Sharon's favorites

Sharon has a new garden on the hill behind the swing. It was a gift to her from the family for Mother's Day. Planting her garden has been a family affair ever since! The challenge is to find annuals that grow in dry shade, poor soil, and are deer resistant. Any suggestions?

Visit each family member's garden

Spring photos

(18 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

Baptisia (False Indigo) is a reliable and long lived perennial here in Minnesota.
Hosta and Bleeding Heart
Early spring scene. The daffodils have finished blooming. The purple flowering shrub in the upper left hand corner is a Jane Magnolia.
Merrill Magnolia is fully hardy in Minnesota. However, after a cold winter or a late spring, bloom is reduced. It is fine sight when in full bloom. It has an oval shape and grows to about 25 feet. It needs to be pruned ocasionally to shape.
Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria makes an early appearance in the spring garden, but it is not overly hardy. Pulmonaria enjoy shade.
Purple, white and blue Siberian Iris intermingle with peonies. Both grow well here in Rochester. Most Siberian Iris need to be divided every 4 years or so, although these haven't been divided in years. Every Minnesota garden needs a generous helping of Siberian Irises, Peonies and Daylilies.
Pink Fernleaf Bleeding Heart is a very reliable early spring perennial. It doesn't dies back like the old fashion Bleeding Heart and blooms throughout most of the summer. It grows well in shade or sun.
The Blue Woodland Phlox (background) contributes to a pleasing combination in early spring. Don is not sure about it's hardiness and it could be relatively short lived (bleeding heart - left; Joe Pyeweed - right; Grape Hyacinth - center).

Summer photos

(13 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

Day Lily (Hemerocallis Fulva) is the wild version that is seen along the roadsides in Minnesota. They most likely escaped from cultivation by European settlers. Spirea are in the foreground.
This Ladybell is also known as Adenophora Amethyst. It is a handy plant to have with its only fault is that it is NOT deer resistant. It grows in modest shade and spreads rather aggressively. It can be controlled by pulling the seedlings. It is completely hardy in southeast MInnesota.
This is a hardy Oriental Lily. Many Orientals die out after a few years. A few, like this one - and it is hit or miss - live on. Deer love them.
You can't kill this Plume Poppy! It spreads aggressively but is is easly to control by pulling the nee plants. This plant needs lots of space and is about 10 feet tall.
This summer garden is spectacular from July to mid August. In the forground are white coneflower, mid garden are heliopsis of several types and in the background are Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) standing about 10 feet tall without staking. Asiatic lilies are to the right.
This is a great trumpet lily for Minnesota - likely the Regale Jumbo Trumpet Lily available from Dutchgardens.com. It comes back reliably each year. Trumpet Lilies can tolerate some shade but need to have full sun to thrive year after year.
Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva' is a great shrub for Minnesota. It blooms profusely and at length late in the summer when the garden is at its dreariest. It grows to about 8 feet tall and requires occasional pruning to keep in shape. Rabbits like to chew at the bark in severe winters so keep the base of the shrub wrapped in welded wire, just to be safe.
Tall Ironweed - Vernonia. This is a fine plant for the garden that is a little bit on the wild side. It self seeds just enough to provide a few plants each year. It is slow to start in the spring, but it is one of the few perennials putting on a show in the late summer/fall. Bees and butterflies crowd around the blooms. It needs full sun for the best effect. It is free of disease and is totally deer resistant. It seems to self hybridize in the garden and some species will grows up to 10 feet tall!
Russian Sage atriplicifolia is of the mint family, so bees love it and deer hate it. It is slow to appear in the spring but is a welcome flower in the late summer. It needs space and sun, so don't underestimate it's place in the spring garden. The other species are OK, but atriplicifolia is the best performer.
Hydrangea Tardiva clump form. This is a great shrub, either as a tree or clump. It blooms late in summer when the perennials have given up. The dried blooms persist into winter. It needs wire protection in Fall from the scraping of buck's antlers. In winter, without wire, the deer tend to nip at the branches but nothing too serious. You would probably want to trim the branches in late winter anyway. The shrub tolerates a fair amount of shade (shown here), but thrives in full sun.
A self seeded Ironweed (center - purple flowers) grows to 10 feet (despite poor clay soil). This plant seems taller and more vigorous than it's parents suggesting the occurence of a unique subspecies. Lighting is everything in the garden (this picture was taken in the early morning and differs significantly from another picture taken for this portfolio in the late afternoon). Ironweed is a fine and reliable plant that generally comes back in the same place yearly, and also provides the gardener with a crop of well disciplined offspring for transplanting.
Jackmanii Clematis trails over a cedar chair.
Dahlias bloom late in the summer and continue to bloom until the first frost. Shown here are the Waterlily variety. Dahlias need to be dug up each fall or new bulbs planted each spring. Don hasn't have much luck with over wintering; finding a dry room with a steady temperature of 35-45 degrees in Rochester during the winter is difficult. It has been easier to simply buy new tubers each year. Dahlias need to be watered and/or mulched to promote growth. They are somewhat attractive to deer, but an ocasional spray with Hinder will effectively deter them.

Fall photos

(8 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

The Pacific Sunset Maple is a small (30 feet tall) tree that is hardy is SE Minnesota. It is rated for zone 4b. It's color is terrific most years and as shown here seems to tolerate some shade.
This is an unusual aster...tataricus Jindai. It has a more upright shape, broad leaves and scattered flowers. It seems hardy here. The deer like it as they do nearly all asters.
Annual Mums need to be planted in the spring so they develop into longer lasting, bigger plants by fall. They occasionally make it through the winter, but don't count on it. A cover of straw might help winter survival. Consider the new winter hardy Mums (My Favorite TM) from the University of Minnesota flower breeding program.
Purple Dome asters combine nicely with Autumn Blaze maples. The asters tolerate conditions below the trees better than most perennials. The Purple Dome aster is short (12 inches), tolerates some shade and drought and puts on a great show for about 3 weeks in the fall. Deer like it, so be ready to regularly use a repellent like Hinder. They divide easily so more plants are available every spring.
Great color from a group of Autumn Blaze maples.
Three-Flower Maple. This is a dwarf maple tree that is seldom seen growing in Minnesota. It is hardy, but is very slow growing! The fall color is spectacular. The longer this tree grows in the garden, the more Don has come to recognize it's value. It's fall color and winter bark makes it a great tree for all seasons. It needs regular pruning.
(Ural) False Spirea is a useful plant to grow in a wild garden. It is winter hardy, spreads rapidly, has a nice white plume by mid summer and as seen here, turns yellow in the fall. It is also completely deer resistant and tolerates considerable shade.
Painted Lady butterflies were everywhere this year as the dry weather delayed hatching. This New England Aster was loaded with butterflies and bees for about 3 weeks in Sept/Oct. The dark purple aster seems to attract the most insects. Any flower that attracts bees will similarly be attractive to butterflies.

Winter photos

(8 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

Asters (October Skies and Bluebird) and Autumn Clematis.
Winter scene. This is a butterfly house, but it is just an ornament. The butterflies never go near it!
The Prairie Fire Crab tree retains it fruit well into winter.
The Blue Birds will return!
Winter scene.
Bird feeder in winter.
Winter can be harsh in Minnesota, but a blanket of fluffy snow like this can soften the impact. The larger shrub in the foreground is a Star Magnolia. Its buds are formed in the Fall and must survive the winter to bloom. It is an excellent small tree for our area.
A view of the fountain and sunroom in the winter. Bouganvilla of all colors are the mainstay of the indoor winter garden.
Johnston Honey Jar

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