![Iris 'Gerald Darby' at Hayefield [Nancy J. Ondra/hayefield.com]](https://i0.wp.com/hayefield.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/042_thumb4.jpg?resize=460%2C345 "Iris 'Gerald Darby' at Hayefield [Nancy J. Ondra/hayefield.com]")
Irises as a group aren’t among my favorite plants. The individual flowers are exquisite, of course, but the flowering period isn’t all that long, and many of them just aren’t all that interesting when they aren’t in bloom. There are exceptions, though. One that I’ve found to earn its keep through much of the growing season is ‘Gerald Darby’.
Continue reading One Plant, Three Seasons: Iris ‘Gerald Darby’
 |
 |
 |
As a garden vegetable, Beta vulgaris Cicla Group – more commonly known as Swiss chard – has to rank right down there with Brussels sprouts and lima beans on the popularity scale. I’m not knocking any of these, mind you; right now, I’d be grateful to enjoy any of them fresh-picked from the garden. But chard is one of those crops that often gets lumped into the generic “greens” category, and few catalogs carry more than two or three varieties. (I was floored to find 49 chard entries listed in the Cornell Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners database – who knew?) I can’t claim to be able tell any difference in their flavors, because I’m more interested in chard as an ornamental. And for my purposes, I need only one packet of one kind each year: ‘Bright Lights’.
Continue reading One Plant, Three Seasons: Beta vulgaris Cicla Group
I know, I know…it’s time for Bloom Day. But look, I’ve got nothin’. There isn’t anything that I haven’t already shown multiple times, and I’m at a total loss for a creative way to present the same old things. Still, it’s hard to break years of conditioning, so I’m posting on the 15th anyway. But this time, I’m taking a different tack on the magical number of three: Instead of three different neat plants, I’m looking at one plant at three different times during the year. My first subject: ‘Blue Fortune’ hybrid hyssop (Agastache).
Continue reading One Plant, Three Seasons: Agastache ‘Blue Fortune