ummer, the plant may collapse creating a mess but all you have to do is cut it back and it will develop all over and bloom until frost. This perennial needs NO fertilizer. Use the spiderwort in mass plantings, mixed borders, woodland gardens, rock gardens, and as a ground cover.
Sidalcea ' Elsie Heugh' (Miniature Hollyhock)
If you like pastel colored flowers that will give your garden the look of a British cottage garden than its time you plant the Miniature Hollyhocks. This is a lovely plant for your perennial border and the cup-shaped flowers will grace your garden. The strong stems hold flower buds from the bottom of the stem to the top of the plant. The blooms appear in early summer and last for over 3 months. The blooms come in pink or white and are about 3 inches across. The plant grows 2 -2 ½ feet tall and spread just as wide. The flowers last only on day but are self -cleaning and when one falls, it is quickly replaced with others, all summer long. The foliage looks like fingers on a hand or like the Japanese Maple leaf but each leaf has a different look. Because the plant has so many shoots containing flowers coming up from the ground it is often thought of as a flowering shrub. The plant produces a prolific amount of seeds that sprout around the plant. Seeds sprout quickly and will usually flower the first year. Set out plants in the spring or start seeds directly in the garden in a sunny location. A well-drained soil, slightly acid soil that has been conditioned with animal manure and compost will give you a great flower display all summer long. This perennial will brighten any meadow garden, mass planting, mixed borders, or large areas that needs color. The tall strong stems make a great cut flower for summer bouquets.
Eryngium alpinum - Sea Holly
Finding a good blue flower for the perennial garden is difficult but the Sea Holly is one you can count on. This beautiful perennial has the appearance of a thistle plant, with spiny leaves as well as the flowers. The flower will give your garden a completely different look because of the unusual flowers. The plant will grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. The foliage, stems and flowers are steely blue but do not touch unless you have heavy gloves on, because of the very sharp thorns. Sea Holly plants grow upright and are very stiff looking. The uniqueness of this plant is well worth the precautions you take when this plant is in your garden. The cone shaped flower is surrounded by a stiff collar like incredibly spiny bract. Think of the poinsettia plant, the red leaves are bract not flowers. The flowers form in late July and last until September blooming for 4 to 6 weeks. Plant in a sunny location but Sea Holly will tolerate partial shade with fewer flowers. Soils must be well drained to sandy but added compost and animal manure will increase the size of the plant and number of flowers. Once planted in the garden they do not like to be moved, so do not attemp to transplant them. The butterflies and birds love the flower creating movement in the garden. Use Sea Holly in perennial borders, mass plantings, wildflower gardens, specimen plants for colorful foliage and in the cut flower garden. Fresh arrangements during the summer are spectacular and the strong stems can be cut and hung upside down in a cool garage for dry arrangements.
Aquilegia 'McKana Hybrids' Mixed Colors-Columbines
If you are looking to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your perennial garden then be sure to plant Columbine plants this spring. Columbine has perfectly designed flowers to feed them and these flowers hold large quantities of nectar that they love. The striking mixture of flower colors will brighten any garden. The flower has 5 petals forming a trumpet and this is surrounded with a second row of 5 additional petals that fold back like a collar but star shape. The flower colors are endless and many bi-color forms are available. The flowers begin in late spring and last until early summer. Each plant will produce flowers for 4 to 6 weeks on strong stems that sway with the spri