PLANT OF THE MOMENT-GAURA LINDHEIMERI 'CORRIE'S GOLD'

I had another serendipitous introduction to a 'plant of the moment' today.   I was walking back into the garden shop after helping out a customer in the greenhouses and happened upon my cohort Becky writing up an order for a customer.  In her hand she was holding a very lovely, strong and healthy plant with yellow margins.  It really caught my eye.  I looked at the tag because I wasn't quite sure what it was and found that it was a 'new' gaura that John had brought into the greenhouses this spring.  

Gaura has a long, long list of things going for it.  Its roots form a taproot much like a carrot, and reaches down into the ground in search of water and so it is one of the best drought tolerant plants for the south.  Its also heat and humidity tolerant.  It comes in a wide range of heights, from 12" to 6-7' tall.  You will find gaura on lists of plants that deer don't usually like to graze.  Its for full sun  and it blooms all season.

Its not the most showy plant though.  Wispy in form with flowers held high above the foliage on long, thin stems that cascade downward.  The flowers are usually varying degrees of pink, white or a combination of both.  As well as the regular green foliage we also have some with a very deep maroon foliage.

The creamy yellow margins of Corrie's Gold' really caught my eye.  Corrie's flowers are pure white, and she is short, topping out at 18".   I think she is as lovely as she can be and for this reason she is my 'Plant of the Moment'.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-PHYSOSTEGIA VIRGINIANA 'EYEFUL TOWER'

Today at BB's we had quite a few "newbies" drop by to see us. We always get a big kick out of the reactions of first time customers to the amount of perennials and herbs that we keep in stock year round.

Most of our first time customers admit to being a bit overwhelmed and they all seem to be a little shell shocked after wandering around for a while. I must admit I felt a tad like Scarlett with a touch of the vapors my first time here. I think I actually had to fan my face with my hands just to get my breath back. Was there a point here? Oh yes! my "Plant of the Moment".

One of our newbies today was planning a new garden, lots of different plants, all located in different sections of the greenhouses. I was happy to help her and she was happy to have me help her, being a bit overwhelmed by it all. I described to her the general layout of our greenhouses, gave her specific areas for some plants she was having a hard time finding and then sent her on her way with instructions to come and get me if there was something she couldn't find. She ended up with a couple of wagons full by the time she was done shopping. While boxing and writing up her order, I asked her if there was anything she couldn't find. She replied she could still not find the physostegia (obedient plant). I knew we had them and offered to go back and get them for her. I also knew we had the physostegia in white and in pink so I asked her if she had a preference. She wanted the pink, so I headed back into the greenhouses to fetch her two four inch pots. I actually found two different kinds of pink. We had a nice 24" tall one, the species and cultivar escape me now, but I also found another pink one, physostegia virginiana 'Eyeful Tower' which tops out at 7-8'. Since they were so very different I brought up two of each. I showed her what I had found and she said she wanted them all but ended up getting just the shorter variety since she had already picked out a ton of plants to purchase. I bet she is now sorry she did not get the 'Eyeful Tower' and will probably be back at some point to get them. What she doesn't know is that the two lovely pots I picked out for her never made it back into our greenhouses.

Like I always say, we have such a huge selection of plants and I have such an addiction to plants, I sometimes have to leave it up to fate or serendipity as to what I bring home with me or what becomes my 'Plant of the Moment'. I was intrigued by the name "Eyeful Tower' and by the sheer height of them and OK the fact that I had them in my hands.

I've read they are not as invasive as the shorter variety, in relation to their height not as much as you would expect. I don't think I would mind a nice stand of them blooming in my front gardens in late summer.

Physostegia likes a moist soil so they would be very happy in clay or a well amended sandy soil. My problem with my sandy soil with be in keeping them moist enough but I have promised them that I will try to make them happy if they will promise to make a nice 7-8' high stand in my front gardens in late summer and for this reason they are my "Plant of the Moment".

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-AGASTACHE 'SANGRIA'

Today at work the owner John called me into his office to show me something on the computer. He was looking for information on a specific plant and happened across a website that not only described hundreds of different plants but also provided gorgeous pictures of each one. One of the first pictures he showed me was Agastache 'Sangria'. He casually mentioned that we had a bunch in the greenhouse. They were started late and brought into the selling greenhouses late so we still had them in four packs which explains why I wasn't growing them since I knew that I had already purchased all the agastache that we had in four packs early in the season. I got out of the office as quickly as I could and made a beeline to the herb greenhouses where I found said four packs. I was very impressed with the plants. All were growing strongly upright, looking very healthy and vigorous.

Agastache 'Sangria' is an agastache mexicana and is hardy to zone 7. It actually likes and THRIVES in dry soils which I have no trouble providing in my gardens of sand. Its leaves are lemon scented and can be used in teas and the flowers are edible. Its also a first-year-flowering perennial so I will get plenty of blooms from the four plants in my four pack this season. They do best when pinched back early in the season to keep them compact and branching. They will eventually grow to around 48 inches tall.

It just goes to show you that at any time, even when you least expect it, you might just by chance run across or have pointed out to you...a plant of the moment and for this reason Agastache 'Sangria' is my plant of the moment.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-STOKESIA LAEVIS 'COLOR WHEEL'

We carry about eleven different kinds of stokesia here at Big Bloomers. I walk past them nearly every day in the greenhouses. Each time I walk past them I think I really should like them more. We brought in a new one this spring called 'color wheel'. Its plant tag has taken to calling my name now whenever I walk past it. So far I have been able to resist, though I feel compelled somehow to make it my plant of the moment. I think I know where this is going.....but anyway, stokesias are easy to grow, their one requirement being a well-drained soil. I think in all but the very wettest soils they would be fine though. They don't like to be wet but they do like to have a moist soil though I have also read that they are drought tolerant. I planted three castoffs last year in the drought and was surprised this spring when one came back very strongly. 'Color wheel' is a real head turner with three inch flowers that start out white, change to lavender and eventually turn to a darker purple. These last two color stages have a white center which only adds to the effect. Because of its long bloom time and branched bloom stalks you will have those three colors as well as colors varying between the three at one time on the same plant. Planted in mass it has a lovely tapestry effect. Even while typing this I am still wondering why I have never brought one home. Thinking about it I tend to be drawn to tall plants and they dominate all my gardens. The only conclusion I can come to is that I am tall and have had very poor eyesight all my life and the stokesias top out at about two feet in flower though the foliage which is semi-evergreen in zone 7 is held much closer to the ground. In conclusions I am still uncertain if I will bring one home but the plant tag is right here on my desk and its still calling out my name. I wonder who will win..... and for this reason Stokesia laevis 'Color Wheel' is my plant of the moment.

Plant of the Moment-Campanula 'Pink Octopus'

When I first layed eyes on the picture tag that comes with Campanula 'Pink Octopus' I knew I had to have this exotic looking flower. The foliage is quite handsome as well with nice color and shape. In my research I found that this exotic beauty was also very easy to grow as well as being deer-resistant, long blooming if deadheaded and extremely attractive to hummingbirds. The flowers are described on the hybridizer's web-site as "Large pink buds shaped like Japanese lanterns that burst into pendulous blooms with long, slender, widely-spaced petals. As the flowers mature, the blooms spread wider and wider, until the bloom is flat and its "tentacles" have reached as far apart as possible!"


How could I resist with that description. I bought one from our greenhouses and planted it in a nice little east facing shady garden where it sat all season doing nothing until it finally put out one flower that seemed to be gone to fast to enjoy. I was so disappointed I think I might have even called it a "poopy plant" to its face. While taking my evening "walk around" the gardens with my pups tonight I was amazed and ashamed to see that my campanula 'pink octopus' had not only spread around nicely since last year but is also blooming its little head off and as you can see in the picture you have all stages of flower together.


When I was little my mother would constantly say to me "patience is a virtue". I guess its a virtue I still have not gained and for that reason Campanula 'Pink Octopus' is my plant of the moment.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-ELSHOLTZIA STAUNTONII

My Plant of the Momentum (giggle) is going to be the Elsholtzia stauntonii my sister recently planted in her garden.

I keep thinking of it as the "sister" mint shrub to the australian mint bush I have been growing. While both are mint bushes, lovely, fragrant and shrub-like, the australian blooms early spring with a breathtakingly bright, purple haze and while the Elsholtzia blooms all summer the flowers are not as showy. The Elsholtzia is a very hardy plant growing into zone 4 and the australian is more tender only hardy to zone 7. The same, but different, just like sisters.

My sister and her husband travel full time in their motor home so my sister's garden resides on my property. They are back on the road after spending a month with us golfing, shopping, gardening and hanging out. While she was here she managed to put some order into my crazed chaos of gardens and I have to say they are looking better than they ever have.

So to say a special thank you to my sister, Elsholtzia stauntonii is my plant of the momentum.

plant with purple flowers is my plant of the momentum

i am writing this for my sister who is washing her hair which is long and takes ten years to do...
so here goes...

this plant..maybe it is a shrub....cuase its bigger than a plant and has woody stems...
this shrub is cool,,,, it has pretty purple flowers....

it looks real nice....but the picture is not the best...cause my camera sucks...
but it is nicer in real life...

and i like it....
and it has nice purple flowers...
not all year...but now....
and they are pretty...so i like it...

so that is why it is the plant of the momentum...
oh...and it grows too...and hasnt died yet....that is another reason to like it ...

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-ABUTILON X SUNTENSE 'VIOLETTA'

This beauty nearly slipped through my fingers. Luckily I was alerted to their presence here at Big Bloomers by two very lovely customers that I waited on today. I hope I didn't scare them by my exclamations of glee when I came across one that was blooming in their boxes to purchase. I have to say I was quite dismayed that this little beauty had gotten in here past me without even a heads-up by my co-worker and "partner in crime" Peggy.

I decided upon first glance this would be my next plant of the moment. Upon goggling I was even more pleased at the prospect of growing one. It does well in sun or part shade. Its a very large (6'-9' tall) but delicate plant or small shrub depending on your location. Being hardy down to zone 8 I think a protected area in that zone would be best. It blooms all summer and prefers a sandy or loamy soil. Oh, and it attracts hummingbirds. Its fast growing so would also be very nice in a pot on a deck which is where I think I will put mine.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-COREOPSIS MAJOR 'STEELATA'

The plant of the moment does not have particularly spectacular foliage, or a lovely, unusual flower color, fragrance or size of blossom. Its an easy plant to grow though that likes full sun and poor soil.

I planted coreopsis major when I lived in Pittsburgh, PA. It hadn't even gotten to the third year "leap" stage, but it bloomed in its second year and that fall we moved to North Carolina. I'm not even sure why I loved it so much. Maybe it was the tall, strongly held stems or the finely cut foliage.

When planning my gardens here in North Carolina, I wanted to include this flower I thought was so interesting. I had forgotten the name though and the above picture with the three little, yellow flowers held up in the air was all I had to go on. I thought it was a helianthus or heliopsis and so of course I have not been able to find it. While walking through the greenhouses last week helping a customer I caught a glimpse of the foliage on coreopsis major and instantly knew that it was the plant I have been looking for and for this reason Coreopsis Major 'Steelata' is my plant of the moment.

Plant of the Moment-Poncirus Trifoliata 'Flying Dragon'

I've been meaning to do a blog on Poncirus Trifoliata 'Flying Dragon' ever since I mentioned it on another Plant of the Moment blog. This picture was my instigation for finally doing a blog on this spiny beauty.

'Flying Dragon' is distinguished from the species, poncirus trifoliate by spines which curve strongly backward, in claw-like fashion most notable when the plant is leafless. Highly prized in the Orient, where it has been cultivated for centuries. 'Flying Dragon' is also a dwarf, growing to a maximum height of 6' (smaller in containers). Commercially used as a dwarfing rootstock for citrus. I have read that it is a good candidate for bonsai. Since its hardy to zone 6 even my family in Connecticut could safely plant it in their landscape. It likes sun to partial shade, is drought tolerant, looks great in the winter and can be grown with ease in containers. I've been growing one in a pot for a couple of years now. Mine has not bloomed yet so I am particularly jealous of these pictures taken by a lovely lady I was lucky enough to meet on the gardenweb.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT-CHLOROPHYTUM COMOSUM

My plant of the moment is going to be an ordinary houseplant. I think most of us have grown them at one time or another. Usually given as a start from someone that had one that was probably given to them as a start.

A couple of years ago a part-time employee that took care of our "tropical house" told me stories about her mother and the tropicals she would plant out in her perennial gardens. She mentioned Chlorophytum comosum, the common spider plant as a plant her mother would grow under pines. I commented that they were not hardy and she answered that they survived most winters here except our harshest ones and since they are so easy to start its not such a loss if they don't survive forever. She graciously offered to start me a flat of them. Lets just say that's a "good amount" of spider plants. I planted them in a grove of American holly, pine and oak trees. That was two years ago. Last summer they struggled and I was not sure about their survival. I was amazed to see them coming up out of that arid area these last couple of days. For this reason they are my plant of the moment.

PLANT OF THE MOMENT - Hippeastrum 'Voodoo'

Hippeastrum 'voodoo' is in the amaryllis family. It usually blooms mid-spring with showy red flowers with a white throat. The strappy foliage will be tinged bronze if placed in full sun. I have read that rodents won't eat it. Each time hippeastrum 'voodoo' goes through our front counter and out the door I've noticed this vigorous grower stretching out the pot it is in. I think every one that I have noticed has a misshapen pot. Today when Susie, a fellow gardenweb contributor and hellebore grower extraordinaire, checked out with with one in her box that had two blooming spikes, I finally made the walk back into the greenhouses to claim one for my own. For this reason it is my "plant of the moment".

Plant of the Moment-Saccharum arundinaceum (Hardy Sugar Cane)

The plant of the moment is the saccharum arundinaceum just now sitting on my kitchen table. I've been wanting this majestic beauty for quite a while now. I visited Niche Gardens last fall with a list in hand. Saccharum arundinaceum was first on that list. Upon arrival, on a gorgeous fall day, fellow plant fanatic in tow, I cast many hours of research to the wind and went crazy for their selection of native shrubs. It was only upon arrival home that I checked that list again to see if I had actually purchased anything on it. Of course I hadn't and of course I still NEEDED all those plants on that list. So I was delighted when I found out that this spring we are adding saccharum arundinaceum to our grass house. I will plant it in the back of a bed of various pennisetum and miscanthus where it should provide a gorgeous backdrop to these two shorter grasses.

The reason I think of this hardy sugar cane as majestic is because of its height of 10-15 feet. When I saw one in the fall in full glory I could not keep my eyes off of it. It certainly commands attention.

I definitely feel a blog or two on grasses coming up.

Plant of the moment-Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious'

Pineapple sage has a lovely, fruity scent, is deer resistant, very heat tolerant and is also drought tolerant though is happier with regular moisture. Even though it is supposed to be perennial, in my zone 8 gardens I have had to plant it every spring. I like the 'Golden Delicious' variety since it doesn't bloom till early fall so the chartreuse leaf color makes it a standout even when not in bloom. In the south it likes full morning sun, if planted in afternoon sun the leaves will become a bit scorched. Walking through the herb greenhouses this weekend I kept getting the distinct feeling I was walking through Juicy Fruit Gum. It wasn't until my third pass past the salvias that I realized it was the pineapple sage that was giving me this sensory delight. One of the them was quite mixed up...thinking it early fall and blooming its head off. For this reason Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious' is my plant of the moment.

Plant of the Moment-Barleria cristata (Phillipine violet)

Barleria cristata (Phillipine violet) is not a violet at all. Belonging to the acanthus family Barleria cristata is not even native to the Phillipines but rather to India and Myanmar. This shrub-like perennial grows strongly upright to 2-3 feet. It is a lovely, undemanding and drought tolerant plant with handsome foliage. It will grow in full to part sun. In our southern climate it seems to be happier in morning sun.

I planted one in a 4" pot from our semi-sun section in early spring. I potted it up in a large pot where it bloomed all spring. With the heat of the summer months it stopped blooming but was still a very nice specimen plant. In late September it started blooming again. I planted it in the ground a little while later and was pleasantly surprised a couple of days ago when I noticed it had put on its fall coat of many colors. I have read they are very easily propagated by planting a sprig in moist soil. In my mind's eye I am seeing a lovely hedge row of them in all their fall glory somewhere on my property. For this reason it is my "plant of the moment".

Plant of the Moment... A Tale of Two Tagetes

The plants of the moment have to be the two tagetes blooming in our herb gardens now. They will both bloom into December and for that quality alone they both deserve to be plant of the moment.

Tagetes lemmonii is a wonderful, sprawling shrub-like plant with airy, delicate foliage. Late in the season and especially while blooming it can be a thug, falling over whatever is growing near it. Its such a delicate plant though that it doesn't seem to smother things like the late asters and chrysanthemums can sometimes do. People refer to it as "fragrant". Most people I know think it stinks. It is on the stinky side. Brush against it anytime of the year and you will certainly smell it.

Tagetes lucida on the other hand is more of an upright, orderly and sweetly fragrant plant. This one requires more of a "brushing against" to enjoy the fragrance, but crush a leaf or a stem and you will certainly be rewarded.

I love them both. They bloom this time every year oblivious to freezing temperatures when most other perennials have said goodbye to summer. I have planted them in most of my gardens... one because of its scent and one in spite of it.

Plant of the Moment-Orthosiphon labiatus

Very popular as a garden plant in South Africa, this long blooming member of the mint family forms a 3’ x 3’ shrub topped by showy, 1”, pink, tubular flowers held in whorls on many upright stems. Easy & fast growing in rich, composty garden soil. It’s also extremely drought tolerant once established but looks much prettier with regular water. Excellent used in mass planting in large beds or parks. In a small garden use singly or in small groups. Cut back to 1/3 height every couple of years to keep it fresh looking. Attracts butterflies

Last week I was in the greenhouses helping a customer ID a sprig that she brought in from a small tree growing in her yard. It looked like a hardy, bitter orange that we had talked briefly about on the gardenweb a couple of days before hand. I've actually have the same bitter orange growing in a pot outside for a couple of years now. I just couldn't remember the botantical name that day or where it was located in the greenhouses. All I could remember is that it was referred to as Flying Dragon. The customer and I went into the greenhouses but I could not locate the plant so she mentioned the computer and I could have kicked myself for not thinking of it first so I googled and found the name of the plant she was trying to identify, Poncirus trifoliata, Flying Dragon. But poncirus trifoliata is not what we are talking about today.

While in the greenhouses with the customer I got a tad bit distracted when I glimpsed a haze of pink blooms in a row ahead. Of course I was intrigued and I googled. I was disappointed to see that Orthosiphon labiatus is only hardy to zone 9. Hum, I thought.... I've pushed a zone or two before and this is certainly a worthy plant to try it with so today I will plant three Orthosiphon labiatus. I will try them in a west facing bed up against the side of my house. In this bed I've had good luck with another zone 9 plant which remains evergreen all though winter.

Plant of the Moment-Spiranthes odorata

This will be an ongoing blog. It is plant of the moment and not plant of the week or plant of the month for a reason. I am a very fickle girl and here at Big Bloomers we have a huge selection. I am always seeing something new out in the greenhouses or in the back field or my favorite way of finding a new plant, one that a customer has brought up to purchase.

Anyway I noticed the spiranthes odorata walking through the greenhouses about three weeks ago. A small nondescript plant that you would probably walk past a hundred times without noticing had suddenly produced strongly held flower stalks about 8 inches high. I was intrigued. I googled. I found I needed to have this plant called Spiranthes odorata: Best grown in moist, boggy, acidic soils in part shade. Plants spread slowly by rhizomes to form colonies in optimum growing conditions.

Lady's tresses (sometimes also called fragrant lady's tresses) is an orchid that is native to marshes, bogs, swamps and other wet areas in the eastern United States from New Jersey and Tennessee south to Florida and Texas. It features small, very fragrant, hooded, white flowers densely arranged in vertical, slightly spiral-like rows on spikes typically growing 9-18" (less frequently to 24") tall. Blooms in late summer to fall, often to first frost. Lance-shaped, linear leaves in basal rosettes, with some leaves extending up the flower spikes.

I had the perfect spot for it in a small northern exposed bed right off my covered front porch. This is the only spot in my three acres that I can plant moisture lovers since the ease of keeping this one small bed moist is no problem because of its close proximity to the house. Typically we are rescued from the heat of summer in late September. Things cool down. Its nicer to be outside and garden. I've been looking for plants that last into the fall and especially start blooming in the fall. Spiranthes is not your typical looking fall bloomer, reminded me more of spring blooming lily of the valley much like chrysanthemum nippon. daisy 'Fall Glory' reminds me of spring blooming daisies. Which just might be my next plant of the moment.....