The Perennial Optimist - ONCE UPON A CONEFLOWER

Meet Jupiter’s Beard or Kiss-Me-Quick!

This fun Mediterranean native is found growing all over Britain and Europe, completely at home in poor soils and even in stone wall cracks. It thrives in dry conditions and disperses easily by seed. Hence its ubiquity there.

Jupiter’s Beard or Red Valerian (Valeriana or Centranthus rubra) has several colorful common names. How it got the moniker Jupiter’s Beard is a mystery, but in mythology Jupiter is sometimes portrayed with a red beard, and this flower does come in a muted brick red. One can only speculate.

Sweet Tiarella

Sugar and Spice

Tiarella (Tiarella cordifolia) is a pretty spring-blooming perennial for shady borders, under shrubs and for woodland settings where an attractive groundcover is desired. If you like heuchera, tiarella is like a first cousin, very similar yet with its own charm. Most tiarella cultivars on the market today are nativars; that is, gently improved versions of our native foam flower. As a result they are hardy, undemanding, and valued for both very charming flowers and attractive, well-marked foliage.

Challenging Coreopsis

A threadleaf coreopsis on my bank, probably C. tripteris Gold Standard

Coreopsis or tickseed is a lovely flower, but it can be tricky to grow reliably for many of us. It is particularly frustrating when a variety doesn’t live up to expectations or dies out after just one season. To find out why, I dig into the backstory about why so many cultivars disappoint, and what to do about it.

I love the airy sprays of bright blooms on most coreopsis, but so many cultivars on the market today just don’t seem to last beyond a year or two. Blooming can be inconsistent and plants can die seemingly without warning. Yet I often see coreopsis gracefully thriving in other people’s gardens. Nurseries are full of them, so they are definitely popular despite sporadic performance. Why is that, and what am I missing here?

It turns out there are numerous reasons. Here’s what to know before you shell out for that captivating hybrid at the garden center this spring.