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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Tulips in February

Tulips are perennial favorites...literally.  They faithfully come back year after year to show off their shocking shades of reds, yellows and whites and the myriads of colors in between.  

I got this bouquet from my Valentine and I have to say I was so pleased when he came in the door with them.  It had been a tough week with my mom in the hospital (she's in a rehab facility now.)  It made this bouquet even more special and amazing.
  

So, I decided to have some fun with a few photos I was able to take of them.  The first has two textures from Kim Klassen.
The second had no filters, the third one has a few effects. 
 

I planted my first tulip bulbs almost 20 years ago from some extra bulbs dug up from a church flower bed being redone.  I really didn't think they would grow the next spring, but like faithful beacons, they came up and a few remaining continue to come up year after year.  Well, maybe not the originals, but their progeny for sure.  Planted in fall with a bit of bone meal, and without rodents eating them, they will pretty much take care of themselves with little help from me.

A bit of springtime in February...lovely.

Blessings! 

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Garden Prep - ReMix 2012

Okay, this might feel like Groundhog Day because I am going to show our garden being rototilled AGAIN...but, as it is happening this year I couldn't resist taking some snapshots to watch how this garden evolves over the summer.  Besides, it will compel me to be a much neater gardener since I know it's going to be photographed.

With that said, here is a before picture of the garden with it's nice array of weeds and a few  plants interspersed. 

Actually the main weeds in this garden are Chickweed.  They're not such a pain when you realize how they can be used in a skin balm to help with eczema, insect bites, itchy skin, as well as a few other skin ailments.  I've not used it in an ointment myself, but I've identified it and made a mental note of its uses.  
Back to the garden...we could tackle it with a good old fashioned shovel, but why do this when we can bring in the "big guns" in the form of a very reliable rototiller? That's what we did!  I should say, that's what Todd did while I took the photos.  I used to shovel, but my back doesn't appreciate the hard labor and I think my gardening would not be nearly as much fun if I had to put all of the backbreaking effort into this part of it.
With that being said, Todd dug it out of our shed and proceeded to do whatever you do to a rototiller to get it ready for use.  It being a Honda, it lived up to its reputation and worked through the leaf mulch and sod in a jiffy.

Rescued from the garden before it was tilled was my Swiss Chard.  I have been using it all Spring and I am now rethinking the whole idea of waiting until late Spring to plant this leafy green.  I need to get myself in gear in Feb./March and start this plant inside on a sunny windowsill so it'll be ready to transplant outside once the temperatures are above freezing.  It has been invaluable and I felt like an early pioneer who would go out scavenging for early Spring greens to add to their dried food winter diet.  

RESCUED!! One Swiss Chard

Some volunteer Calendula flowers

The rototilling completed, the garden soil is all primed and ready.  We decided to extend the garden past the shed (pictured) in order to grow some tomatoes.  I haven't planted them in our yard since we started gardening in other friend's places or community garden, but wanted to give it a try this year.  We just haven't seemed to have luck with them year after year.  We've tried in three different locations, but have hardly gotten any good tomato crops.  One issue seems to be a tomato blight, and that's not an easy fix.  We'll see how this year goes in this garden.

Here's another rescued plant. It was actually growing at the edge of the garden in the lawn.  I managed to move it before the lawn mower nabbed it.  It looks like one of my summer lettuces I grew in years past.  I love to find these volunteer plants by surprise.
It's such a bonus; it makes me feel like I won some kind of prize... I guess a free salad IS a prize!

Rhubarb Swiss Chard

This is a picture of my French Mesclun Cutting Lettuces and greens.  I start them in a window box and cut the lettuce I will be using.  This mix has served me well for three years strong now.  I store the seed in a plastic bag inside a plastic box in the fridge.  I also throw in any of those silica packs that you find in purses and shoes to help absorb moisture.  This method of storing seems to really help as I have had some seed for quite a few years.  The germination goes down, but I still am able to get plants and that's what counts. 

Nicely edged and finished raised beds.  There are actually three of them here.  Oh and the green plant is a Swiss Chard that Todd so kindly left undisturbed for me.  :)  

I'm hoping to put the tomatoes to the front of the beds because they'll get the best light and air circulation.  It might make the garden look a little strange, with the taller plants in front, but we'll give it a go and see what happens.  

Stay tuned for more gardening fun...!

Blessings!!