Today In the Garden - ONCE UPON A CONEFLOWER

Tall Garden Phlox for Nonstop Color

No summer flower display is complete without garden phlox, a workhorse of the home flowerbed since European naturalists first discovered our native species, Phlox paniculata. The name ‘phlox’ comes from the Greek for flame, and you can see why– there’s nothing shy about these stalwart mainstays.

Tall phlox not only put on a colorful show, they’re usually long-lived once established. Some are wonderfully fragrant. New introductions are more disease resistant than ever, and many repeat bloom, or just keep going like the Energizer Bunny.

In my quest to identify some of the best phlox choices for zone 6, I delved deeply into two exhaustive phlox trials, as well as drew on my own experience with some of the cultivars.

Let’s take a look at the top performers, new introductions and what makes tall phlox so desirable in the garden.

Choosing Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are deservedly popular shrubs with long bloom periods and handsome foliage. As a result, growers have introduced hundreds of cultivars in a dazzling array of colors. There are over 70 species and roughly 1000 cultivars and hybrids in production worldwide, with more being added every year.

Selecting a plant you’ll be happy with for the long haul can be tricky. Most cultivars and hybrids available in the US fall within six types, or species. Not all types have the same needs, and some can fail to bloom after a hard winter. So, where to start?

Here’s what I learned when I started researching hydrangeas.

Plant Life of the Grand Canyon

Since our gardens are fast asleep this time of year, I thought I’d deviate from my usual subjects and take you on an armchair mini-tour of some of the plant life at the Grand Canyon. The Southwest and the Grand Canyon in particular are favorite vacation destinations of my husband and myself.

Drawing on photos from our rim-to-rim hike in 1989, a 9-day rafting trip in 2008, and a 2013 return to the North Rim, I was able to pull together a collection of images that illustrate some of the plants found there, as well as a few amazing canyon vistas taken from the Colorado River.

Revisiting these photos, I once again feel the sun on my shoulders as the rasping caw of a raven riccochets off the canyon walls. Oh, to be back there right now! So let’s go…put on your virtual hiking boots and come along.