In the Sunset Garden above, Agastache, French Marigolds, lantanas, crocosmia “Lucifer, and the Blue Porterweed are blooming. The porterweed is planted in butterfly gardens all over the country. It is a tender perennial, along with the tropical butterfly weed also shown here and a mainstay of bird, bee, and butterfly gardens.
Rounding the corner, the Sunset Garden continues in front of the main porch with Wendy’s Wish salvia, more butterfly weed, Agastache “Apache Sunrise”, and the coneflower “Rainbow Marcella”.
The first of the seed raised zinnias are blooming.
The above is zinnia “Senora”. Below is “Zinderella Peach”.
More sunset colors, but still too much mulch showing. The gaps will fill with zinnias and lantanas. The ground cover portulaca oleracea is in the above photo. It blooms from mid morning on. I tried growing this in Nashville after seeing pictures of it growing out into the gravel at the Montrose gardens of Nancy Goodwin in North Carolina. Unfortunately it was decimated by rabbits, which are not a problem here.
A year ago tomorrow, I took a walk along the pedestrian path on NH Rte 114. I parked at the Historical Society, then walked down to see the fields of centaurea and Bouncing Bet in bloom. I then wandered up to the museum and saw gardens in need of weeding. The only plants besides weeds were more Saponaria, some handsome clumps of daylilies, and large beds of non blooming never divided iris. I called the Society. offered to weed and restore the gardens, and here is where we are today.
The museum is in the old Parker General Store, designated a National Historic Site. Also on the grounds is an old time two room school house which was moved to the property and the Wait Station, from the old railroad line at the base of the Uncanoonuc Mountains in Goffstown. Nurses and workers sat inside this tiny building in bad weather, waiting for their ride to Manchester. Now its only visitor inside is me, for this is where the garden tools live along with a 20 inch garter snake.
Gardening On Granite 