Over the last few years, I've been trying different "filler" plants to grow between the perennials until they mature. Rose campion (Lychnis coronaria) is now one of my favorites for this role.
I have several clumps spread throughout my deer resistant gardens where it keeps company with stachys, salvia, spirea, lavender, nepeta and agastache. Annual larkspur, sown from seed in the fall, has joined the rose campion as a filler plant.
The fuzzy, silver foliage of rose campion is tall enough (two to three feet) to send the flowering branches above other plants along the slopes in the gardens. The base is a rosette of fuzzy leaves and the spiking branches pop out above the base. In my zone 7b garden, the foliage is evergreen during the winter months.
Besides being deer and rabbit resistant, it is a drought tolerant, easy-keeper! After the blooms have finished, I cut back the spikes to the base foliage. It blooms again, but not as full as the first bloom.
Although it reseeds, but there hasn't been a population explosion in my garden due to my dead-heading. I need to leave a few more flowers for more seedlings this time. I have found a few tiny rosettes around the mother plants and have easily relocated those to fill in gaps while waiting for perennials to mature. In fact, the seedlings even sprouted among the rocks in the dry stream! This old-fashioned plant is short-lived and suitable for sunny locations in zones 3-9.
My original rose campion was purchased in pots from a garden nursery, but you can sow the seeds directly in the fall as the seeds like a little chill. This makes it a great seed to sow at the same time as annual larkspur and poppies.
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Story and photos by Freda Cameron; Location: home garden; May 2009
Good morning Cameron ~ That's a pretty bloomer and fits right in with your gardens.
ReplyDeleteI bet your were really inspired with your visit to Monet's gardens. Lucky you!
FlowerLady
Hi Cameron
ReplyDeleteWell this is spooky, I've just literally come back in from taking a few pics of rose campion which I've planted under the roses this year.
Is this the truest magenta i wonder.
I was given a small plant by a nursery a couple of years ago and sowed the seed in the Autumn and literall just left it 'till early spring before potting on.
Is it a short lived perennial or biennial? I missed out seed sowing last Autumn so I might be short of plants next year. Bad succession planning if ever there was!
It looks great! I have two plants here. They are in shade so not so prolific or floriferous. I need to move them. I do like that they do not detract from the salvia. They are so pretty in your garden!
ReplyDeleteHaving just seen rose campion on a local garden tour, I'm determined to find a place for it in my future deer-resistant garden. Thanks for the profile.
ReplyDeleteI used to have patches of it here and there in the garden. When I began mulching heavily, it disappeared. I'll have to find a way to bring it back because I agree with you, it fills empty spaces and it makes a great companion plant.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
FlowerLady - Monet's gardens were indeed inspiring.
ReplyDeleteRob - No more spooky than us talking about France all the time! We had friends over last night. One has been to France (even Dordogne) more than us. After everyone else left, he sat around with us to talk about France.
I planted the nursery pots early one summer and it was the next summer before the first blooms. So, this is the third year for the 'mother' plants and they are really great. The seedlings showing up this year, one bloom until next year if they are like the originals. I've heard it called biennial as well for areas where the plants don't winter over, but the seeds sprout -- taking 2 years for the bloom. Does that make sense?
Tina -- even the large, mother plants move easily. I moved a large clump a few weeks ago so that I'd have 3 together around the lavender/nepeta area and it is just as tall and has as many blooms as the others. They are very shallow-rooted so the seedlings are easy to scoop up and move.
Pam -- they practically sit on top of grit, sand and poor soil! I think you'd like these -- I can see them fitting nicely into your garden.
Rose campion gives and gives. I really like the magenta one, the white bloom isn't enough punch for me.
ReplyDeleteI love this plant!
ReplyDeletePretty flower and it sounds well behaved, I'll have to keep it in mind.
ReplyDeleteI hope Charm is getting better.
I've found your blog somehow and am so happy I have! Your rain garden posts have been particularly helpful... trying to "work with" a drainage situation all the while choosing plants that can also survive a drought. Not easy!
ReplyDeleteMarnie -- I'm sure our mulching may have cut down on our seedlings, too. I hadn't even thought of that.
ReplyDeleteJanet -- I wondered about using the white, so it's good to hear your feedback on it.
Anna - me, too!
Dawn -- Charm has progressed from thinking she was going to die to realizing she isn't going to die. She's still having trouble relaxing and follows me around even more than before. The wounds still look so yucky, but we think she dodged an infection since we flushed out the wounds quickly and got her on antibiotics in time.
Southern Aspirations -- glad the blog is helpful. There is a new book out from local NC authors called "Rain Gardening in the South." I received a copy from the publisher, so I will probably do a review later this summer.
Wow! Rose campion definitely looks great as a filler. It provides that little extra "pop" in the garden. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteI am adding new things to the garden this year and as always looking for deer resistant items. This would be a great one of me! I will keep my eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking back at your vacation post and what a wonderful trip you had! We took in the Notre-Dame Cathedral while on our visit. I was fascinated by the gargoyles also as no two seem the same and a bit eerie as well. I miss the beautiful gardens in just about every turn while living in Europe! Flowers galore and too bad I did not have a digital camera with me back then. Sigh… I would love to go back again some day but such a long flight and I don’t care too much for the hassles of flying today…I do have my memories though. Can you believe we picked Euro-Disney over going to the Palace of Versailles? How silly was that on our part…
Even if it didn't have those beautiful magenta blooms, it would be worthwhile because of the soft grey rosettes of leaves.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that it's a novelty to so many; my mother grew this plant.
Allan -- just be patient to get the first blooms. Like a lot of fuzzy plants, too much water is the only problem.
ReplyDeleteSkeeter -- I went to Versailles in 2001 and really didn't have an interest in returning. It's big, it's gaudy and when Marie Antoinette lived there, the historic depictions of what went on there would make Disney look pretty tame. LOL
Nell -- I think of campion as very, very old. My grandmother grew it, too.
That is a gorgeous color and it seems to blend well with other shades in your garden. I really like it combined with the Spanish Lavender. :)
ReplyDeleteJust lovely Cameron! I use to have that years ago, I wonder what happened to it. Mine leaned more toward a purple color though.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd have kept up better. I was just going to read your posts to catch up, but find myself wanting to comment.
ReplyDeleteMy rose campions died out, I think, because the soil was not well drained enough over the winter. We must have put the plants in the compost, because there have been little plants coming up in the veggie garden that I thought were lambs ears, until they got bigger. They took a couple years to get big enough to bloom, and I am pleased they are the white ones, as I had 2 colors, and I moved them to the bed that has a lot of white.
One of my very favourites! I have the white ones, for the first time this year, and I'm told not to plant them too close to the magenta ones (lest they become cross polunated and all turn out washed-out light pink)!
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