For The Lazy Gardener In Us All

Monarda

2/1/2017

Let's be a little kinder to ourselves and say instead of lazy, who has the time to garden!  I first discovered a "no-brainer" flower to grow when a friend of my daughter's asked me to recommend a flower he could plant in front of his fraternity house before he left for the summer. Well, that was a tall order: Plant and run! So I gave him some Cleome and crossed my fingers. I actually worried about them because it was a terrible summer with hardly any rain. The kids were going to school at Cornell just a few miles from here so I drove over to take a peek. They looked great! And the next Spring, he came back for more. I like "do nothing" plants. These tend to be spreaders and that's a good thing because it means less work and they aren't very fussy. In my garden the best are Monarda and Rudbeckia, I haven't touched them in years. You have to love that! Plants like Echinacea and Penstemon have their origins in the native landscapes so they are easily adaptable and don't need much water. The Penstemon has been a hummingbirds dream come true and the butterflies love the Echinacea. All these plants have different colors and bloom times, so if you don't have much time, definitely grow these perennials and annuals. (The Photo is of my Monarda.)