The towering Aster tataricus previously thought to be ‘Jindai’. I turned out to be unusually tall in my family too, but I try to stand up straight. No matter— I do like how this plants leans, but does not flop, over the stream.
Plant of the Week:
The Aster
So many Asters, so little time…
So let’s concentrate on the two I talked about on the pod this week. The first is a New England Aster called ‘Purple Dome’. Mine is always COVERED with flowers, and the flowers are covered with pollinators.
I wonder if I could get the ‘dome’ look next year with some artful pre-pruning. Still, the sort of bean bag chair shape in my garden has made me and the bees happy.
This is a better photo than I could have taken. But poor photography skills lead to promoting the photographer, which is a native plant nursery in Ellicott City, MD.
Here’s what I think is my ‘Purple Dome’, bean bag chair style.
I am trying to work out if I am now growing A. tataricus ‘Jindai’. That is certainly the one I purchased, and in the front sunny border, it maxes out at about 4.5’ and the flowers are much more tightly clustered. So I think below is indeed 'Jindai’.
But on the right you see the stretched out flower structure of what I thought was the same plant, growing in the back yard. Did the taller one revert or is it just reaching for the sun, and the resulting lankiness applies even to the flower clusters?
These are the horticultural mysteries that make me wonder but don’t make me worry, and certainly don’t make me feel that I have to get to the bottom of them. I would rather just dig in the dirt.
Still, if you have an opinion or explanation to share, please leave a comment at the bottom of the post.
In the front: tight clusters on 4.5’ stalks…
In the back: stretched out flowers on stretched out stalks. Photos were taken within 2 minutes of each other.
Painting and Plant Pairing
from
Karen Blair
You heard me mention my friend Karen Blair on the pod this week. Karen is a Charlottesville based painter whose work I know you would love. She is known for her joyous use of color and for exuberant mark-making. Her own garden and those of friends inspire the flowers and trees that are prevalent in her paintings.
I am so excited to have this partnership with Karen, and each week I feature here one of her paintings with a corresponding garden photo! Follow this link to see more of her paintings.
Okay, this isn’t a perfect pairing, but there are definitely some first leaves down by the pond and I am pretending that Karen’s dash of turquoise is my not-quite-turquoise bridge.
But more important than the pairing is the beautiful painting.
First Leaves 48x36”
Steph Green
of Contained Creations
Steph has come Into the Garden with Leslie multiple times before. But this podcast announces her new gig— a pivot of taking all of that container know how and making it available to all of us.
Container recipes, courses (one at this moment, but more coming soon!), inspiration, shopping and rotating free information (the first one is her guide to thrillers, spillers, fillers) just by signing up for her newsletter…
Steph’s new website has a lot to offer!
Just a smattering of Steph’s fall container ideas.
Coffee Time!
Please consider supporting Into the Garden with Leslie by buying me a cup of coffee.
OR! Becoming a member of I’m into the Garden too!
I will send you some LH Gardens gear if you become a member!
The Play List
Here are a few of useful links that I mentioned in other parts of Episode 79.
Did I mention Doug and I are email buddies? :)
Sign up here for the FREE Blue Ridge Prism webinar with Doug Tallamy, October 18 from 11:30 to 1:00. Consider shooting them a donation— it’s a very worthy organization. Ooops it’s full with a waitlist. Maybe join the waitlist?
Chanticleer Garden— not full, but do read the website before you go. It closes in winter, and the charming carpark is charmingly small, so you must reserve if you want to go on the the weekends.
Scroll down this post to see photos of most of the Chanticleer-ian things I mentioned in the podcast.
It’s called Gem Box Inkberry Holly
Here’s that 7.5 lb hand truck that my sister in law gave me. You can buy it on my Amazon storefront.
To the right, that cute little dwarf Ilex glabra, available at GreatGardenPlants.com
And here’s where you can find my friend Rusty Gear’s music. My intro song is called ‘Forgiveness After All’.
Scroll down for
Chanticleer photos…
Green mulch— I think it’s Carex pensylvanica?
Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens') grown the way it should be grown— en masse and set off by variegated foliage.
Bamboo splits as sculpture
That concentric circle thing that I want to do with stones and tiles on edge.
Very charming DIY dahlia supports
Photo taken under soft orange foliage— good for the complexion.
Next Episode- Botanical Garden of the Piedmont
Consi
Carol
How do you make a Botanical Garden?
These two lovely lades, Consi Palmer and Carol Carter, will walk us through inception and progress of the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont.