Baptisias!

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring as much as I have been. Each year I keep telling myself spring doesn't get any better-but it does! This spring has been the best. Peonies and baptisias make it so. Perhaps I should've titled this post 'Baptisias AND Peonies' but I'll save a peony for later. Today we focus on the splendid baptisias. As a side note from a landscape designer (me!), peonies and baptisas are a great pairing in the garden. My peonies are just beginning to open up and they are quite beautiful this year.

The real stars are the baptisias tho. This one is a while one growing in my little wildflower meadow. I have several baptisias planted 'in the wild' in a small grassy area on our property as well as several more in gardens and scattered around the property. Baptisias are tough, beautiful, easy care, and long lived perennials for all sorts of situations.

Here is the main grouping of baptisias. Wow! It is a sight to see. I guess I planted about six baptisias here. There are three or four 'Lemon Meringue' baptisias and were supposed to be three 'Dutch Chocolate' baptisias. I honestly don't know exactly how many of each are here because I haven't counted them but they sure do make an impact massed like this. When I purchased them from a nursery several years ago (on clearance), I think they were mislabeled or the labels somehow got mixed up. I moved all of these baptisias to the new garden in the fall of 2013. To see more about moving baptisias successfully (don't attempt to do it with plants older than three or four years old!) see this post from last spring. It will also show you just how much these baptisias have grown. You need to leave at least three or four feet between plants for their mature size. Don't skimp on this step!

They grow between a grouping of crepe myrtles and border the edge of the large peony garden. There are over 40 different types of peonies in this garden and I thought the baptisias would look great with the peonies so that is where I planted them. I just love it. Can you see the 'Dutch Chocolate' baptisias? They are more subtle than 'Lemon Meringue' but are an integral part of this grouping nonetheless. Both 'Lemon Meringue' and 'Dutch Chocolate' baptisias are a Proven Winners plant. They are definitely winners in my book.

Here is a better shot of the differences between 'Lemon Meringue' and 'Dutch Chocolate'. Don't you love their names?

I'll finish this post with a shot of the main focal point of my new vegetable garden. I built this tiered strawberry bed from materials from my old garden just this past fall. And we are picking strawberries already! The rest of the vegetable garden is coming along and is almost done too. Soon I'll show you all of it....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden