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The Color Purple

Christopher CNC

last year

My vegetable garden is in there.

Like Ironweed

Featured Answer

Christopher CNC
Original Author

last year

I do love my Ironweed. That impressive stand is the last one left in the vegetable garden proper. It is feeding on my fine soil. I let it get away a bit in the vegetable beds and learned why it is called Ironweed when it had to be evicted. Once you have it, it is hard to get rid of. The seedlings put down cable tap roots fast.

I have room for it to wander and it has self-sowed generously. Good thing because it did not transplant when I tried, but if you leave a remnant piece of root in the ground, it will resprout.

Here it is with Helianthus maximiliani and Miscanthus 'Morning Light'. Time to weed whack the chicory and send the seeds flying.

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Comments (9)

mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
My favorite color in the garden! Your stand of ironweed is impressive.
FrozeBudd_z3/4
last year
Ohhh, that ironweed is very nice, I should give it a try !!
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peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
last year
last modified: last year
Very nice Christopher! I adore Vernonia - Ironweed and so do the butterflies. You should definitely give it a try FB!
diggerdee zone 6 CT
last year
How lovely! I love the color purple (one of my faves in the garden) and your garden is just so wonderful anyway. I love the rustic fence and the gentle, easy, relaxed feel of it!

:)

Dee
Christopher CNC thanked diggerdee zone 6 CT
Christopher CNC
Original Author
last year
diggerdee, I call them the wild cultivated gardens for a reason, but it is time to weed whack outside the fence. It takes a touch of order to get the idea of garden across.
GardenHo_MI_Z5
last year
last modified: last year
Dee and I see purple the same...and lots of it lol. Love the grasses too! I planted some ironweed last year, a much shorter variety as i had no place for the tall one...bummer.. Not sure if I’ll like it? It hasn’t bloomed yet....Diminshed Asters decided to get happy this year for some reason? and have almost smothered them out. Crazy garden surprises....
Christopher CNC
Original Author
last year
There. The maintenance gardener feels much better. A new look for a new season. The sky-blue of chicory was done.

GardenHo, I had one good year with asters in this bed then the voles ate most of them over the winter. I have hopes my diminished asters might perk up one year.
GardenHo_MI_Z5
last year
Ahhh so clean and crisp with the softness of the grasses...Love it!

Those darn voles. I don’t have problems with those. Now moles and chipmunks are another story....

My asters performed well for many years. I had many colors and loved them for fall color. That was before their feet started to blacken each season. Then they just contnued to slowly dwindle away to almost nothing. What was left, I shovel pruned, or so i thought? So yes, quite pleasantly surprised to see these return....They should go well with the ironwwed as these ones are a light purple.

Hopefully you too....will get a nce surprise, good luck!

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