Plants I miss

During the dreary days of winter I spend quite a bit of time going back through my garden photo archives. Not only does it give me a taste of what I'm missing from the spring and summer, but it reminds me of what I had done in the garden in years past.

Looking back also reminds me of the plants that I no longer grow for whatever reason. Today I'm going to start talking about some of those that I miss, starting with hollyhocks.

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The photos in today's post are from June 2004, eight growing seasons ago. It was probably the first and only year I had hollyhock blooms in my garden. From what I remember, they were bothered by rabbits -- that could have been because there wasn't much else around to nibble though.

I loved the height of these, and the wall of color they provided.

I didn't love having to wait two years for blooms though, as they're biennial. Back then my garden was so much smaller, waiting an extra year to see a plant's payoff just wasn't easy.

Now though, I don't see any reason why I couldn't tuck a small grouping of these somewhere, maybe into the prairie beds. I can think of three places they might work, and not be a problem the first non-flowering year. I'm pretty sure I'll need to buy new seeds though. (But I'll dig them out and test them this winter.)

This photo shows another plant I loved but no longer have: butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) -- the orange blooms in the foreground.

A native plant in Missouri (and much of the US) it was one of the first perennials I planted. I had two different plants if I remember correctly, and both eventually wasted away, probably from competition with other plants and possibly not enough sunlight.

I can certainly grow more of these from seed, and can tuck these almost anywhere -- even in the new walkway beds. I will have to buy one of these in the spring if I want to see blooms this year though. Am I still that impatient?

The last plant that I once enjoyed but no longer have is Yarrow 'Paprika'. At one time I had several different yarrows (the red 'Paprika', a white version, a pink one, the yellow 'Coronation Gold', and one with cool leaves called 'Love Parade').

I think only 'Coronation Gold' is left, and it's back in the corner in the "don't care" bed. Why? What happened to 'Paprika'? I love the ferny foliage, and the different shades of red and tan of the blooms were so attractive. I really should get this again and put it somewhere among some grasses.

Don't be surprised if you see all three of these plants showing up again in my garden photos in a couple of years.


Are there any plants that you once grew and now miss?

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