Keith Irvine is sharing photos with us today—some close-up looks at the stars of his Zone 3 garden in Oxdrift, Ontario.
I struggled for years to get a decent mature specimen of this variety of amaranthus (Amaranthus ‘Early Splendor’, annual). The secret to success for me seems to be to gradually replant them from small cells up to 4-inch pots in the greenhouse and then to add slow-release 14-14-14 fertilizer pellets to the soil mix for the final 4-inch pot. They seem to perform better in very large containers rather than in the ground.
I love these little show-offs (Gazania ‘Daybreak Red Stripe’, Zones 9–11 or as an annual). They look like each petal was meticulously painted with the brush of a skilled artist.
Zinnia ‘Key Lime Pie’ (annual) with Verbena ‘Tuscany Scarlet’ (Zones 9–11 or as an annual)
You’ve got to love rudbeckias. They are breathtakingly beautiful and have extremely long-lasting blooms. This one is Rudbeckia ‘Cherokee Sunset’ (Zones 3–7 but usually grown as an annual).
This iochroma (Iochroma hybrid, Zones 8–11 or as annual) was a late-season purchase. I had seen it earlier but passed because of price, but when my daughter gave me a gift certificate for that greenhouse for Father’s Day, it didn’t take me long to figure out how to spend it. It is a hummingbird favorite.
I don’t know the name of this gorgeous red daylily (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 3–8). It was given to me by a late gardening friend. I visited him in his final weeks, and he had his wife tag it for me to dig it up in the spring. It is a treasured memory of Bob.
‘Fire Twister’ false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides, Zones 3–9) is a new perennial that I just purchased last spring. It is nowhere near the bright red it was pictured as but is beautiful nonetheless.
Giant fleeceflower (Persicaria polymorpha, Zones 3–9) is a “must have” perennial for large spaces. It grows 6 to 8 feet tall and at least 12 feet wide in my garden. The flowers come out white and last all summer long, ending up near brown by fall. This photo was taken mid-August.
‘Karl Foerster’ grass (Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, Zones 3–9) is my favorite ornamental grass for Zone 3. It is extremely well behaved and not at all invasive. It’s resilience to wind and rain is simply amazing. At the end of a storm it can look all twisted and bent, but a day or so later it is standing stalwart again.
Here is a smorgasbord of succulents, hardy and tender. The specimen rosette in the middle is Echeveria ‘Ebony’ (Zones 9–11).
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
