My new route to work takes me past this garden every morning. A few days ago
Loree posted that she felt a change of heart coming on regarding Dusty Miller. I thought instantly of this place which is full of colorful ornamental and edible plants all summer. As many of the colorful herbacious plants are now out of sight, the large quantity of artemisias are taking center stage.
I'm not sure who lives here but they do love this plant and it is truly quite nice especially at this time of year. Notice also the fresh mulch that makes everything look very tidy.
I'm thinking that the green line is going to be a mass of inky blue grape hyacinths in just a few weeks.
The garden features two varieties of artemisia both of which are stunning. the green dots are raindrops.
This leaf looks so soft and fuzzy that one is tempted to pet it!
One of the benefits of actually getting out of the car is the opportunity to see a little more than what is visible from the other side of the street. The house sits at the top of a hill and the sidewalk in front is about 10 feet higher than this sunken garden. I wonder what grows in the pots
From the other side, behind the house. This is a pretty large space for being in a downtown area. I'm not sure what's growing in the cells of the cinderblocks but I see green sticking out of each of them.
I went across the street to take some of the images above and noticed this new ajuga foliage emerging from the moss.
A young man passed by while I was taking the pictures and said, "Crime Scene?" I explained that I thought that the newly emerging Ajuga foliage was interesting. He looked a little bewildered and continued walking. To be fair, he couldn't see what I was seeing from his vantage point but isn't it sad that the explanation of photographing a crime scene made more sense to him? The area where this garden grows has an unfortunate reputation but in my experience, it's not a lot different from many areas of town.
So, what do you think of Dusty Miller and for that matter Ajuga; great hardy plants that can be used for a variety of purposes and require little care or is it a crime to love something that can be purchased in six packs at any big box store? And of course the bigger question weighing on all of our minds (no, not the nonchalant acceptance of crime scenes or what we can do to help make a positive difference in our urban areas) is: will Ms. Danger soon change her mind about petunias?
Happy Monday!
Those Ajugas are incredibly bright! They hurt my eyes. That's way too much Dusty Miller for me. I know it's an interesting foliage plant, but I never quite know how to use it or where to put it.
ReplyDeleteI see it a lot in annual "color spot" kinds of combo plantings. It would look stunning with bright orange (like California Poppies) and Magenta flowers. I don't have any myself but I'm sure we could hire a horticultural consultant to tell us where to put it although Nigel would probably be happy to do that at no charge.
DeleteOh my! That's a lot of Dusty Miller and the like...wow! At least they are all quite healthy looking. I'm neutral on the Ajuga...although Lila seems to really be attracted to a large patch in a neighbors yard. I would have loved to hear about the passer-by's reaction had you looked at him with a dead serious expression and said "yes, a crime against horticulture"...
ReplyDeleteAnd finally let me assure you that if I ever do change my mind about petunias you will be the first to know. Right now I'd say all signs point to NEVER...but obviously stranger things have happened!
It is a lot of Dusty Miller but in the summer with all kinds of colorful perennials and annuals blooming their heads off all around it, o.k. it's even a lot of Dusty Miller even then.
DeleteGood to know that you've held the line regarding petunias. Still, that fragrance...
Barf! (the fragrance)
DeleteFrom the new line of Body Botanicals by Spiky Gardens NW? Also look for:
DeleteFlatulence! (the eau de toilette)
Perspiration! (the musk oil)
Urine! (the body splash)
At fine retailers everywhere.
Artemisia and the pink ajuga, I used to grow the green variety and Artemisia has had its day with me. There's just something about this plant. A bit like Setcreasea Purpura, beautiful coloured foliage, but needs special attention as to who its neighbours are.
ReplyDeleteI also used to grow artemisia but they always get woody and look horrible after a few years and I get rid of them. Setcreasea Purpura is a plant that I love and is sometimes hardy here but dies to the ground and, if the winter is mild, will re emerge from it's roots. I grow it in a screaming red pot.
DeleteI wanted to like this mass planting of silvery gray which I use a lot in my own landscape but I think it does needs more colorful plants. It's too much gray with the skies and the street although it does soften the edges of the streetscape.
ReplyDeleteThe bright ajuga is nice against all the gray. Interesting that San Antonio has plenty of sun most of the year and we prefer super bright colors and there are no wrong color combos. Up where it is cloudy and gray a lot, there seems to be an aversion to bright color.
I'm on the fence about this planting. I've passed it daily since August & with all of the color going on around the Artemisia in the summer, it was interesting but now it does seem a little somber. On the other hand, there is a feeling that pieces of the cloudy sky have fallen to the ground and they have an inner glow.
DeleteI love bright color but there aren't many plants that provide it during our winter season. You raise an interesting point and I've heard English (similar climate to ours) gardeners talk about the difference in the use of color there and in places in America like California and Texas where they feel the sun fades colors. There is certainly a difference in the intensity of the sun/heat. Now I'm going to go crazy until I find where I read or heard that.
I love white gardens or shades of white/cream/pale yellow gardens, and I have a small dedicated area to those colors where dusty miller plays a role, so that's a thumbs up. It's very restful and cool looking when the temps rise. I have changed my mind about ajuga since the new varieties have come available, but I haven't seen any pink of that bright hue. Funny about the crime scene inquiry. You must have looked like an undercover detective! Were you wearing your Sherlock hat?
ReplyDeleteThat ajuga won't stay that color, that's just newly emerging foliage. I've killed lots of Ajuga in my time because I've always placed it in very bad conditions because I thought that it was tough.
DeleteI had the day off and just threw a coat on over the sweats I was wearing... No hat, we don't believe in them here in the PNW. No umbrellas either. We just get wet.
I like dusty miller, but mine don't live long, so I don't have any in my garden. I think it does play off a number of colors well, and shows up beautifully in the moonlight. As for ajuga, I love it, but again, it doesn't love my garden, and I can never seem to get it to live long. (Gee, I am a gardener although you might not suspect it with those former statements!) Anyway, I was tickled about the crime scene question, until I realized he was not joking! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, we all seem to have a fairly common plant that we, for some reason or other, just can't grow well. I have a gardening friend who has tried over and over to grow California poppies in her garden but fails miserably. It's funny because they grow wild all over the place in her area. I've also killed a few Ajugas in my time but am trying desperately to keep a plant of Ajuga incisa 'Frosted Jade' alive. I got it from Far Reaches Farm where they grow it to perfection and the foliage is magical. Add the blue blooms and it's a show stopper!
DeleteDusty Miller explosion but we do like them....and Ajuga too. Such rewarding plants, undemanding and easy hence they become common too. Shouldn't be a bad thing :)
ReplyDeleteBeing fairly common myself, I'm happy with just about anything that doesn't die in my garden.
DeleteThe dusty miller alone looks like a ghost garden. I like it.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of a ghost garden. This place is right next to a church so I'm now going to call it the holy ghost garden.
DeleteLOL the crime scene hahaha too funny!!! I love Ajuga. The Black Scallop is really nice and a little richer in color and the Catlin's Giant is nice and "leafier" / larger leaves. Those are the two we grow and do well here in Texas but need shade. I actually posted a bloom of them today on our facebook page- funny you asked about them. Ha. Dusty Miller I like as well, many use it in pots here, I don't see it planted out a lot.
ReplyDeleteI used to see it in annual combo pots a lot. I love Artemisia 'Powis Castle' but it always gets leggy and woody for me after a little while. I found that taking cuttings and starting again works quite well but that's quite a bit of work. My niece grows A. Silver mound to perfection in Alaska where it dies to the ground every winter. Maybe that's the secret.
DeleteNo. Maybe Loree will love a petunia with a very sharp, pokey petal. Maybe some hybridizer will come up with one someday. Methinks only then will Loree concede.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that any plant can look good in the right situation. I'm not a particular fan of Dusty miller or any other silver/gray-foliage plant, maybe because I have to live with gray skies for so much of the year. But it can look great in other gardens. Ditto for the Ajuga.
Interesting backyard in your photos. Maybe you can go back next summer and see it in full regalia. :)
I think it would also need to squirt poison and throw quills!
DeleteAlthough I've grown a variety of silver/gray- foliage plants, I've never quite mastered finding a place for them where they really shine and never have found any that don't get woody and weird looking without a lot of help.
It is interesting and I'll definitely go back!
The pendulum still swings between love and hate for me, today is somewhere in the middle.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you feel centered:)
DeleteYou have spring! Soon there will be hyacinths blooming...I wish things would be like that here as well..
ReplyDeleteWe are very fortunate! Wishing you warm thoughts and cuddles with Mickey!
DeleteGreat photos! Makes me smile at what I DO have left after the frosty winter. Hhhmmmm, Dusty Miller, I wonder if that is something my wabbit friends would stay away from? After residing in our current home for almost 5 years, I've almost entirley given up the gardening hobby. Everything I plant the bunnies think is their private salad bowl. I originaly thought the previous owners didn't like flowers, regretably, we are the one's who bought a half acre lot full of 30 year old junipers and over-grown ivy. We have the same moss covered cobble stone look - the bunnies have yet to indulge that so the battle has not been lost. Former neighbors would like to have coffee with Sherlock when he's not investigating!
ReplyDeleteSounds like your area needs a nice family of bobcats or coyotes. Could you also have deer that enjoy eating your plants? Here's a list of deer/rabbit resistant plants http://www.icwdm.org/Publications/pdf/Deer/UAZ_deerandrabbit_resistplants.pdf Don't give up on gardening if it's something that brings you joy.
DeleteOutlaw, lovely cineraria! Love its silver leaves, I grow them near roses bushes, it looks wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteThey would be beautiful with roses and hide the bottoms of the bushes. What a wonderful combination!
Delete