Journal Journey Part 17
February 26, 2009 – 10:00 amJune 2007 journal photos show a happy garden with a detail shot of flowering bugleweed, johnny jump-ups, pokerface pansies, columbine and iris. I haven’t had much luck for some reason, with bugleweed on the balcony. It never flowers and is a bit of a slow grower – will try a different variety this summer.
The lily bed pictured below was an important part of the perennial border. Lilies could be grown in containers, but they wouldn’t be my first pick. I’d rather recommend planting liatris. Liatris is available in a purple or white flower and prefers sun but can tolerate a bit of shade. The foliage is soft and spiky, medium green and the flowers heads, often described as ‘bottle brush’ in form, would add height to any container planting. The tubers are planted in the Spring.
The last image shows lamb’s ears as part of the plant selection for the bed with dianthus, sedum, fescue and mint. Lamb’s ear would be a great specimen plant for a balcony grouping because of its amazing velvet texture and soft grey-green colour. You might want to clip out the flower stalk to keep the focus on the foliage. If you plant it in with other plants in a container, be prepared to clip often, it grows quickly and might try to crowd out others.
