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Light textures. Movement. Soft brushes of delicate threads form a fountain of fluff among the heaviness of shrubs. A favorite ornamental grass is stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass). Shown with two different spirea varieties, the grass texture breaks up the monotony of the shrubs. Stipa gently sways with the breeze, glistens with morning dew and lightens up the density of the surrounding plants. Ornamental grass, stipa tenuissima , separates two varieties of spirea flowering shrubs in May. Deep pink blooms of Spirea 'Neon Flash' are backed by a fountain of stipa grass. When growing ornamental grasses, I proceed with caution. My husband will ban any grass that sows seeds prolifically in the gravel driveway or garden paths. So far, he has banned eragrostis (love grass). He says there's nothing to love about that grass! In 2010, I planted six stipa.   Given that this grass is considered invasive in some of the western states, I am closely monitoring it for seeds. Th...

Cleome is a tall summer annual for filling big spaces. Temporary help is needed to fill in garden space during the heat of summer. The perfect candidate must be tall, colorful and play well with perennials. Additional skills required include deterring deer and rabbits while attracting hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. A big gap in my deer resistant garden needed a summer filler to add color and height among the foliage of the fall-blooming perennials. The annual, Cleome hassleriana , fit the job description—planted among Joe Pye Weed (native eupatorium purpureum ), solidago 'Fireworks' , helianthus angustifolius 'First Light', stipa (grass), asclepias incarnata and a tall pink mum. Without cleome, there would be nothing but foliage in the midsection of my front garden during the summer. In spring, rose campion and larkspur provide blooms for this space. When the temperatures rise and the rain is scarce, I can count on cleome to deliver! This is one annual that I ...

Back to Front: Echinacea purpurea  'Pow Wow Wild Berry' Salvia farinacea  'Evolution' Rudbeckia hirta  'Prairie Sun' (not quite) Yellow, purple and raspberry—a combination of color and form so stunning that I wish I had thought of it! Actually, I did plant something very similar and there are a few interesting twists in replicating these blooms in your home garden. I photographed this labeled combination while out and about on one of my day trips around North Carolina and hope that my similar combination will look as lovely when mature. The echinacea , salvia and rudbeckia are all seed-grown plants. As such, the seeds may not always produce the plants to match the photo on the packets nor images you find in searching online. I am growing rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' with echinacea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' and salvia farinacea 'Victoria (instead of 'Evolution' as shown in the photo). Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' (maybe) peren...

Rose Campion ( Lychnis coronaria ) is a short-lived perennial for zones 3-9 but may behave like a biennial or an annual—depending upon your gardening zone. One way to make sure that you never run out of Rose Campion is to collect seeds or allow her to self-sow. If you heavily mulch and compost your garden in autumn, then you are likely to cover over seeds that disperse naturally from the pods. I find Rose Campion seedlings growing next to the base of other plants, in gravel and in my dry stream, so it doesn't take much soil for the seeds to germinate. In other words, this is an easy plant to grow from seeds. My garden is filled with Rose Campion because I gently scrape up the shallow-rooted seedlings and transplant them to better locations in my garden. I rely upon self-sowing and have never started the seeds indoors nor had to sow later in the fall, so here are planting instructions from three other sources (I have no affiliation): Diane's Seeds Johnny's Selected Seeds Bo...

When gardening gets too hot, it's time to stay indoors and browse flower bulb catalogs. The catalogs begin appearing in my mailbox between July 4 and 14—coincidentally, America's Independence Day through France's Bastille Day. Tulips are very popular in the spring gardens of Paris. The Jardin des Plantes, the Jardin des Tuileries and the Jardin du Luxembourg boast proud displays of tulips, often planted with forget-me-not, dusty miller, erigeron, wallflower or primula. Luxembourg Gardens, Paris France, April 2011: Tulip, primula, dusty miller, erigeron and forget-me-not. Tulips just beginning to bloom in April at the Tuileries, located between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. The group planting at Luxembourg is so inspirational, but there were no labels for me to identify the tulip varieties. The Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) and the Jardin des Tuileries are large parks, typically used for outings, strolling and enjoying the outdoors. The Jardin du Luxembour...

In a garden packed with perennials selected by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, it isn't easy to narrow down my photos to a few to share with you. If you're catching up on this series about The Battery Gardens in New York City, please read parts 1 and 2 to understand the context around the perennials in this photo-heavy story. Piet Outdolf's Design at The Battery, New York City (Part 1) Oudolf's Stachys Spires (The Battery Gardens-Part 2) I immediately recognized the yarrow, Achillea millifollium 'Terra Cotta' as the same stellar performer growing in my southern garden. This yarrow has proven to stand up to humidity better than any other yarrow that I've tried. The foliage is soft and fern-like that practically sways in the breeze. The bloom color ranges from peach, rust and pale yellow. This is a deer and rabbit resistant perennial to grow in areas of drought, too. Suitable for zones 3-9, the blooms last for about four weeks. Achillea millefolium 'Terra Co...