Blue flower is cool for summer 7/2/2009 12:34 AM By SUSAN ELDER Columnist
Lauren Elizabeth, our new granddaughter, made her appearance on the scene two weeks ago. She is the first girl baby to be born amid a crowd of uncles and great-uncles and brothers. She is dainty and sweet and already has her daddy and granddaddy wrapped around her tiny little finger. Me, too, of course, but I'm easy.
I returned to Aiken on Sunday after almost a week to find parts of my garden had suffered from the heat that moved in while I was away. I'd left the sprinklers set for two waterings, and Judy minded the plants out of reach. Unfortunately, it was not enough. The deep blue lace cap hydrangea that I can see from the back door looked like it had been dipped in bleach. The leaves on the roses looked anemic and neglected. It was pretty depressing.
A few plants had survived my absence, however. The perennials - black-eyed Susan and daisies - were growing enthusiastically in the side bed. At the end of the driveway, in the bed that was supposed to have lilies all summer, was soft, blue plumbago.
For a plant with a name that sounds like a disease, plumbago is great choice for summer beds. It is a small shrub with semiwoody stems and blue or white flowers in 1-inch long tubes that expand into five petals - sort of like a phlox. It does best in light, sandy soils with good drainage and likes a slightly acidic pH. It likes full sun and can survive with little watering once it is established and is considered drought tolerant. I have seen it growing on the strip between the sidewalk and the street in hot downtown Charleston, so you know it's hardy.
Plumbago is native to South Africa and is evergreen in frost-free places. In my garden, it dies back in winter but returns again in summer. Unfortunately, it takes a few months to get going, so it's late summer before you see any returning flowerings. You can, however, often find small pots reasonably priced early in the season, so you'll have a longer bloom if you plant it new every year. Try to purchase it in bloom. There is a white variety, and a pale, rather anemic blue one. The deep, periwinkle blue is the best, I think.
Plumbago is easy to find at nurseries and garden centers.
Blue is a soothing color in a hot summer garden. Another good blue flowering plant is Nile lily or agapanthus. I have not had good luck with agapanthus, and heaven knows I've tried, but many folks have grown it for years.
Agapanthus has long, slick, green strap-like leaves that add interesting texture. In late spring or early summer, a tall stem appears, on top of which a blossom opens to a cool blue or white globular cluster of flowerets.
In the book "Garden Bulbs for the South," Scott Ogden said the stems, which can grow from 2 to 6 feet tall, will arch gracefully toward the strongest light. The fleshy roots spread widely over the surface of the soil and should be able to defend themselves against most competition.
"Lime them heavy," he said. Gerald Stephens of Nurseries Caroliniana told me once that about a cupful in a 3-by-3-foot bed is not too much.
"Isn't it too late?" I asked.
"It's never too late to lime."
Agapanthus is a good addition to poolside plantings (maybe if I just had a pool I could grow them) and works well in containers. Keep them well watered, don't plant them too deeply and mulch around but not on top of the plant.
Bressingham Blue is one of the two varieties offered by Nurseries Caroliniana.
"There is probably not a better hot summer perennial for the Deep South than this genus," according to its online catalog. "It thrives in full sun with good drainage. Flower stalks are up to 24 inches high with 5- to 6-inch flower heads. Always remember to lime your agapanthus. This will keep them flowering well from year to year. If they don't get enough calcium, they will continue to put up foliage but will stop flowering. The retail store in North Augusta has four varieties in stock, and it's not too late to plant."
Cold Creek Nursery has them, also.
I got an e-mail from the folks at Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site about its annual Growing History program on Saturday, July 18, which covers heirloom gardening and historic Southern floodways. This year, the theme is "Julia's Garden," and they will look at the garden of third Redcliffe owner Julia Hammond Richards through her journals from the 1920s and 1930s. Sounds interesting.
Susan Elder is an Aiken resident and retired elementary school teacher who's been getting the dirt on Aiken gardens and the plants that inhabit them for more than 10 years.
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