Japanese Primrose

Japanese Primrose

Primula japonica 'Miller's Crimson'

(PRIM-yew-luh) (juh-PON-ih-kuh)

Forget-Me-Not

Myosotis sylvatica

(my-oh-SO-tis) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)

It was kind of a happy accident to have these flowers line up together. The garden is literally covered with the Primroses in spring after we have been gently encouraging into seeding in various areas. The Forget me nots are left over from a huge patch we grew a couple of years ago from seed. It is a classic combination that started out from a dozen Primroses and a big bag of seed that someone gave me. The flowers look a lot better than mulch and have been colonizing a lot of tough wet areas.

Forget-Me-Not

Forget-Me-Not
Myosotis sylvatica ‘Deep Blue Tower’
(my-oh-SO-tis) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)

This is the first time we have grown a variety of Forget me nots and this one is a winner. The color maybe my favorite of any flower. Normally there are hundreds of the regular species of this plant growing in the gardens and we gently encourage them by letting them seed after flowering to overcome their annual and biennial nature. Although some plants seem to persist for several years for the most part they peter out after one or two seasons.

Today we are going down to NYC to finish the annual plantings and plant some perennials and a couple of shrubs. Traffic should be a little better than going down on during the week but parking will probably still be a nightmare.

Sweet William

Sweet William
Dianthus
(dy-AN-thus)

This little flower has been growing in a rock garden that I have been caring for the last couple of years. I am not sure what species of Dianthus it is. At first I thought it might be D. caryophyllus but it seems to lack some of the ten stamens present in that species. Whatever the name it forms a nice carpet, which I think grows both as a perennial and from seedlings. It provides a nice counterpoint to the dwarf conifers in the area (much nicer than mulch). A few Forget-me-nots also are populating the area and they look good together with the Dianthus.

False Forget-Me-Not

Variegated Siberian Bugloss
Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream'
(BROO-ner-uh) (mak-roh-FIL-uh)
Synonyms: False Forget-Me-Not

This is from the spring. 'Hadspen Cream' combines two things that I love, blue flowers and variegated leaves. It puts on quite a nice show in the early season. It can look a little ratty towards mid-summer but cutting it back usually rewards the gardener with a flush of nice new leaves. Since it likes shade it is a good candidate for a shady border or even the woodland garden. It does seem to want adequate moisture or the leaves can scorch. Since this plant is native to Siberia it is quite cold hardy (USDA Zone 3). It can be a little hard to get at the nursery and is even a little rare but the popularity is increasing, probably because of its uniqueness and beauty.

Tulip and Perennial Forget-Me-Nots

Tulip and Perennial Forget-Me-Nots
Variegated Siberian Bugloss
Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'
(BROO-ner-uh)
Synonym: False Forget-Me-Not