My current garden is much less cottagey than my former garden. But some cottage-garden favorites will always have a place in any garden I make, including purple coneflower. I grew this stand from seed collected from the coneflowers in my old garden. They are easy to grow from seed, but be patient. They may be small the first couple of years, but by the third spring they will erupt into this.

Let’s zoom in for a butterfly’s view, shall we? Now I have Lucinda Willliams’s classic “Big Red Sun Blues” playing in my head.

Such a happy flower, and they last forever in a vase. My daughter cut me some for Mother’s Day, and they’re still going strong.

What else is blooming right now? I can’t resist adding another picture of ‘Madame Ganna Walska,’ a tropical water lily in my stock-tank pond.

It’s May, so the daylilies are blooming. This is ‘Best of Friends.’ I’ve found that it looks best in partial shade. Under the full glare of the Texas sun its apricot-pink color tends to bleach out.

‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper has had one bloom cycle already and is producing its distinctive glossy, round peppers. This is one annual worth replanting every year for its near-black foliage and beautiful “pearls.” I do have a few volunteers coming up from last year’s plants, but they are still teeny-tiny, and I couldn’t resist adding a few 4-inch pots last month for instant results.

After two years, the Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ in the sunny hillside garden is becoming a spherical beauty. I love this plant. (Behind it you can see that I ripped off ESP‘s idea to use a cedar stump—courtesy of Bob at Draco Gardens—to display a color-coordinated gazing ball.) I wonder when its trunk will begin to develop. Patience, Pam.

All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Morning strolls are best during hot, sticky Austin summers. But the best light in my back garden comes in late afternoon. Luckily, for the virtual garden tour, you can have both—and stay in the comfort of your air-conditioning.

Pictured above, my new Agave stricta from the recent Oracle Gorge cactus sale. It is especially lovely in the evening light. That’s Sedum reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’ in front.

Looking down from the deck at the stock-tank pond and stone “sunburst” paving. I love the way the pond and paving turned out. But I’m struggling with the very shady, very dry, root-bound bed in the upper left. A trio of bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa) planted last year was doing great until the hard freeze early this year. I lost one, replaced it recently, and the other two are slowly recovering. A ‘Macho Mocha’ manfreda is growing well, as are lamb’s ear and ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood. But everything else is just kind of “meh.” I need to rethink this area this fall.

Different angle, same stock-tank pond visible on the right, with the edge of the deck seen at upper-left. The bed just below the deck has turned into a flower garden this year. Last year I created this bed to give my children a place to putter—they sowed some purple coneflower seeds from our former garden, among other things—and to house some of the Proven Winners plants I was trialing. This year, with the rains, everything took off, and now it’s a tumble of purple coneflowers, ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome, agastache, daylilies, strawflower, and phlox from Dee’s garden. Structural interest comes in the form of ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood, a concrete orb ornament, and a couple of tall potted plants. I also added ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper for contrast, which I’m loving. This bed gets sun from morning until early afternoon.

Moving closer, I see the echinacea has fallen over in our recent rains. I should have cut this back a bit before it bloomed to keep it from getting so tall and top-heavy. The ‘Black Pearl’ pepper looks great with the pink of the coneflower and the cleome behind it. I intended to paint that lattice a dark forest-green to help it disappear into the background (that orange stain is not working for me), but I got busy this spring and ran out of time. Next year, before the vines get going.

Looking back at this bed from the other direction. Like I said, a cheerful jumble.

Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ and ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia make a cool pair amid orange- and hot-pink flowering plants.

‘Apple Tart’ daylily, the last of my daylilies to bloom

‘Kent Beauty’ oregano sprawls across the top of a retaining wall.

And in the highest bed along the retaining wall, the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia) holds court.

Another new agave from Oracle Gorge—A. leopoldii, potted up on the deck.

My succulent troughs are filling in nicely this year. I know Debra Lee Baldwin says to stuff your succulent containers absolutely full when you plant them (and she’s right; that looks better), but my budget didn’t allow it last year. This year I’ve added a few new plants, divided others to fill in some bare spots, and watched the plants grow. I hope it will be a thickly-woven tapestry by next summer.

I hope you enjoyed the virtual stroll. See? You didn’t even have to get sweaty.

All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A little sunshine, courtesy of ‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily

Yellow and blue, a classic combo, and a few colorful stars to brighten the wall.

Ever since seeing the movie Cast Away with Tom Hanks, though, I think of his “friend” Wilson, the volleyball, when I say ‘Wilson’s Yellow.’ It needs a better name.

All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.