Hardy Begonia

 

Hardy Begonia In the Hillside Shade Garden

Adding a little more color to our back garden is Aster divaricatus (White Wood Aster). They started blooming in late July and are still blooming 2 months later. This Kentucky native is one of the few plants I brought from my childhood home and have had them now for probably 35 years. That’s what I call a long-lived perennial! I used to go up to a farm near Stanton, Kentucky with Paul Kress, a friend of my father’s. Mr. Kress would take me out rock hunting and in the process I would always find a few plants he’d let me dig up from his woods. This aster never did all that well in my garden on Cross Keys Road. I planted it under a huge old honeysuckle bush that I had limbed up to make a shade garden. It was always very dry under there, and although I’d get some nice rough textured heart shaped leaves every year and a few white flowers each fall, it was nothing spectacular. When I started the gardens at Springhouse, I brought a piece here and planted it behind the office. It kind of sat there for the first few years like it did in my other garden, but then it took off and started multiplying! The asters must really like their new home and they reward me with lots of great foliage and bigger and more plentiful flowers. Curiously, the flower color has changed from white to pale pinkish-purple and are blooming longer than I ever remember. I guess this is the right plant in the right place! 

White Wood Aster

A Kentucky Native

There is another pink late summer bloomer that is one of my favorites — Hot Lips Turtlehead. Maybe it’s because I’m really a kid at heart and I can really imagine this flower as a turtle’s head (although I’ve never seen a pink turtle!) Turtlehead (or Chelone if you prefer Latin names) really likes it wet. Native to stream sides and low lying areas, I had just the place to plant one – in our stream bed just before the water disappears under the patio by our office. The dark green glossy leaves look healthy all season and the interesting flowers bloom for over a month. This year, some white smart weed and orange jewel weed have popped up to keep the Turtlehead company. This little trio is growing so well in the soggy soil - actually too well with all the extra rain this year - so I’ve had to do a little pruning so the Turtlehead doesn’t get overtaken and covered up by the rambunctious companions.

Hot Lips Turtlehead (Image by Horticulture Department, Cornell University)

They say timing is everything and these plants are no exception. The color provided by these late summer flowers comes at a most appreciated time. Their subtle beauty will soon be eclipsed by all the more vibrant and riotous colors of fall, which are just around the corner.