Blogging Anniversary

PPPP~Practically Perfect Pink Phlox

Ten years ago today, with equal excitement and anxiety, I clicked the publish button on my first blog post. There was no way I could have predicted what was to come or what an adventure it would be. Since that first brief~seven sentence post~a lot has happened. I've made new and dear friends. I've seen more gorgeous gardens than you can possibly imagine. I've even attended a garden bloggers get together in the UK. Along the way, I've grown as a writer, a photographer, a nature lover and a gardener.

I don't for one minute regret the time I've spent sitting at my desk hunting and pecking my way to posts I was never sure anyone would ever read! I've been one fortunate garden blogger...Because of you, dear readers.

I started blogging to connect with other gardeners who felt as passionate about gardening as I did. What I found were generous, kind and supportive people, many of whom have become very dear friends.

Most of us have only been able to visit each other's gardens through our blog photos and posts, but, that doesn't diminish our connections.

A few of us have been able to visit each other's gardens...What a delectable treat that has been.

Quite a few of us have exchanged seeds and plants.

So my dear friends I continue to blog because it's still important to me to connect with other gardeners; it's still important to talk about native plant gardening for wildlife; and, it's still important to showcase wildflowers on Wildflower Wednesday. My friends, you are all dear to me. Thank you for being here for this marvelous and magical experience.

xoxogail

PS I thought you would enjoy seeing Phlox pilosa the the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox again. I love knowing that many of you have a bit of Clay and Limestone in your garden.

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

National Wildflower Week: Eastern Columbine

Beloved of hummingbirds and bumblebees, Aquilegia canadensis's flower lanterns are a must have for any wildlife gardener in the Eastern United States.

Red or Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis L.)

I discovered them in my garden the Spring after we moved here and they have been stars ever since. They're native to the Central Basin where I garden, but, I've always thought of them as a gift of the floral arranger who once lived here.

Eastern Columbine's bloom period overlaps with Golden ragwort and Phlox pilosa and I dubbed them the Happy Trinity of Clay and Limestone. In my metaphorical mindset, the trio is like a Mirepoix (cuisine)/holy trinity of ingredients and spices that when mixed together make the gardens colorful and tasty each spring. They're my garden's Spring flavor base and it gets even more delicious as Spring progresses. (Happy Flower Trinity)

 I love the way it intermingles with the pinks and purples throughout the garden, not to all tastes, but a delicious presentation none the less. With any successful garden recipe there are always plants that provide additional flavor and I will tweak the recipe a little each year, adding new ingredients, adjusting others, but, only when it will help the overall presentation and tastiness! (from an earlier post)

Aquilegia canadensis occurs naturally in rich rocky woods, north-facing slopes, cliffs, ledges, pastures, bogs, fens, roadside banks and good garden soil! They're easy peasy and if you want more let them go to seed...The seedheads are equally delightful! You'll know they are ripe when the it splits open and shiny black pearls spill out. Collect and plant them where ever you want more lanterns to light up your garden.

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: The Happy Flower Trinity

If you're a cook, you know that creating a delicious stock, soup, or stew often starts with basic ingredients and builds from there. The French have their mirepoix of onions, carrots and celery; the Italians have their tomato, garlic and basil; and Cajun cooking has its holy trinity of onions, peppers and celery.  Each of these  flavor bases makes the food tasty and delicious and unique to that region.

Clay and Limestone has its own trio of flowering beauties~Golden Ragwort, Columbine and Downy Phlox ~ that make the garden a colorful and tasty treat each spring.

Clay and Limestone is a small side dish of this delicious mixture (photo 2011)

All three are native to the Nashville Basin. The Basin is an elongated mixing bowl of land where Mother Nature has tossed cedar glade and Tennessee native plants into a unique and delicious mixture. Our tasty dish is never the same year to year, like local cooking, the proportions all depend upon the weather and what nature makes available!

 The Happy Trinity have been liberally sprinkled about the garden

Let's take a look at these special plants that combine wonderfully to make this garden's flavor base for Wildflower Wednesday.

notice a few aphids~I leave them for the beneficial insects to gobble up

Golden Ragwort or Packera aurea is a bright daisy with evergreen basil foliage. It makes a wonderful groundcover if the conditions are right~even moisture year round. Strangely enough, that may be why many people don't add it to their gardens~fear of a plant making too big a statement. I like big statement plants, after all, this is the home of rough and tumble wildflowers!

I think it's absolutely beautiful. The small daisy like golden flowers on tall stems are chock full of pollen and nectar for small bees, flies and butterflies. Occasionally, aphids show up on a few plants, but, I leave them for the ladybugs. There are no cultivars of this beauty, the straight species is perfect!

Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Eastern North America to Texas
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 2.50 feet Spread: 0.50 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: April Bloom
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Pollinators: Small bees and butterflies

How does one describe Aqiulegia canadensis! I think of it as bright lanterns that sway in the slightest breeze sending a signal to pollinators that there's nectar in those spurs!  Here's a good reason to plant more Columbine! "Ornithologists have discovered that the ruby-throated hummingbirds tend to follow the blossoming of Aquilegia canadensis on its journey north in spring, since the flowers are the first to provide nectar for the birds." (source)

Columbine thrives in part to full shade, in any well-drained soil. I find it happiest in cracks and crevices, really, it grows anywhere a seed falls and the drainage is good! Plants tolerate full sun if temperatures are cool, but they grow better in my garden in partial shade. Red columbine is found in rocky woods from Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territories south to Florida and Texas.

growing between the flagstone in the Garden of Benign Neglect

Family: Ranunculaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 8
Bloom Time: April to May (even earlier after a gentle Middle South winter)
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Pollinators: Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and hawk moths feed on columbine necta

...and finally

Practically Perfect Pink Phlox Pilosa

Long time readers already know about her charms...PPPP has an exceptionally long bloom time (six weeks or longer), fantastic pink flowers, grows in sun and part sun, tolerates clay soil that's wet all winter and dry all summer, has a marvelous ground covering effect, and has the sweetest fragrance that wafts all over the garden on warm days. You'll have to agree, a plant like that is practically perfect!

P pilosa is a stoloniferous, semi-evergreen native wildflower found naturally growing in open woodlands, meadows, prairie remnants and limestone glades through out the central and eastern US and Canada. Although, I've never heard anyone call PPPP a thug, some gardeners may not appreciate how quickly it can spread in rich soil. Colonizing is a plus for me and unlike some colonizing plants, it's easy to lift and transplant. I am especially pleased at how well it's growing in the shallow soil over the bedrock in the Susan's Bed....That says a lot about a plant.

PPPP with River Oats

Family: Polemoniaceae
Native Range: Eastern and central United States (also Canada)
Zone: 4 to 9
Bloom Time: April to June (in my garden)
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Pollinators:  Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees, Flies

So what do you think? Is this trio a tasty and delicious treat?
xoxogail

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday! It's time to share your wildflowers no matter where you garden~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration..It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.