Love at First Sight - Viola walteri 'Silver Gem'

I am (usually) a pretty strategical plant shopper.  I usually know what type of plant I want and for what site.  I research the plants before I go and buy them.  Oh yes, there are those impulse purchases, but true love usually comes slowly for me, after I have bought the plant and it has proved that it can have have gorgeous blooms/foliage and thrive in my garden.

Plants usually have to earn my love.  But every once in a great while a very special plant comes along....

Viola walteri 'Silver Gem'

... and it's love at first sight.

When I saw Viola walteri ‘Silver Gem’ at a local nursery, I fell in love.  I had no idea where I was going to put it (in fact it sat on my patio for a couple months before I found it a spot) but this is one native beauty I couldn't pass up.

Viola walteri is a spreading ground cover, only 2"-5" tall, with darling little bluish-purple flowers.  It is a native wildflower of the Southeast, and it's nicknames include Walter's violet, prostrate blue violet, and Appalachian blue violet. 'Silver Gem' is a natural variant that was found growing in Alabama in 2003 and introduced to the markets by Mt. Cuba Center a couple years ago.

According to Mt. Cuba Center, this violet grows best in filtered to partial shade, like it's woodland origins, and in fertile, moist, well-drained soil.  After it is established, however, it is supposed to be pretty drought tolerant.  This deer-resistant wildflower blooms from spring through fall.  It wasn't the dainty blooms that made me fall in love, though... 

my pictures don't do justice to the absolutely gorgeous, silvery, veined foliage.

Viola walteri is hardy for zones 5 - 8.  Further north, it is deciduous; down south the leaves at the base may stay evergreen.  (So far, the frost has turned all the top leaves of my plants a dark green, leading to an interesting bicolor look.)

The best spot I could find for my new little treasures is tucked away next to a stump, sheltered and shaded by it and by some taller plants.  It's a spot where one has to look to find them; but then again, the Viola walteri 'Silver Gem' is a plant that is better appreciated up close...

...as most loves are.

Celebrating a beautiful Wildflower Wednesday today with Clay and Limestone.

Rejoice, the Plant is Dead!

Finally.  Finally it has gotten cold enough to have our first good plant-killing frost of the season.

You might be surprised that I would want such a frost.  It's now frigid outside, the leaves of most perennials are in tatters, and all of my annuals are kaput.  But I do have a confession - there is one annual that I have been waiting to die...

the Jalapeño Pepper plant

I have had two problems with this plant:

1) the only person in the house that eats jalapeño peppers is Mr. Red House

2) this plant doesn't know how to stop giving.  

And giving. 

And giving.

I actually did can my first pint of pickled peppers this summer, which I was very proud of myself for.  So I put the next large round of peppers that I picked in the fridge, meaning to can them.  Well, you know how life gets (I like to blame my kids a lot for these types of things); before I knew it, the peppers were too old to use, and I had to throw them out.  

Die, plant, die!

Several more times I had to throw out large batches of peppers, as I refused to admit the fact that I just didn't have time to can, and Mr. Red House certainly couldn't eat scores of peppers each week.  Seriously, how many plants can one little plant produce?!  This plant was getting on my nerves and giving me quite the guilt complex!

It's about time!

Now, after a good freeze, I think this plant is finally done!  No more guilt about wasting food!  ..Well, at least, until next summer when Mr. Red House begs me for another pepper plant... 

Do you have any perfectly good plants in your garden that you wish would die?

Ten Perennials that You Might Be Able to Grow in Hell (Part 2)

My last post featured five plants that have survived the hottest, sunniest, driest part of my garden without a care (and certainly without my care).  Here are five more tough, drought tolerant plants for the Southern garden:

6. Sedum - common name: Stonecrop

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

I think some of the Sedums in my yard live practically on air - I certainly don't water them!  I have some Sedum thriving on top of a green-roofed birdhouse.  I have some growing in the cracks of my driveway.  (I'm guessing it grew from a piece of Sedum that fell off the birdhouse when I tipped it over once.)  The only Sedums I have that don't flower well are the ones growing in my swampy side yard. 

7.  Agastache - common names:  Anise Hyssop, Hummingbird Mint

Agastache 'Grape Nectar'

I resisted planting Agastache for a long time, despite all the wonderful things I had heard about it.  The reason?  The leaves are said to smell like licorice, which I hate.  But I finally planted some, and the plants lived up to all the hype - they are tough, hardy plants, and the hummingbirds love them.  And I was thrilled to find that the leaves didn't smell exactly like licorice either.  Instead the scent is so pleasing that occasionally you may find me out in the garden petting and smelling my Agastaches. 

8.  Aclepias tuberosa - common name:  Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa

"Here you go.  Plant this in your garden.  It's a butterfly weed." Another gardener pulled what looked like a dried-up carrot out of her garden and handed it to me.  "Uh, okay," I said and later stuck it in my garden at the top of a hill and promptly forgot about it - until summertime, that is, when I was stopped in my tracks at the bright orange flowers.  Now it's a must-have in my garden.  This plant likes it sunny and dry, and, of course, the added attraction is that you will likely end up with some baby Monarchs if you plant them.

9.  Nepeta - common names:  Catmint, Catnip

Nepeta 'Limelight'

As I am writing this, I am shocked that I haven't brought any of my Nepeta inside to see what my cats' reactions will be to it.  Known for having a smell that is attractive to cats, Nepeta is also known for prospering in those sunny, dry spots that are a death knell to so many other plants.  Note: some of them may even prosper a little too much.  They are in the mint family, after all!

10.  Coreopsis - common name:  Tickseed

Coreopsis 'Full Moon'

This tough native is one of the flowers in which the Latin name is usually used instead of the common name (well, would you want to be called 'Tickseed'?)  Perennial Coreopsis are prolific bloomers, and they are often included in highway beautification programs.  Hey, if it will grow in a highway median, it will probably grow anywhere, right?

This concludes my list of 10 plants that have thrived in those scorching hot, dry spots in my North Carolina garden, even if they might not truly grow in Hell (I suspect Hell is full of crabgrass).

What plants would you pick to add to the list?