Tag Archives: spurge

Euphorbia: A Chameleon in the Garden

11 Apr

This winter most of my perennials died back, conserving resources in order to make a reappearance in warmer weather.  One notable exception was Euphorbia “Ascot Rainbow,” a stoic plant that carried on through frosts, snow, and months of reduced sunlight. It did so by undergoing a transformation of sorts — turning from a mostly yellow and green plant in the summer, to being a much pinker plant in the winter. The colder it got, the darker the Euphorbia became–especially in the cold depths of March when it was a very dusky, reddish rose. And then, after just a few days of glorious sun and high temperatures (after we jumped straight from winter to summer with no spring in between), it rapidly became quite yellow again. These photos are all from the same plant during the past four months.

      
December                                                                    January

 
February                                                                 April

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Last Few Spots of Color

1 Dec

The garden is looking quite sad now, after a few frosts. What remains is for the most part bare, brown, drooped,  or shriveled–all of which would be quite depressing if not for the fact that after every autumn/winter comes the spring. For gardens, at least, the current state of affairs is not permanent.

But amid the early December bleakness, a few spots of color remain–a small selection of plants that are not quite ready to call it quits (plus one bud that looked particularly nice this morning–the last bit of interest on an otherwise denuded plant).

In order of appearance (from left to right, top to bottom) : Gaillardia (Fanfare),   Montauk Daisy, Variegated Sage (Tricolor) , Euphorbia (Ascot Rainbow), and a bud from a tree Azalea (Gibraltar).

  

   

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High Five

3 Sep

While the asters usher in autumn, I thought I’d take a moment to give a shout out to a few plants that have kept going, and going, and going–and are still going; the ones that have added color to my garden for three or more months. It was tough, but I chose the following five to honor this time around:

1. Euphorbia (Ascot Rainbow)–with its gorgeous foliage and bubble-like flowers, it has been putting on a show since late March. This photo looks straight down into the middle of the plant.

2. Hybrid Tea Rose (Double Delight) — it has been a delight since the end of April, with  fragrant flowers and lovely new foliage

 

3. Gaillardia (Fanfare-left, Oranges & Lemons, right) — it has been a bee magnet since the beginning of May

 

4. Verbena Bonariensis (Brazilian Verbena)–a tall, gently swaying plant; also in bloom since early May

5. Gaura (Passionate Rainbow) — though it did not bloom at all this year (its first in the garden), it has been flashing its foliage since May

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2011: Garden Phase 2

19 Jun

In the Spring of 2011, with the arrival of the squirrel-proof daffodils, tulips, camasia, and allium, and as the plants from 2010 began growing into their own, the flower garden started taking shape. But there was a lot of bare flower bed remaining. Enter Phase 2.

That spring/summer, I planted a couple of real favorites in Garden 2 (G2): Gaura (Belleza Dark Pink) and Euphorbia (Ascot Rainbow). The Gaura bloomed and bloomed all summer — small fuchsia flowers atop waving spikes. The Euphorbia has yellow-green variegated foliage and bubbly “flowers.” It is a joy from very early spring until the autumn. Here is a picture of it in April of this year, with the Crape Myrtle foliage just beginning to emerge in the background.

I added Tickseed (Golden Gain), Salvia (Caradonna), and Gaillardia (Trumpet Red) for more color. Here is what G2 looked like in early June, 2011. (Note that the leaves on the Crape Myrtle have grown in by June). Tall Asters are at the sides by the fence with Montauk Daisy and Asiatic Lilies in front, Porcupine Grass is also along fence toward the center with Euphorbia and small Gaura and Salvia in front, and Crape Myrtle is by the fence post with Gaillardia and Tickseed in front.

By now, you will have discovered that which I fight against, but fail to overcome: I love symmetry. I can’t help it. In each of the flower beds there is a central zone with a central plant, and identical (symmetrical) plants on each side.  In G2, the central plant is the Crape Myrtle. I have managed to uproot this tendency very slightly in G1 (and when hanging art on the walls of my house), but I have been more successful inside than out. In the garden, I hope that this love of order, comforting as it may be to me, will be less obvious as everything grows in. Plus, I doubt anyone other than myself will be looking at the garden long enough to notice….

Next: Herb Garden.

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