Severnista

I’ve been establishing a mostly New Native Bed here in Zone 8 of the southeastern U.S. You can find a comprehensive plant list here and follow along from the start with the planning stages here.

The planting area is on the NW side of our house and is roughly 24x 18 feet at its longest points of its curved shape. I call it C2.

Here is the area before the bed was established and as a lonely island of mulch pre-planting a year and a half ago.

Highlights of this spring:

Everything has come back!!! That’s the biggest joy. All the work has paid off and over forty perennials are enjoying life together in this little patch of garden.

Some annual seeds that I scattered, Tina Jame’s Magic primrose and the Thai Basil have not produced much or at all. I think I may have identified one primrose seedling. The zinnia seeds, Raspberry Sorbet variety, filled in nicely and the seedlings are doing well. This spring’s transplants are also doing well, including the Solidago, Liatris and a few Phlox sublata.

We begin back in March 2025 with these sweet faced, little daffodils. A month later all the perennials are developing with spring growth. The Baptisia are in bloom for the Easter holiday as more daffodils have grown and flowered. When the ‘Bright Edge’ yucca become larger they will blend nicely with the yellow fluorescence of ‘Sunny Morning’ for a nice display.

What should also be blooming in mid-April are the lovely pink Phlox pilosa which instead are a favorite snack for the bunnies. Rabbits have an appetite for phlox and though I did spray repellent that worked, I decided to let them have at these five plants this year and snack away. I have more elsewhere in the yard so no shortage there to transplant if needed. I think the bunnies just prefer the tender new growth.

Also added to the bed was an obelisk trellis for some vertical interest. After danger of frost I sowed Purple Hyacinth Bean seeds and all have come up. I will thin these or pot them up. The last to emerge and get going was the Little Joe Pye Weed , Eutrochium dubium, but by May it’s growing strong. The plants are handling this location by the downspout in stride. They will bloom late summer and the insects love them!

Here are three different varieties of Liatris coming back and I can’t wait to see what’s what as I lost track when planting last fall. One did not return so I transplanted Liatris microcephala, small head blazing star, in its place. I think I know which one it is but we’ll just wait and see how they compare to one another.

Each of the three Marshallia obovata bloomed (grown from seed) though modestly with only one bloom each. Their neighbor, the Lemon thyme, started to bloom also and with all the lovely white flowers overlapping in their bloom times, it will make a lovely and fragrant display. I plan to add more Marshallia plants (grown from seed) in the fall to fill in this corner of the bed. The thyme is a fast grower and will also spread up to three feet.

What should also be blooming in C2 mid-late May are the bright orange butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa. Unfortunately the five plants I did source last year did not make it to be planted in the fall, nor did a fresh sowing of seeds take off. I may attempt to grow again or just find a replacement for the area that I set aside for them which is currently where the zinnias are growing. I had really hoped to have those striking orange flowers in a drift alongside the pink phlox which only now has started to wane in other areas of our yard.

Also green and growing strong are the late summer and fall bloomers like Rattlesnake Master, Helenium, ‘October Skies’ aster and Rudbekia laciniata. The Echinacea that receives the most sun are almost starting to bloom too. The not-native Friendship ‘Amistad’ Salvia is also getting ready to bloom and it will continue all summer until frost.

Check back to see summer blooms!