Signature Plants in a Garden

It has occurred to me that after all my blog visiting, plant lusting, list making and plant acquiring...that my gardens might be well on their way to hosting many of my friend's plants and even their Signature plants. (as always all photos enlarge with a click)

You'll remember that not too long ago Tina (In The Garden) started a fun meme when she asked us to identify our signature plants. Tina's is a Japanese Maple...and a few years ago, I had a beautiful little maple that was the pride of the patio. Workers pouring the concrete somehow damaged it and it was gone within a few months. It was heart breaking, but several others were planted in the
Porch Wildflower garden and they light up the garden all year long...

The Susans Garden and the Porch Wildflower Gardens have more then a few gifts from friends, gardenblogging and other wise~~

Pink Muhly from fairegarden.

Seedlings from Rose's hollyhocks, MMD's special purple columbine and Pam's Hinckley columbine will hopefully join the Pink Muhly from Frances and the Powis castle from Tina in the front gardens.

But, the Garden that is experiencing real transformation is the Garden of Benign Neglect.

Just the other day I planted three Knapp Hill Golden Flare Azaleas.

These deciduous azaleas are similar to Frances' beautiful signature plants. Rumors that a local nursery might be closing made me eager to visit and bargain. I was exploring the back corners when I saw them~~
all budded up and ready to be popped into the ground.... and so they have been!

Right here... This is before...the after will be shown later when it stops raining and I can take my new camera outside! Trust me, they have already added some much needed understory and will look stunning!

Also, planted were Hellebores that came from my friend Barbara's garden (and my own seedlings)...While they aren't native to Tennessee and certainly not to cedar glades...they are rugged and can survive the extremes that this garden gets winter and summer. Barbara isn't a blogger, but hellebores are her signature plant...for sure!

Echinacea of all colors and types were named by a few folks as their signature plants. They could very easily be one of my favorites...Tennessee Coneflowers certainly are! I love how their pert little faces with the recurved petals
follow the sun all day long....a Sun Salutation~~

It's a wonderful trait if you have them sited in full sun! It turns out that my neighbors very tall oak shades the Cedar Glade bed in the late afternoon~~this is the result~

Downward Facing Dog ~not Sun Salutation

Tennessee Coneflowers laying down on the job! They are going to a sunnier spot in the GOBN...where the wet soil all winter and the dry soil all summer will be heaven to them.

Echinacea purpurea seedlings and crosses (the bees can't help but pollinate) are everywhere.If you remember, purple coneflower

is Rose's signature plant...and very easily could have been Jodi's except she is totally a poppy lover!

You'll notice they are hanging out quite nicely with Dave's signature plant family...salvias.

Salvia azurea and friend

I think we have room for salvias in the GOBN, too.
All the flavors of salvia!

Several of you chose roses as your signature plant. Sweetbay, has chosen the Hansa rose a beautiful rugosa rose that is also fragrant.

She has another rose that she kindly shared with me...Carolina Rose (site). It's a perfect rose for my mostly native garden. Right now it's planted in a hospitable place, but it will be moving to the GOBN...soon.

As far as I can remember, no one chose the amsonias as a signature plant...

Someone please adopt them~~They are especially beautiful in the fall. I see a drift of them
along this side of the dry creek with Rusty. (ed. Tina reminded me that Sue has posted extensively about amsonias....)

Another orphan plant in need of adopting are the baptisias... That must happen! This is one fantastic plant. It has the best winter form with it's deep gray stems and dangling seed pods. My garden coach, Sarah called it Iron Plant because it looks like iron piping. (click to enlarge) What do you think? I think it's a great looking plant...spring and summer. It's going in the GOBN and is already flourishing in the Cedar Glade Bed and the Susans Garden. It's a very versatile plant! (ed. although, I think Benjamin might be the perfect adoptive candidate...he loves them, too)

There are so many beautiful plants to think about adding to the GOBN. But, native ferns, like the Christmas fern and the non-native Autumn Fern will be perfect intermingled with the wildflowers that are already happily flourishing~~

Iris cristata and iberis

columbines galour;

and of course, asters...

Native asters are all over the GOBN. I don't recall if anyone chose them, but I identify bees with Cheryl. I'm not sure anyone appreciates them as much she does.

There are still many admired plants on my list! Who knows what this spring and summer will bring. I am open to your suggestions...please let me know what you might like to see in The Garden of Benign Neglect....Now, no comments like 'I want to see it cleaned up!"

Warmest thoughts of you all on this wet and cold winter day!

Oh, in case you think I could forget PPPP...Here she is in all her pinkness~~

Gail

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
- John Lennon