Thursday, August 30, 2012

It's The Tall Season


It's the tall season in the garden.  A chance for us to lift our eyes; to redirect our attention from all those front-of-the-border plants to those giants that have been gathering energy all summer long and now tower over the garden.



Many of our tallest plants occupy a large border at the far end of the potager where they are free to stretch to the sky.  Here, a 7-foot Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway' (Joe Pye weed), Verbascum 'Christo's Yellow Lightning', Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimis', Miscanthus 'Silberfeder', and Ratibida pinatta share space with Hellenium 'Mardi Gras'.


An almost 10-foot Vernonia altissima (Ironweed) trying to outreach a similar sized Inula racemosa.




The butterflies and insects love the flowers of Ironweed.





And I love the structure of these Inula flowers.



















The giant leaves of the Inula.













A 7-foot Thalictrum rochebrunianum 'lavender mist' flowers against the red barn.


This almost 8-foot tall Ratibida pinnata produces these wonderful yellow flowers.


The candle-like flower heads of Actaea simplex 'Atropurpurea' dance high above many of the other plants in the garden.


Here, another Actaea (Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty') flowers among grasses and a grouping of some elephant ears.

Some of the taller grasses are beginning to make a statement now.  I'm a big fan of Sanguisorbas and grasses together.  This is Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' with Sanguisorba officinalis 'Tanna'.


The color of this 6-foot tall Thalictrum complements the flowers of the adjacent Eupatorium.


The tall biennial, Angelica Gigas and Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio'.


Another Eupatorium 'Gateway' paired with grasses and a Hydrangea paniculata.


A Eupatorium paired with Veronicastrum virginicum 'Pink Glow'.


The tall yellow flower spikes of Verbascum 'High Noon' can be seen over the tops of the surrounding plants.

A prolific self-seeder, we always allow several clumps of the 5-foot tall Rudbeckia triloba to grow wherever they set down roots.


Another self-seeder, this almost tree size Fennel was allowed to spend the summer in one of the borders even though it wasn't exactly a front of the border plant and did require some staking.  However, I love its umbelliferous yellow flowers and its aromatic, anise scent when I brush up against it.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...