A Simply Spectacular Summer Bloomer for Tennessee Gardens

Always looking for great summer plants that can withstand our Middle Tennessee extreme heat and drought conditions I am excited when I find good ones like cutleaf coneflowers ( Rudbeckia lacinata) 'Hortensia' and 'Autumn Sun'. These two coneflowers are coneflowers that shine in the severe conditions of mid-summer in Middle Tennessee. They are the tall yellow flowers on the right side of the above picture. Let's take a closer look at the garden.

As you can tell the cutleaf coneflowers grow very tall. Also looking at these pictures you can see the coneflowers grow in part sun/shade. I estimate they get perhaps three hours (if they are lucky) of sun per day. Still, they do fine and make a nice backdrop for the rest of the Non-Pool Garden. I have them paired with 'Adagio' ornamental grass, coneflowers, sedums and asters. The 'Limelight' hydrangeas you see in the picture are further down the hill along with a few other prairie flowers and shrubs.

The majority of this clump is of the 'Hortensia' variety. That is they are double coneflowers. These are heirloom plants and many folks plant them to hide things in the yard; like outhouses. For me they remind me of prairie flowers and make a great big impact in this garden. Butterflies love these coneflowers and I have not found mine to be bothered by any pests or diseases. Mine do occasionally need a drink of water; which I do not begrudge since our temperatures have consistently been in the 90s and we've had no rain in several weeks. 


I just love these sunny yellow plants....


in the garden....

I forgot to say, these coneflowers are about 6 feet tall and may get taller in more sun. They spread easily; which is good. Transplanting when fully grown can be tricky as I've found the best time to move these is in early spring once they sprout up. 

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

Wildflower/Native Wednesday-Coneflowers

From In the Garden

CONFLOWERS with three special friends.

From In the Garden

This month's Wildflower Wednesday (brought to you by Gail) is going to spotlight the purple coneflower. It is a perfect month to spotlight this wonderful easy care, butterfly magnet, native flower because purple coneflowers are at their peak this month. The purple coneflower is a showstopping flower while in bloom but the show continues almost all year long even when the coneflower is not in bloom. The seedheads are spectacular for several months after the bloom has passed and help to feed American finches during the winter. One of the great benefits of natives, IMHO, is that they provide food and other benefits for the native fauna, such as butterflies and birds and bees and so on. Coneflowers fill the bill easily with their all around goodness.

From In the Garden

The butterflies visiting the garden and in particular these coneflowers were simply delightful and I think I could almost sit outside and watch them all day. If only daily living did not call I just might move a recliner to the garden!

From In the Garden

This particular photo is of some coneflowers in my front foundation gardens. They are doing really well in the front foundation gardens and I love the cottagey look of them. It is a good spot for these coneflowers because the front borders receive the eastern and southern sun and sun is pretty important for coneflowers. I do admit, coneflowers do okay in the shade but never reach their full potential unless grown in full sun.

From In the Garden

Coneflowers grow to about 2-4 feet tall and can form clumps as wide. Butterflies are attracted to them in a big way. After the bloom time is past, the flowers dry right on the stalks. Deadheading coneflowers will not result in another bloom such as you get with salvias and catmint. I leave mine up nearly all winter for the finches to dine off from. They will really pick them clean too. You need do nothing to have some seeds fall off and sprout right in your garden, but if you'd like, you can cut the heads after they are mature and spread them around the garden. I think I'd do this in the fall but it would work in the spring too.

There are other than purple coneflowers and of the purples there are several varieties. I like them all but am particular to the purple (Magnus) and white ones (White Swan) since I find they are easiest to grow....

in the garden....

The Pinks Residing in the Vegetable Garden and a Monarch Caterpillar or Two!

From In the Garden

I am not generally a pink type of person because I much prefer the bright and hot colors. The more saturated the color the better in my humble opinion. The one time pinks really are a pleasure is during the spring. After the hots of the tulips and daffodils have passed by I kind of want to give my eyes a rest and let the soft blues and pinks of spring come into play. However; I have one area at the western most point of my sword shaped vegetable garden that is full of pinks. This section of the garden that is less than five feet square has the hot bright pinks in the form of cleomes, soft and subtle pinks in the from of gladiolus, coneflowers, and Chinese indigo, and the somewhat fluorescent pink of an old fashioned phlox. The colors rock my world! I did not in any way plan this color scheme because, as regular readers of this blog know, I am a mix 'em up and shake 'em up kind of gardener and like gardens full of tons of different colors. Now I'm beginning to think a white border, a blue border, a yellow border....well, you get the idea.

Pictured above is the Chinese indigo (the tall airy shrub in the background), the cleomes in the center, and the phlox (the first time it has bloomed) in the foreground. The glads and coneflowers (barely visible in the back of the photo) are nearby but I could not fit them into the picture. If you'd like to see them check out July's Bloom Day post....

in the garden....

Do you have borders or gardens with shades of only one color in your garden?

A late addition to this post is a picture of one of my very first monarch caterpillars munching away on the Mexican/Tropical butterfly weed. It's not a pink in my garden but you'll forgive me if I cannot resist posting a picture of it. I found three cats and am just thrilled! If you don't grow this tropical milkweed run out and get some now if you want monarch caterpillars. It is easy to grow and looks awesome with no help from me-and comes back each year too...

in the garden...

From In the Garden

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Plant of the Month-July

It is coneflower (Echinacea) time in my garden. I love these guys. They are drought tolerant (very important when you haven't had rain in over two weeks!), don't require hand watering, are bee and butterfly magnets, last a long time, come in all kinds of cool colors, and are no fail perennials. What more can you ask for in a Plant of the Month?

The swallowtails sure love them. They are very busy lately and I expect I will soon be finding the caterpillars on all the parsley and dill in the garden.

I am almost 100% positive this yellow coneflower is 'Harvest Moon'. I have to take back all the negative things I was thinking about these cultivars. I have been trying without success to get one to come back in my garden for the past five years, with no luck. When this lone yellow flower bloomed it restored my faith in the newer cultivars. 'Razzmatazz' has not lasted, nor have any of the 'Big Sky' series. I say I am fairly certain this is Harvest Moon because that is what I purchased at 'Summer Celebration' in Jackson Tennessee last summer. Be sure to check out the link as Summer Celebration is happening very soon! I hope to be there for the fourth year in a row, though I am not sure yet.


I am also sure I purchased this at Summer Celebration and believe it is 'Green Jewel'. I like it. It is a bit dressed down as far as coneflowers go, and you have to really look for it, but it is cool. Maybe it would count as a green day post? A green flower no less!

I grow a lot of coneflowers, purple ones, named ones, white ones, I can't keep track of them all but I can tell you this, my garden will never be without a coneflower. I sure hope someone develops a cultivar which will flower in the shade because one day that might be all I have in my garden. All coneflowers need is full sun, (I have them growing and blooming in part sun), good drainage and average soil. They don't require a lot of water or fertilizers. Their seedheads last a long time and the goldfinches love them. I leave the seedheads up until March or so.

If you don't grow coneflowers-run out right now and buy yourself one or beg a friend for a start from their clump and be prepared to enjoy them for a very long time. They are my choice for July's Plant of the Month due to their durability and long lasting blooms and seedheads, as well as their easy care growing habits.

in the garden....