Perennial Profile: Ajuga

Catlin's Giant

Ajuga, or bugleweed as it's commonly called, is one of those plants that looks pretty unassuming in pots on the nursery bench. However, once established in the garden, this plant easily becomes a must have.

Grown primarily for it's foliage, ajuga comes in a variety of colors from green to black to burgundy and from fine textured leaves to very large leaves. In addition to it's gorgeous foliage, the blue flower spikes in spring are stunning and an added bonus to it's glossy, rich foliage. 

Growing 6-10 inches tall and spreading 12-24 inches, ajuga is an excellent ground cover and perfect for difficult areas where other plants won't grow. It prefers light to partial shade for best foliage color but will tolerate full shade or full sun although leaves may become scorched in direct sunlight. It's not terrible fussy about soil as long as it's not soggy.

Catlin's Giant

Ajuga is a dense and vigorous plant which will smother out all but the most tenacious weeds. The plant can be divided at any time of the season and needs little care. As long as it gets adequate snow cover in the winter (not a problem here!), this plant doesn't need any additional mulching in the fall. As with most vigorous plants, ajuga may spread to places where you'd rather not have it such as your lawn. Fortunately, unwanted plants are easily removed and can be contained with simple edging. However, don't let the vigor frighten you off this plant! It's not an aggressively fast growing plant so isn't likely to get out of control before you know it. It's these attributes that make it the perfect ground cover for those difficult places. 

The dramatic foliage and low growing habit of this plant make it a great companion to hostas, astilbe and coral bells. It grows well in rock gardens and along pathways. Don't overlook this gem of a plant when planning your garden beds. You'll love the dramatic foliage and easy growing habit of this plant and be pleasantly surprised with its bright blue blooms in the spring--a welcome addition to any garden!

Perennial Profile: Coral Bells

Berry Smoothie

Coral Bells, often referred to by their botanical name of Heuchera, is an indispensable plant to have in the garden. Most notable for the vast variety of foliage colors, Coral Bells is also a prolific bloomer that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies while being ignored by rabbits and deer. In addition, Coral Bells will often grow in places other plants will not due to their adaptability in regards to sun exposure. Most prefer part sun, but many will tolerate full sun, while some will tolerate almost full shade. This wide rage of sun/shade tolerance makes Coral Bells the perfect plant for eastern and western exposures that receive direct sun for part of the day and many hours of shade as well. This plant will also do well under trees and shrubs. The brilliant foliage of Coral Bells enhances the beauty of surrounding plants. 

Hercules

Coral Bells are generally a low-growing, mounding plant usually about 12-24 inches wide and 12-36 inches tall depending on the cultivar. Although the flower scapes tower up to 18 inches above the plant, the delicate flowers and airy composition of the stems don't detract or hide other plants behind making this plant perfect for borders and edging. Coral Bells are evergreen perennials regardless of snow cover and will be among the first plants to take shape in the spring. One caution is to refrain from cleaning any leaves that appear dead too early in the spring. This plant does not give up it's leaves easily and cleaning the plant too early in the spring often results in killing it. Tolerate the seemingly dead leaves and watch your Coral Bells flourish. If crispy, dead leaves are still present in late June, early July when the plant is flourishing, that would be the time to remove them, however, don't force removal. 

Ruby Bells

Most Coral Bells have simple flowers of white or light pink which do not detract from the brilliant foliage. However, there are exceptions. Both 'Ruby Bells' and 'Hercules' have rather simple green foliage but brilliant flowers of ruby red and cherry red, respectively. 

The foliage of Coral Bells comes in virtually every color from bronze, purple, chartreuse, black, pinks, corals and yellows. There is a color for every garden! Cultivars to check out are 'Berry Smoothie' (fuchsia veined foliage), 'Kassandra' (caramel colored leaves with burgundy backsides), 'Palace Purple' (burgundy colored foliage) and 'Citronelle' (chartreuse).

Regina

Another exception to the brilliant foliage-white flower rule is 'Regina'. This cultivar sports gorgeous deep burgundy leaves with silver overlay and purple undersides. The flowers are a beautiful medium pink which plays wonderfully off the deep foliage color. 


If you're looking for easy to grow plants that will add color and drama to those hard-to-plant spots in your garden, check out Coral Bells. There is sure to be a variety that piques your interest.

Perennial Profile: Daylilies

Baja Daylily

Daylilies are so named because each bloom lasts for one day. However, a healthy plant will have 50 or more blossoms giving it a bloom time of a month or two. In addition to a long bloom time, the foliage of daylilies is the perfect camouflage for declining spring plants such as tulips and daffodils. Daylilies look best when combined with other blooming perennials.

This easy to grow perennial is not terribly finicky about either sun or soil conditions and once established, is difficult to kill. While daylilies perform best in full sun, they will take some shade, although blooming will be less prolific. Daylilies can survive and thrive in hot, dry spots in your yard once established. These characteristics make daylilies perfect plants for spots in the garden where other plants may struggle. 

Some notable varieties include:

Stella d'Oro: Far and away the most prolific blooming daylily. This gold-yellow lily blooms from late June through September. Often called a re-blooming daylily it's really more of an ever-blooming. This is a compact daylily that gets up to 18 inches tall and wide. Often overused because of its constant blooming, Stella d'Oro makes a bigger impact as a single specimen planted in a mixed garden rather than in a mass planting. Don't overlook this beauty just because it's ubiquitous. 


Happy Returns: This is another compact, ever-blooming daylily which gets about 18 inches tall and wide. Happy Returns is a clear lemon-yellow and a more open flower than the Stella's tulip-shaped bloom.


Purple d'Oro: A medium sized daylily at 20 inches tall and wide, this plant re-blooms with deep lavender pink blooms. A great companion to yellow daylilies.


Baja: At 36 inches tall and wide, Baja is the typical size of most daylilies. However, as a re-blooming lily, this plant will add beauty to the garden from June through September. The flowers are large (5-6 inches wide) with deep red petals and yellow throat.


Daylilies are a must for every garden. Coming in a variety of colors and sizes, there is certain to be a daylily to fit into every garden scheme.

Perennial Profile: Catmint 'Walker's Low'

Catmint is an easy to grow, long flowering perennial for sun or partial shade. The gray-green foliage gives way to blue-violet flower spikes in early summer and last through the fall. This plant is not terribly picky about soil and, in fact, will become leggy and less attractive with too much fertilizer. It's also drought tolerant, but puts on it's best show with adequate moisture. 

Despite this plant's name, it is neither low nor overly attractive to cats. The name, "Walker's Low" is after a garden in England and has nothing to do with the size of the actual plant. That said, Walker's Low is one of the more compact varieties of catmint but will still reach heights of 24-36" with an equal spread. As for it's common name of catmint, it's true that this plant is attractive to cats (we can attest to that as the cats in the greenhouse like to frolic in it), however, it's not nearly the same attraction as to it's close cousin, catnip. It's safe to plant this in your yard without fear of hanging an open invitation sign to all the neighborhood cats. However, this plant will attract an abundance of flying critters in the form of butterflies, moths and bees. Catmint has also been said to deter rodents. 

Catmint is good along borders where it can trail over the edge or as a companion plant to roses. The blue-violet flowers are a beautiful color to combine with yellow or orange flowers for a striking garden show.