Tag Archives: Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

In A Vase On Monday—Anemones and May Night

In A Vase On Monday

Today again I am joining Cathy for In A Vase On Monday, a weekly challenge to fill a vase using materials gathered from one’s garden.

Anemones have been my favorite flower this spring for indoors and out. Before the Anemones wind down completely I selected a few to fill the colorful multi-stemmed vase my daughter gave me last year.

Anemone coronaria ‘Admiral’

‘May Night’ Meadow Sage is now fully in bloom in the northern border and it seemed perfect to include this week. While similar in color, the salvia adds height and provides contrasting texture and form.

Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage)

For an extra punch of color I added a dark magenta cutting from a new Alstroemeria plant purchased last week.

Alstroemeria x ‘Tesmach’ (Inticancha Machu Peruvian Lily)

I am a little worried this plant might spread too much so will watch it closely. It is hardy to zone 8 and the garden is zone 7b, so perhaps that will keep the spread in check. Some

Alstroemeria x ‘Tesmach’ (Inticancha® Machu Peruvian Lily) with Lavandula x intermedia ‘Dutch’ (Dutch Lavender)

Materials

Anemone coronaria ‘Bride’
Anemone coronaria ‘Mr. Fokker’
Alstroemeria x ‘Tesmach’ (Inticancha Machu Peruvian Lily)
Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage, Meadow Sage))

In A Vase On Monday – Anemones

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday—May Night In April

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Salvia × sylvestris ‘May Night’ (Meadow sage)

I am joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday to create a floral arrangement from materials gathered in one’s own garden. Last week I included the first small flowering stem of Salvia × sylvestris ‘May Night’ (Meadow sage) in my Monday vase. Mainacht is back again this week.

Coming fully into bloom this week, ‘May Night’ is coloring the front edge of the south-facing border with dark bluish-purple flower spikes. This perennial loves sun, is deer and drought-tolerant and adjusts to a variety of soil types. It is supposed to bloom all summer with proper deadheading, but in my garden it looks its best during late April-May, then blooms again in September. Some may not enjoy the slightly strong scent indoors, but when cut for arrangements the flowers last for a week or more.

This week the vase is the real star, a delightful gift from my two younger sisters last Easter weekend. This two-toned glazed piece was handmade by a potter in Seagrove, NC, a famous community of potters whose tradition predates the American Revolution. My sisters said they spotted this vase in a shop and thought it might come in handy in light of the weekly Monday vase-themed posts (and it certainly has).

The blue cookie jar seems a perfect companion accessory for this week’s vase. It belonged to our mother and has held many a homemade oatmeal-raisin cookie through the years (though never for long).

May Night With Mama’s Cookie Jar

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday—Viola And White

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Monday again! Time to join Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday to create a floral arrangement from materials gathered in one’s own garden.

Although photographed together this morning, my two Monday vases were prepared early and used separately as casual arrangements during a visit from my two younger sisters yesterday.

During the photo session Mr. Th. Jefferson waited patiently to be returned to his usual and customary place in the niche in the front foyer.

White Dutch Irises began blooming last week and I rescued a few on Friday ahead of the heavy rain that had been accurately forecast for Friday night and Saturday. They actually survived the rains fine outside, but these cut ones have lasted quite well indoors. I like their delicate lavender highlights and rich yellow throats.

There were not many types of flowers to choose from in my garden yesterday when it was time to set the table for our Easter dinner. Fortunately candytuft and johnny jump ups (Viola) were plentiful.

I collected and presented sprigs of them in tiny glasses to adorn the dinner table and used additional blooms to fill this small ceramic vase. This vase also holds the first cutting of Meadow Sage ‘May Night’ which started blooming late last week.

Candytuft, Viola and Meadow Sage

I placed the Dutch Irises into a special triangular glass vase, a gift from my daughter. The vase was made by a local artist using a stained glass technique. The smaller greenish-blue ceramic vase is nicely proportioned with a small neck, very useful in arranging delicate stemmed flowers. I bought it from a North Carolina potter at the Eno River Festival years ago.

Materials List

Dutch Iris
Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft)
Viola (Johnny jump ups)
Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage), synonym Salvia × sylvestris ‘May Night’ (Meadow sage)

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Visit her to enjoy what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

Mid-September Monday

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This cheerful Iceberg Rose did better than usual this year due to adequate rains throughout spring and summer. It has begun another round of blossoming recently.

Rosa ‘Iceberg’

I would like to know what kind of little yellow spider this is hanging out on the Purple Coneflower. The front legs are positioned so it looks like it is trying to hide its face.

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

The Autumn Joy Sedum attracted this insect today (a wasp of some kind?) and a few bumble bees as well.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Herbstfreude) (Stonecrop)

The Sedum’s flowers are deepening from light pink to a darker shade as they age.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Herbstfreude) (Stonecrop)

Meadow Sage has rebloomed now that night temperatures are cooler.

Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

The annual, Angelonia Purple, was a good investment this spring. Last year I used it in the meditation circle for color and interest, but it grew too wide. I frequently had to cut it back to maintain clear passage through the labyrinth. This year I placed Angelonia as filler in a few portions of the border where it had plenty of room. It has bloomed and bloomed and bloomed all summer and will last until frost.

Angelonia ‘Purple’

Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft) died back during the hot summer but is returning with a fresh flush of new growth.

Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft)

I am excited about a new purchase this week, a grayish-blue glazed ceramic urn to replace the periwinkle jar I had kept in the southern border since spring. The periwinkle pot will be returned to its indoor setting to keep it safe from the elements. The new urn required two strong men to carry to its current location so I did not get a chance to try it out in a lot of places before setting it down. For now I plan to leave it empty but may add an evergreen form to it later.

New Garden Urn

There have been numerous Eastern Tiger Swallowtails gracing the garden this summer, but few have been of this dark female form. Enjoying Lantana, this is the same butterfly in all the pictures, with color variations standing out depending on the aspect of the view.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Sometime during Sunday night or early morning raindrops hit the window and I was awake enough to be grateful, knowing the garden had become very dry. The previous rain was on September 1 and since then, despite cooler temperatures at night, there have been some very hot days. Grass in the front yard has turned crispy brown and the River Birch has given up many leaves. The grass in the back yard where the garden is also has begun dying back in places.

By early afternoon when I had a chance to explore the garden there were no visible signs the rain had passed through, but perhaps the plants had already soaked up the nourishment by then.

Garden View From Southeast to Northwest

Garden Bloggers Foliage Day – March 2013

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It is Garden Bloggers Foliage Day (GBFD), an opportunity to notice the value foliage plays in the garden, as feature or support. GBFD is hosted by Christine at Creating my own garden of the Hesperides. This month I have been watching as clumps of perennials shake off some of the ragged winter look and start greening.

Monarda is growing noticeably and it smells delightfully minty. Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ seeded freely last year so there are several tucked into places now other than just in the meditation circle.

Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm) and Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)

Penstemon mexicali ‘Pike’s Peak Purple’ (Beardtongue) began dying out in the meditation circle last summer. Highly drought-tolerant plants, they seemed ideal for this spot, but the summer through winter were unusually wet. Combined with some pesky mole activity the condition of these penstemon worsened. So nearly half of the Pike’s Peak are gone. Earlier in the week I pruned the remaining plants and am hoping they will bloom.

Penstemon mexicali ‘Pike’s Peak Purple’ (Beardtongue)

Also in the very center of the meditation circle I this week planted a few clumps of Thymus serpyllum ‘Pink Chintz’ (Pink chintz thyme), a low-growing fragrant Thyme,

Thymus serpyllum ‘Pink Chintz’ (Pink chintz thyme)

Iris leaves are up everywhere. This is Iris ‘Davy Jones’ (Davy Jones Bearded Iris) making its debut this year. It is a Tall Bearded Iris with a purple ruffled bloom. Tall Bearded Iris are among the last to bloom.

Iris ‘Davy Jones’ (Davy Jones Bearded Iris)

Autumn Joy (Stonecrop) in several spots are contributing interest at this time of year as is an overflowing pot of colorful mixed Sedum that I added to the garden last spring.

Hylotelephium ‘Herbstfreude’ Autumn Joy (Stonecrop)

Mixed sedum

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’ is forming a nice mound of fresh leaves.

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’

Shasta Daisy has taken a strong foothold and needs some serious attention to keep it from gaining any more.

Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura) sports colorful leaves this time of year. I have been unhappy with its performance in this location and need to find it a better spot. It became very floppy and did not bloom very well.

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)

Aegopodium podagraria(bishop’s weed) sprang up through a thick mulch layer this week. I was hoping to suppress it and have for years been wanting to manage it. This is invasive but lovely as a ground cover and was a pass-along from a dear friend many years ago.

Aegopodium podagraria(bishop’s weed)

Meadow Sage ‘May Night’ is a nice plant for the front of the border. I’m gradually increasing their number. Looks like I should be dividing this clump but am not sure if it is a good time.

Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

So as March winds down many individual plants are contributing their foliage shape, patterns, colors and textures to add interest to the early spring garden. Thanks to Christine at Creating my own garden of the Hesperides for hosting GBFD each month.