Perennials for Your Garden: Armeria (Sea Thrift)

Over 20 years ago I was a budding gardener with lots of enthusiasm and a new little yard that was begging for flower and herb beds. I knew quite a bit about annual flowers, but I soon learned about the kind of plants that didn't need replanting year and year and soon became infatuated with flowering perennials.  Since then, my garden has shifted over the years and I've seen which plants have done well and Armeria is definitely a surprise favorite.

Perennials DO come back year after year but generally bloom only once a year.  Many bloom in spring.  The trick with perennials is to plant a variety of them in one flower bed of varying heights and blooms times.  Armeria is a low growing, spring-blooming perennial.  It's definitely meant to be planted in the front of the border. 

"Armeria," "Thrift," or "Sea Pink" is so named because it is commonly found along coast lines and originates from the Mediterranean.  There are over 100 species but there are only a few types that you'll find in garden catalogs.  The colors are mostly in pink but they also come in white.  

The plants themselves struck me as odd-looking as they are best described as "tufts of grass."  They are perfect "grass" as they never grow beyond their short height of 4 or 5 inches.  In the early spring they send up tall stalks of little cushions of pink flowers that are exquisite to look at.  I love them planted along with chives and their beautiful globe shaped flowers. 
 

 

 What makes this a great plant for your garden?  It's easy to grow as long as you have the right growing conditions for it.  What's nice about this is that because it's a Mediterranean plant, it likes rocky, infertile dry soil.  I love this.  This basically means that you don't have to pamper it, fertilize it, water it or baby it.  In fact, I've done nothing to them over the years and they've slowly spread and fill out.  Armeria spreads very slowly and is great as a ground cover.  It also has no serious insect or disease problems.  Perfect.  Dead head the flower blooms for more flowers in the spring.

Find this perennial anyplace where they are sold and also online.  I found mine at Bluestone Perennials, a local online/catalog nursery which also sells to the public.  They even offer a red Armeria as well.  Nice.

Armeria, or Sea Thrift (go by the Latin name when researching) is a great flower choice for your perennial flower garden...enjoy!

Blessings.


References:

1. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/w970/armeria-maritima.aspx
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armeria

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