From The Gardens

Ordinarily, August is a rather quiet season in the perennial garden. The following perennials are usually useful for color in the sunny garden for late summer and early fall.

One of the best overall perennials just happens to bloom in late summer, and that is Russian Sage (Perovskia).  This vase shaped, rather large plant has beautiful, fragrant gray-green foliage with long wands of lavender blue flowers.  A mature plant easily reaches four feet in height while three or so feet across and is a beautiful  sight in the garden for about six weeks.  It seems to grow best when not crowded by other plants.  This is a plant that everyone, except those with the tiniest garden, should grow.

Another long blooming selection is a graceful, vase shaped plant with many white flowers.  Gaura, sometimes referred to by the descriptive name “Whirling Butterflies”, actually begins blooming in late June, but is barely noticeable with so many other plants blooming at that time.  However, by mid-August it becomes quite important.  Definitely one of the longest blooming garden flower, Gaura lindheimeri prefers alkaline soil and a sunny location, although it will tolerate partial shade.  It does very well in my limey, Jamesville soil where I frequently find seedlings sprouting near the mother plant.

Ghost Wormwood (Artemisia lactiflora) is plant that should be used more frequently in the garden.   Most artemisias are known for their silver foliage, but Ghost Wormwood has handsome green leaves that are finely dissected.  This is another tall plant, reaching over 4 feet at flowering time.  Often it is mistaken for an overachieving astilbe.  It features feathery, creamy white flowers that fade to an attractive pinkish rust color for the rest of the season.  It has never required staking from me when grown in full sun.

The recently popular butterfly bush (Buddleia sp.) is not only beautiful in the late summer garden, it is most useful in attracting butterflies.  Seed grown strains will flower the first year, amazing when  one realizes that the plant flowers at four feet tall.  Usually, the flowers are lavender, but some named varieties are a wonderful deep violet, an eye catching reddish purple or soft pink or white.  Once again full sun is best.