EXQUISITE

 

 

On this rainy Friday, let’s delve into a few quick tips to wrap up this week. First, if you didn’t receive yesterday’s blog post via email, here it is. Right-place Right-vine The post reveals a great deciduous vine meant to climb so if you have the right place, it’s definitely worth planting.

 

With some ideas for plants fresh in mind, here’s one certainly worthy of adding to our must-have perennial plant lists. Part of the Campanulaceae family, Platycodon grandiflorus, otherwise known as the Balloon Flower, is an herbaceous perennial with some wonderful plant traits. Great for cold and warm weather spots, it can handle temps in Zone 4 through 9, and even possibly hardy in Zone 3. It’s deer resistant, non-aggressive plus plan for a fall show as its flowers turn gold. It prefers full sun in cooler climates or part-shade in those that heat up a bit more. But it doesn’t like it too dry or too wet, so keep that in mind.

But its beauty is in its flower, especially if you’re a big color freak like me. Remember it also comes in softer colors of white and pink. This mid-summer charmer might just get more notoriety if it makes it to the Perennial of the year in 2014. Just a hint for those involved in getting these plants nominated because the Balloon flower should definitely get used in more applications. Although it is not a native, which we typically like to use, it is well worth checking out plus it’s great for cut flowers, too. And it can be long-lived with low maintenance once established, yet another big benefit to reap.

So one more tip before it’s a wrap – if you’re a member of a Botanical garden or Horticultural Society, never be afraid to ask what your membership benefits can do for you. There are plenty of discounts, even free entrance fees but if you don’t ask, you’ll never find out. You can also contact the membership coordinator and get a listing of all the gardens, nursery centers, etc. that you can take advantage of as you explore the horticultural world during these summer months. It’s worth supporting your local horticultural societies with an annual membership just for things like this. 

So there’s the Friday round-up but before I go, I must leave you with this one last image and these phenomenal words by Nan Fairbrother about exquisite moments. “Summer weather, like being in love, is a philosopher's stone which turns our ordinary days to gold. But not the whole day ... For it is never the whole day, never all our life which is transformed in any happiness, but only the exquisite moments.”

 

This Quail posed so nicely for me, I just wanted to share it as one of those exquisite moments of summer. It seemed a break from all those other things in design, nature, including dogs and flowers, which I’m always sharing and for me, spells EXQUISITE in capital letters.  

All Images by Ann Bilowz ©  

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