tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post6481267139632522214..comments2024-02-26T02:41:19.933-08:00Comments on The Gardener's Eye: Monadnock Area Open Days August 20-21, 2016Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14771120380247636617noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-88963469097718829542016-08-30T16:29:13.422-07:002016-08-30T16:29:13.422-07:00When I was looking up the plants names for this po...When I was looking up the plants names for this post I saw the same confusion you did with nomenclature. I think Echinops ritro ssp. ruthenicus is the same plant I have.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14771120380247636617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-37681998670533104602016-08-30T09:16:45.205-07:002016-08-30T09:16:45.205-07:00Well, I suspected I'd be thoroughly confused b...Well, I suspected I'd be thoroughly confused by an effort to sort out the globe thistles, and my suspicions were confirmed! I did find a source for one that looks like yours, with branched flowering stems and silvery foliage, at Annie's Annuals, so will try some next spring. They have it as Echinops ritro ssp. ruthenicus.<br /><br />OTOH, just today I visited Panayoti Kelaidis' blog for the first time in a while and lo, the top post is on globe thistles, with shots of them in the wild and in gardens. (http://prairiebreak.blogspot.com/2016/08/gadding-about-globe-thistles.html) He describes E. ruthenicus as "one of the giants of the garden". Hm.<br /><br />The ones here came from Andre Viette in the mid-1990s, back when they carried a huge selection of perennials. I *think* it's a variety called 'Taplow Blue'. In abundant-rain years like this one, the foliage gets huge, though it doesn't swallow the steely blue globes, whose stalks respond to rain by getting taller (and extend further outward) than usual. In spring, it's very very hard to imagine how much space they'll take up; every year I make plans for something to put in that space around the thistly clumps, and by the beginning of June am reminded that the something would have to be early and ephemeral.<br /><br />The same four or five plants have bloomed strongly every year, and the seeds usually dry and drop before I get around to deadheading, but never has there been even a hint of a self-sown seedling. The soil is clay, so I guess the winter is just too wet for any sprouts, and the border's densely planted enough that there isn't a lot of the open ground they'd probably prefer. One of my favorite things about them is the reliable rebloom that is just as strong as the first flush. It was almost instant this season, but sometimes waits until September after the June-into-July opening round.<br /><br />I inherited from my gardener father a long border filled with daffodils and daylilies. After taking out almost half the daylilies, I replaced them with long-lasting, non-fussy perennials that bloomed in blue and white, guided by a pile of reference books. Pretty sure that the idea for globe thistles came from Perennials & Their Garden Habitats by Hansen & Stahl. Extremely successful choice, requiring only two sessions of attention a year of cutting back (end of winter, after first bloom). Nellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01969732734453586544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-91005079076553601752016-08-28T10:53:40.039-07:002016-08-28T10:53:40.039-07:00Thanks for the kind comments, Nell. That globe thi...Thanks for the kind comments, Nell. That globe thistle is Echinops ruthenicus. You are exactly right. It is smaller, more gray and more refined than the more common Echinops rito. It is worth searching out to try.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14771120380247636617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-11336556453886889702016-08-27T10:40:07.286-07:002016-08-27T10:40:07.286-07:00Looking marvelous. My favorite vignette (seen in t...Looking marvelous. My favorite vignette (seen in two images) is of the echoing balls of an allium and Echinops. The Echinops here are all much taller than any of the summer alliums; do you have a particularly short-statured variety, or is that an effect of the drought, or...? In any case, wonderful effect.Nellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01969732734453586544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-31554339240082444922016-08-18T18:42:41.852-07:002016-08-18T18:42:41.852-07:00You'd be most welcome.You'd be most welcome.pat@siteandinsight.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04362106194878068781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-76859550529751855202016-08-18T15:38:44.133-07:002016-08-18T15:38:44.133-07:00Thanks Pat.
I want to plan a visit to your garden ...Thanks Pat.<br />I want to plan a visit to your garden in 2017!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14771120380247636617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067804781629732627.post-17392023166594988412016-08-18T15:34:14.134-07:002016-08-18T15:34:14.134-07:00Wish I could be there -- sounds like a wonderful w...Wish I could be there -- sounds like a wonderful weekend.pat@siteandinsight.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04362106194878068781noreply@blogger.com