That’s so romantic! We gotta go to England!
– Lisa Simpson
The Kev and I have been off-blog for a few weeks while we traveled to Blighty for his sister’s wedding. Such a good time was had!
The wedding was at a nearby Georgian country house.
All brides should be this happy (and good-lookin’)!
Congratulations, Helen and Geoff!
While we were away, we did start work on a site re-design…but mostly, we just relaxed! I had great intentions of stockpiling some posts in advance, but it didn’t happen. I did sort through a stack of garden photos, though, and one plant kept jumping out at me.
Those BRIGHT! YELLOW! FLOWERS! in the foreground are coreopsis (Zagreb variety). Coreopsis (also known as tickseed, if you want to be more colloquial) can be perennial or self-seeding annuals. They tend to yellow and orange, but the varieties go on and on — there’s a coreopsis for everyone.
Mixed coreopsis (via)
Regardless of color, coreopsis is a North American native with an unusually long bloom time, so it’s a great choice for butterflies and bees. “Unusually long” means mid-summer well into autumn — and it has nice foliage and seed heads when it’s not blooming.
Coreopsis is easy to propagate. It was one of my most successful winter sowing efforts from this past year.
Mardi Gras Coreopsis seedlings from winter sowing.
These seedlings bloomed this year even though the rabbits munched them right after I originally planted them. Like most coreopsis, they are about two feet tall — very adaptable for all sorts of beds.
Coreopsis Mardi Gras (via)
If you are in North America (or even if not), try a few coreopsis.
- Easy to grow in zones 3 through 9 (US and world zone maps).
- Self-seeds to slowly expand and fill in its patch.
- Low water needs once established.
- Long-term, repeating bloomer.
Nice cherries, but check out that bright splash of color in the background.
Looking for more good easy plants? Check these out:
Glad you guys are back!
The Coreopsis is gorgeous. I’m definitely going to have to put that on my list of things to plant in the spring. Do you get your seeds from a mail order company, or just hope for some good options at the local nurseries/hardware stores?
Hi, Kathleen! I bought the Zagreb as two or three starter plants from a big box store years ago, but I started the Mardi Gras variety from seed — I think it was a Burpee packet, and I probably picked it up at Menards. I’m not fancy!