What's Your Favorite Coneflower?

'B's Knees'

Purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) have always been a favorite.  They have a natural quality,  yet can add a punch of color to a mixed planting. Mine bloom in partial sun and full sun.  Up to this year, I have only planted two varieties, including the species and 'Magnus'.

However, wanting a smaller version for a new planting bed, I stumbled across a new variety called 'B's Knees' at a local Bridgehampton nursery.  They're already blooming!  The color is a much darker magenta than the color of the others.  Each plant is producing quite a few buds so it should be a long-blooming plant.

So what varieties are you growing?

'B's Knees' echinacea with Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'

New blossoms provide a lighter contrasting color and shape

Summer Blooming Azaleas

Beautiful blooms with a sweet fragrance

This is one of my favorite summer shrubs.  To read more about them click on the link below from Hamptons Garden new website where you will find this and other posts about my favorite plants.

Link to Post on Summer Azaleas

Purple Passion

This post has moved to my new website. Click link below for this post and more posts and pics!

PURPLE PASSION

American Beauties

A little detour.  This post has moved.  Please click on following link:

AMERICAN BEAUTIES 

Nearly Wild

One of my best performing roses is Nearly Wild, a single flower rose that repeat blooms starting in late May or early June. It blooms into fall. I've even had roses on the shrubs at Halloween. I like the single flowers that give it a more natural, wild look. There is no real scent, but Nearly Wild is very hardy modern shrub rose with few problems so it's a keeper.

Italian Style

It's a cloudy day in the Hamptons. Good time to reflect upon the sunny, warm days spent in Florence this past May. One day on a walking tour of the Southern bank of the Arno we happened upon the Bardini Gardens.

The gardens are very formal in style with lots of classical statues. However, there were a few areas that had a more natural look, including a fountain that spilled into a manmade stream with small fish.

The garden is on a very high hill with spectacular views of Florence. Down one path we found a cafe set up in the complex's Belvedere building portico. The perfect spot to savor the view and a cappuccino.

Bardini Gardens Website

Kousa Dogwoods

The Kousa dogwoods are spectacular this year. This picture was taken about a week ago. They seem to bloom like this one year with a less exuberant show the following year. Guess they need a year of recovery. The blooms will turn into prickly berries that turn red by autumn. The birds love them. And occasionally the squirrels will discover the tasty treats and gorge on them fighting away the birds.

Southern Transplant

Years ago I took a division of a shrub from my father's garden at my childhood home in Little Rock, Arkansas. This was just before he and my mother moved to a new house. He called it a dogwood, but I have yet to find a dogwood like it. It looks like a Mock Orange to me, but doesn't have a scent. It gets partial sun in my garden by the lower dining patio and as you can see it still blooms profusely. It has also grown to seven feet. He used to prune it down, but I have left mine to grow up and curve gracefully downward. Regardless of what it is, I'm happy to have it in my Northern garden now that my father is gone. It's a beautiful remembrance of the man from whom I inherited my green thumb.