returns aka Passionate Returns is a small-flowered daylily, but it more than makes up for the size of the bloom by how prolifically it flowers. It performs extremely well here in zone 3, disease-free and pest-free for the five years I have been growing it. Added plus: it's fragrant, too.

But the real winner is how very long it flowers for me here... it begins around the middle of July (fairly early, as my very earliest daylilies begin the last week of June) - but it continues well into August and, so long as we do not have a dry season, blooms profusely nearly to the end of summer. Not quite as close to 'everblooming' as Stella d'Oro, for example, but much longer than most.

Dimensional Shift is gorgeous! Reliably hardy in zone 3, I think it actually grows a bit taller than the 26-inch scapes it's listed for. It blooms in midseason here in northern NYS mountains but stands out very well in the gardens.

This daylily complements whatever you have planted nearby and, when companioned by deeper maroon or burgundy blooms ... such as Dominic, American Revolution or Midnight Magic ... or against purple foliage (such as Rose Wine barberry, or many of the ninebarks) it really pops!

I've only had Dewy Sweet for two years, but it has done very well here in zone 3. Unlike some daylilies, this plant has had zero issues with any rust or disease in the gardens. The blooms seem to be consistently a deep, rich "caramel cream with bright red eyezone above green throat" as described, though I see pics from other gardens where it is much more pale and more pink.

It is double 'most' of the time but has single blooms on occasion. Smaller than the flowers of many daylilies, there is no fragrance that I can detect. Despite it's zone 5 listing, I find it very hardy here in zone 3. It's charming near the mid-fore section of the border and I would certainly recommend it.

I added 'Destined to See' to my zone 3 gardens three summers ago and I love this daylily. The blooms are in the medium range (nearly the stretch of my open hand), on sturdy scapes (about the 2-foot height noted) ... possibly just a bit under. It flowers well in midseason here, despite the zone 5 listing.

The plant has filled out, begun to multiply - and like so many others here, it has displayed the occasional polymerous bloom. We do have very snowy winters, which offers excellent insulation, but I would suggest 'Destined to See' for other cold-climate gardeners. It's beautiful.