Just Pink: Queen of the Prairie

I've been excitedly talking about it for a while now, but the Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra) has started blooming!

I have a couple of plantings of this, but the other is tucked away somewhere that I don't see very often. I'm not even certain if it's blooming -- the deer and woodchucks may have gotten to it. This one though is babied and protected.

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So nice and fluffy!

My plant is nothing like the amazing specimen that I saw at Joy Creek Nursery in the Portland area a few years back, but I'm quite pleased with it!

It's at the front corner of the house, growing in a large pot. This way I can keep it away from the deer to some extent, and can make sure that it gets the water that it wants. Plus it's blazingly sunny and hot over here.

It adds a nice vertical element to this part of the garden, don't you think?

Not sure why it's leaning out though...

...but this lets me see the blooms from inside the house!

I wonder if bees like these blooms? I suppose I should keep an eye out, especially since I can do it from the air conditioned comfort of indoors. So hot outside!

Anybody else growing this? What are your thoughts on it?

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