5) Aralia cordata 'Sun King'
4) Stewartia pseudocamellia
3) Persicaria polymorpha
2) Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Willmott's Ghost'
1) Onopordum acanthium aka Scotch Thistle
We had about 150 visitors to the garden yesterday for the Monadnock Region Garden Conservancy Open Day. It was a hot, sunny day with a refreshingly pleasant breeze. The most asked about plant in the garden was the enormous Scotch Thistle, Onopordum acanthium. This biennial is a favorite of mine because it has a such a commanding presence in the garden. When it goes to seed, it becomes ratty looking and I immediately take it out. It needs to be removed carefully because the spines are razor shape. For some people it is an intimidating plant but for me, at 6 foot three, it is one of the few herbaceous plants that I can look up to.
There is something very satisfying about looking up at a herbaceous plant, Michael. Cardoon, echinops or Scotch Thistle. The latter is certainly a brute - I rather like it. D
ReplyDeleteGreat minds, make that great gardeners, think alike, Dave!
DeleteAre those fallen blossoms I see under the Stewartia?
ReplyDeleteGood observation, James. I propagated both stewartias by that granite bench from trees at the Arnold Arboretum. So they are unknown crosses. They ended up being quite different and the one pictured flowers earlier with large blooms that fall off almost immediately. I cleaned up dozens of wilted flowers the morning of the tour and many fresh-looking ones fell that day (to a nice effect, I thought).
DeleteI like the sound ( and look ) of 'Miss Willmott's Ghost', Michael...AND it can be seen in daylight!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderfully prickly plant, Faisal, much like its namesake.
DeleteMichael:
ReplyDeleteStewartia is a magnificent specimen! I wish I had the space for it. I am pontificating the beauty of Aralia cordata 'Sun King' at every opportunity! Third year in the garden and it never fails to bring people to a screeching halt! What is that? What is that? Has yours fruited yet? How do they manage to improve upon perfection?
Barry, stewatias, like many plants, eventually get larger than you expect. How big will the Aralia 'Sun King' get? Mine barely survived the first year and looks very happy this year but I'm hearing it will get rather large when I get to see it with its fruit. I think this must be the "creeping" year!
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