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Garden

Replanning and replanting

March 11, 2011

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It’s funny that I seem to refer to this photo a lot for different posts. This was taken in September on the day we started the renovation so it looks a little bit like we might be loading up the Joads’ truck or something. Anyway, you can see the area along the front of the house that I’m talking about. I’d already cut back the Russian Sage quite a bit here in preparation for digging it all out.

So I mentioned that I ripped out all of the Russian sage in the little bed between the south side of the house and the patio and that my plan is to replace it with more Russian sage. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it?

Here’s the deal. The area in question, about a 2-foot-wide patch of dirt that runs from the front door to along the south side of our white house to the stairs to the back door, is a very inhospitable place to grow something. The sun beats down on it thanks to the southern exposure. Rain is limited because the area is mostly covered by the eaves of the house. The white siding reflects even more light.

But I need to grow something there. Our foundation sits about four feet out of the ground because we’re so close to the water table. Therefore the rather ugly block foundation is fully visible all around the house. Planting something in that area makes you look beyond that ugliness.

Because it’s a small area, I don’t want to plant multiple varieties of plants. I want it to be simple and pretty, and not compete with the front door, the window box or the nearby perennial garden. I have a couple of clematis planted in it for some vertical interest (although whether they survived the construction remains to be seen) and to break it up a little. Boxwood would probably work in that area, but I think that’s just too formal for that part of the house.

The Russian sage that was there when we bought the house had a lot of good things going for it. It was certainly mature, and the blue color when in bloom was beautiful against the white of the house. But it had plenty of disadvantages too. It was too leggy and even though I pruned it pretty hard a couple times during the summer, it would end up flopping all over the patio. In order to be able to shovel the patio in the winter, I’d have to cut it back in fall, which isn’t great for plants and leaves the foundation exposed all winter. It would be much prettier to have something, even the skeleton of a deciduous plant, to break up that line during the winter.

The variety that had been planted there was the common kind of Russian sage: Perovskia atriplicifolia. It’s a tough plant, perfect for the kind of conditions this little microclimate provides (and also for island beds on boulevards, etc., which is why you often see it planted in the median) and it’s lovely scent makes it almost impervious to animal nibbling. It grows to about four feet.

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Russian sage (the standard variety shown here) looks great in so many situations, but I think it’s particularly lovely here in a prairie-like setting amidst chartreuse grasses. From Great Garden Plants

There is another cultivar of Russian sage that incorporates all the hardiness of the original in a smaller package: Perovski ‘Little Spire.’ Depending on what source you consult (don’t you hate when the size information for a plant varies so much?) it shoul get about 2 feet wide by 2 or 3 feet tall. I’m thinking 3 feet is more likely in my area because I have almost perfect growing conditions for it: sun and great drainage. The thing I like most about is its unlikeliness of flopping, which was my main complaint with the original Russian sage.

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‘Little Spire’ all in a row. From Miller Nursery

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Without anything to use as scale it’s almost impossible to tell Perovskia atriplicifolia apart from Perovski ‘Little Spire.’ This is said to be ‘Little Spire’ but it certainly looks tall compared to the neighboring roses. From Bear Creek Nursery

Now I just need to find a source that will have the dozen or so plants I’ll need to fill up this area. If all goes well, I’d like ‘Little Spire’ to be the first plants I put in the ground this year. 

garden russian sage
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
2 Comments

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Comments

  1. threeacres says: March 11, 2011 at 6:45 pm

    I think that sounds like a great plan for such a tough area to grow things. I was going to suggest using some dwarf conifers otherwise. But I've really been on a conifer kick lately so I suggest them to everyone!

    Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

    Reply
  2. Tim says: March 26, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    Hi, Erin. How old is the Russian Sage ‘Little Spire’ plant in the photo growing next to the roses? I live in South-central Kansas. I have an empty flower bed on the south side of my garage that consists of very sandy, well-drained soil, full blazing sun all day and hot drying winds in the summer and freezing drying winds in the winter. I thought about planting Perovskia atriplicifolia there but keep hearing about its tendency to flop and sucker. Then I read about Perovski 'Little Spire', which I understand is not supposed to flop or sucker. I thought about planting it with some Autumn Joy Sedums or Brilliant Sedums, but whatever I plant I would like to be manageable.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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