1. Columbine
2. Columbine
I am not above shopping for perennials at Home Depot. I live only a couple of miles from one and sometimes it is hard to argue with the prices. So I was over there yesterday and thought I would show you my picks of what they currently have available. I also recommend joining their Gardening Club for some good coupons (they are currently offering $5 off a $50 purchase). The larger plants are $5.98 (but they often run specials for less) and the smaller ones were $3.98.
1. & 2. Columbines: I LOVE columbines. HD has them in several colors (although I think the purple ones are my favorite). They are native to the US do well in my sunny and part shade planting beds, they have lovely delicate leaves all season and product beautiful flowers in the spring. Mine have also self seeded (in a good way) around my beds. You can also try planting from seed for a larger impact.
3. Woodland Phlox
4. Tickseed
3. Woodland Phlox: I don’t have any of this but I am considering picking some up. They prefer part shade and I have been admiring some in a local garden for the last couple of weeks. These will also self seed in woodland setting. It is nice to see this native at HD. This is another one that I believe does well from seed if you are interested in planting a lot.
4. Tickseed (Coreopsis): I have several varieties planted in a sunny bed by my driveway. Once established they spread slowly forming a small mat area and bloom in late spring/early summer for me. Mine are in a dry condition and don’t seem to mind.
5. Dianthus
6. Dianthus
5. & 6. Dianthus: I was a slow convert to Dianthus. These are sometimes also sold as annuals, but the ones I have photographed have a lovely bluegreen leaf which I quite like. I planted several last year in the same dry sunny bed as my tickseed. Now I have a lovely small mat of the bluegreen leaves, which are a nice contrast to the other foliage. These will bloom in the summer and also are quite durable. HD had 4 or 5 varieties with flowers ranging from light pink to fuchsia to almost red. I am considering a few of #5 for my front sunny because I like the petite bluegreen foliage and I look at the flowers as an added bonus.
7. Lithodora
7. Lithodora (Grace Ward): This plant is relatively new to me. I looked it up and it looks like it has good possibilities as a low ground cover in a sun to part sun condition. According to what I read this will be an evergreen, which is great. It sounds like it can be a little aggressive, but I have a couple of sloped spots that this guy might work in. The bright blue flowers are quite small but very bright blue (which I always like).
Does anyone else have any recommendations?
