faulker042

Monarda 'Blue Stocking' blooms in late June in zone 7b. With so many varieties of monarda (bee balm) available, it sometimes comes down to a color choice. I have three favorites in my garden and monarda 'Blue Stocking' is easy to incorporate into multiple color schemes. Growing in my garden since 2008, I've used this bee balm with purple coneflowers, agastache, baptisia and spirea. This summer, I've paired it with bright gold rudbeckia (susans) in the deer resistant meadow garden. Monarda 'Blue Stocking' zones 4-8 30" high full-part sun deer and rabbit resistant* This combination is viewed uphill and downhill. I planted the rudbeckia uphill as it is slightly taller than the bee balm (and the bee balm was already in place). These rudbeckia were grown from seeds and allowed to self-sow, so I can't give you a specific named variety—choose your favorite. I thin out the susans, and given the ample rainfall this year, I pulled enough to fill a few...

Echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry'. 16 June 2013 The cool temperatures and ample rainfall boosted the coneflower blooms to the best I've seen in years. After losing many coneflowers, including the variety featured to aster yellows disease in 2012, I'm happy to see healthy plants. One of the short varieties, echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry' is blooming beautifully beside salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue' in the cottage garden. I love this combination when the blooms synchronize and peak in unison. The frilly, ground-covering lavender blooms are verbena 'Imagination'. These three plants bloom over a longtime, front and center, in the cottage garden. The echinacea reblooms through the summer (supposedly without deadheading, but I deadhead to speed up the repeat). It can be grown from seeds, though I purchased my plants. The salvia is another repeat bloomer, with the best show in early summer and again in the fall. Again, I purchased my plants, but you can g...