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Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' in bloom with companions Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' (foliage left)  echinacea (multiple varieties back)  and purple phlox 'Nicky'. Three plants of Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' PPAF were added to my cottage garden in 2011. I was so impressed by the performance and beauty of this coreopsis, that I purchased five more plants this spring. This 2010 introduction in the Big Bang ™ series is from Darrell Probst. For several years, I've happily grown his taller Coreopsis 'Red Shift' in the deer resistant meadow garden. 'Star Cluster' is shorter at 18-14 inches high and wide, making it more suitable for the scale of my cottage garden. A few months ago, Darrell sent me an email about my experience with the color of the 'Star Cluster' here in the southeast. As expected, the coreopsis begins to bloom a creamy white and the deep purple eye spreads from the center during the cooler weather in the fall. Deadheading isn...

These "green" disfigured coneflowers were removed and destroyed. I didn't plant any new "green bloom" echinacea cultivars, so what's wrong with a few of my coneflowers? While most of the coneflowers in my garden are blooming and thriving, I watched three delinquent clumps and wondered: Did voles eat the roots? No Are they getting shaded out by the other plants? No Is it aster yellows disease ? Yes As difficult as it is, there's nothing to be done except to remove and destroy infected coneflowers to keep the disease from spreading by leafhoppers feeding on the plants.  Out with the bad to save the good. Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel . All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

First bloom of 'Little Lime' Hydrangea. June 28, 2012. What's the most refreshing bloom color on a 100°+ summer day?  My vote goes to the huge, cool snowballs of 'Little Lime'™ hardy hydrangea from Proven Winners®.  I know! I know! I'm obsessed with refreshing lime and refreshed  light green  garden benches to cool down my garden! After seven years of waiting for shade, I finally have a spot for hydrangea, my favorite summer shrub. At previous homes, I grew so many different varieties, but here in my small cottage garden, the small sliver of all-day shade requires a small shrub. In late May, while on a plant shopping trip to Big Bloomers in Sanford, I asked for 'Little Lime' and they had it in stock! Fortunately, with deep watering, it is well-established in time for this run of triple-digit heat. 'Little Lime' is not that tiny—the height and spread will be between 36-60 inches. I'm totally okay with a bit of overlap onto my path and through...

Many, many years ago at a property that I no longer own, a neighboring farmer teased me when I was painting my old, weathered barn. He said "A little bit of powder, a little bit of paint will make it look like what it ain't." It was true that the old barn had warped boards and a rusty metal roof. It needed more help than a coat of paint. Fortunately, my metal garden benches were showing only a bit of rust and faded color—easily remedied by a good scrubbing and a coat of fresh paint. After seven years in the garden, I was ready to use some color. I bought the spray paint, Valspar® Satin Leafy Rise , as my color of choice. It's a pale green that looks so much cooler than the dark bronze of the cottage garden bench or the black of the gravel garden bench. I also painted a rusty metal plant stand and a pot. I'll have a solid color deck stain mixed to match the benches to use on our two wooden bridges. One wooden bridge is in the cottage garden over the flowing stream ...

The last rays of the sun shine on the willow at the end of lower path. There is order to the path edging plants, but there are"wild" flower pairings mixed in the rest of the deer resistant meadow garden. 1. Around 8:00 pm on a June evening in the deer resistant meadow garden. When the summer sun heats up and the temperatures rise, the best time to walk through the garden is late evening.  The light is soft and the true colors are easier to capture with the camera. 1. The purple spikes of meadow blazing star ( liatris ligulistylis ) are backlit by gold/yellow black-eyed susans ( rudbeckia hirta). White shasta daisies ( leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska') truly shine in the low light of the fading sun. Wisps of feather grass ( stipa ) provide a backdrop for the tufted blooms of deep raspberry bee balm ( monarda 'Raspberry Wine'). 2. Different views provide different combinations in the mix of meadow flowers in the deer resistant gadren. Shasta daisies and susans...

Left of house is west and driveway with entry gravel garden.  Right is east with the red/white and orange/yellow flowers. Front is south-facing with 2 acres of open meadow grass. There is no garden in the back (north) as our woods (2.5 acres) come up to the back deck. Paved driveway (west) ends in the gravel entry garden. The gravel entry garden is the first thing a visitor sees when arriving. There is sufficient space for a car to park in front of the bench. In a few years, the dwarf Burford 'nana' hollies will create a hedge to separate the gravel garden from our concrete parking area for our garage. A large oakleaf holly and a crepe myrtle flank the bench area. A row of rosemary lines the opposite side of the gravel parking space.  The gravel entry garden along the front of the garage wall. From the gravel parking area, a hedge of hollies line the garage wall. The arched bridge crosses the dry stream to the meadow grass. A crepe myrtle on the lower right is underplant...

Iris ensata . June 2012 Although I always dread the fall chore of digging up big clumps of Japanese iris every three years, I must admit that doing so opens the opportunity to try different vignettes. The purple Japanese iris (tag long gone and so it is unknown) is a great bloomer. With my last division of this iris, I planted it graduated—or staggered—up a slope rather than on the same level.  My logic was that each clump grows quickly and by planting each divided piece up the slope instead of grouped on the same level, I could hopefully extend the number of years before needing to divide again. Was the resulting design a "staggering" achievement or defeat? Overhead view of the "staggered" planting. Path view of the staggered planting on the slope. Combination includes: Foreground: spirea, Japanese blood grass, hardy ageratum. Middle: echinacea foliage, shasta blooms. Beside irises: monarda foliage, nigella seed pods, white iris blooms. The staggered planting adds ...