Creeping Phlox

Creeping Phlox
Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple’
(floks) (sto-lo-NIF-er-uh)

This is underused hardy, beautiful groundcover. I like it for light shade and it fills in and spreads nicely without being a pain in the you know what. The color is outstanding and it blooms early adding a nice touch of color this time of year. I have been working with a customer to try and find a nice groundcover for their garden and when I saw a couple of these I had to try a few even though they hadn’t seen it. They return next week so I will know then if they like it and I can get some more. I would recommend this plant for rock gardens, borders and masses. It tolerates a wide range of conditions. It can grow in sun, shade, semi-moist or dry soil.

If you can, get the ‘Sherwood Purple’ type as the flowers are a little bigger and have a darker color. The cultivar also shows better Powdery Mildew resistance.

This photo doesn't quite do justice to the color of this flower.

Since I have about 5 new gardens I am taking care of there are lots of new plants to get to know and try and help grow to their maximum potential. When I first went to this garden I noticed they had a Rhododendron in the back foundation planting that was covered with burlap for the winter. I thought that a little odd since it seems to be a plant species that can make it outdoors without much protection. When I went back yesterday I saw it was blooming and the color was beautiful. I can see why they covered it. I don’t think I have seen this particular color before. It has a little leaf spot but I think I can cure that with a one or two well-timed fungicide applications. I had to do some emergency watering on some new trees at this house. It really has been dry here. Monday we are suppose to get some rain, hooray!

This is a cropped picture of the bud. I would love some guess as to the name of this Rhodo.
Today I am going to visit Molly’s doctor’s farm. It was nice of him to invite us over. I am going to try and sneak away for a couple of pictures after that and then tackle my mountain of paper work. We got three floral arrangements in honor of Molly this week. I had to laugh a little at this. I have had quite a few dogs over the years and I don’t think I remember getting any flowers before. They are beautiful and it was very thoughtful of the people that sent them.