Tangled Branches: Cultivated

happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Karen Gray Again

Can't let peony season go by without posting at least one picture of 'Karen Gray'.

OK, maybe 2 pictures.

The color of the petals is more true-to-life in the second photo.

Who is Karen Gray anyway? No idea, but according to Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia the peony named after her was created by William Krekler, and registered in 1965. Peonies by Allan Rogers and Linda Engstrom tells us that William Krekler was a landscape architect, nursery owner and peony breeder who sold his peony stock to Klehm in 1977. Apparently, the Klehms thought highly enough of Karen to keep her in production because I bought mine from their online establishment - Song Sparrow - a few years ago.

The other peony - 'Krinkled White' - still has a few blooms, but they're almost finished. The Siberian Iris 'Vi Luihn' usually blooms at the same time, but is lagging behind this year.

Labels: peonies

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Favorite Perennials

Jodi has posted some of her favorite perennials, and asked others to do likewise. Easy, I thought, whichever one is blooming at the moment.

Well, there aren't too many things blooming on this gray, drizzly morning, and I haven't been out to check on the Cyclamen hederifolium lately, but they were still blooming a week or so ago.
Cyclamen hederifolium

Thinking a little harder, I came up with a few plants that I'd really miss if they were gone. A lot, maybe most, of these are filler-type plants. And you know, in music, I always like harmony more than the melody, so it must just be something strange about me.

I already talked up Calamintha nepetoides (aka C. nepeta), so I won't go on and on about it here, but that's close to the top of the list. Another frothy filler is Galium 'Victor Jones'. I wish I knew which species of Galium this is, but the name I give here is how it was sold to me. It sprawls quite a lot and weaves in and out among its sturdier neighbors. It sometimes blooms again, and I suspect that if it was cut back after blooming, the second bloom would be more reliable.
Galium 'Victor Jones' behind some Echinacea

I'm totally addicted to Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink'. I love the thick semi-evergreen foliage and the flower fragrance is sweet and spicy at the same time.
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink'

Here's a favorite that isn't a filler - Peony 'Karen Gray'. She's neighbors with Bath's Pink and usually they bloom about the same time.
Peony 'Karen Gray' and Dianthus 'Bath's Pink'

Look at how much pink there is in these photos. I never thought of myself as a pink person, but the garden apparently knows more about me than I do. Let's get away from pink. Another characteristic of my favorite perennials is that many of them are bulbs. I like the Orienpet lilies a lot. 'Orania' in particular - very elegant.
Orienpet Lily 'Orania'

I like daffodils in general because they're early and reliable, but the ones I like best have elegant shapes, and ummm, pink cups.
Narcissus, not sure of the variety

And then there's a whole class of plants that might be my very favorites of all - the little blue spring flowers. Most are bulbs, but not all. I'm just going to link to an earlier post here, because I really can't choose between these. (That post is from the blog I used while Tangled Branches was homeless between web hosting companies, BTW.) OK, just one picture here - couldn't resist.
Chionodoxa sardensis