Maackia 034: Garden updates!

I’m Nathan Langley and this is Maackia, a monthly newsletter sharing some garden updates from home.

The past month has been relatively productive! With the initial spring rush over, I was able to spend more time working on the border garden bed along my driveway, as well as a few other small projects in the front yard. But let’s ignore the small projects for now and focus on the garden along the driveway.

I ended up changing the plan a bit from what I shared last month, largely at the bottom of the driveway around the well cap. I wanted to keep the rhythm going from the rest of the bed, so I got rid of the large clumps of Monarda (bee balm) and Nepeta (catmint) I had originally planned and instead created a larger clump of Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ (big blue stem) that is surrounded by Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Gold Veil’ (tufted hair grass), Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’ (Joe pye weed), and Aster laevis (smooth aster).

I also incorporated some Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (meadow sage) into the corner closest to the road to act as a bit of a filler and to soften the jump in height to the other perennials in the back.

For spring, there won’t be much to look at. I might end up adding some bulbs this fall if I have time around the warm season grass Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’. But otherwise, the cool season Deschampsia will be doing most of the heavy lifting (which is fine by me — there are too many bugs in spring to be out “smelling the roses”).

The Nepeta will kick off the colour towards the end of spring, though. Knowing how big, full, and beautiful the ‘Walker’s Low’ cultivar gets, it will be more than enough to add some filler interest while the rest of the perennials wake up and set flowers for the year.

Summer, of course, is the main show. The Nepeta will get cut back hard once it largely finishes flowering, but the Salvia will not be far behind. The texture between the two is very similar, so it should feel cohesive as one fades and the other comes into flower. Both should flower again, too, after removing the initial spent flower stalks.

Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ will finally be waking up by this point, and should offer some strong contrast with its purple / black / dark green foliage. Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower) will become the main flowering interest through July, followed by Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot). Meanwhile, the asters and the Eupatorium will be getting ready to take over into August and through the fall.

Finally, fall will switch to Eupatorium as the Monarda finishes flowering and the magnificent asters begin their show. At this stage of the growing season, texture becomes more of an eye-catcher as the various grasses glisten in the lower sunlight.

The seed heads of the Echinacea, Monarda, and (eventually) the Eupatorium will also add some much needed contrast, as they will be large and strikingly different from the delicate seed heads of the various grasses.

I might end up increasing the size of the garden around the well cap later on in September if I have left over material from my fall plant sale. I still have a fair bit of work to do to finish preparing my trial garden area as well, but I would really like to take some time off if I can. Even if it is just for a day or two here and there.

It has been quite hot and smokey so far this summer, so I can’t go too far. The plants will dry out instantly with all the sand in the soil! I wouldn’t be surprised if I need to keep the watering to twice a day for the next month.

Have a great long weekend — enjoy the sun!