Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

buy quality plants
  • Plant Library On The Journal
  • Garden chores
    • Do as I say
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

About garden flowers

lapis sky / shocking yellow / heliopsis!

it has been a dry fall, and the black gums and early maples are just
beginning to turn color. the trees have suffered from the dry july and
august heat spell. some mid-aged red oaks look dead- leaves going from
green to brown in a week. a few showers along have kept the yard nice
and the bonsai happy, but the main show in my yard right now is a huge
bed of 7′ tall swamp sunflowers. the multiple small blooms are one of the
most brilliant colors of the entire flowering year and in this golden october
light, the mass of bright ocher can be almost blinding!

swamp sunflowers are heliopsis and are grouped with the daisy family. there
is a wild yellow sun flower growing on the roadsides that looks quite similar, but is just 3′ tall. they are called heleniums and are related to asters. both names come from the greek “helios” meaning sun. heliopsis is a definite sun-lover, at least 6-7 hours daily.

my bed gets all day sun – a glowing island of bright yellow in the middle of the lawn.

heliopsis prefers a moist, swampy environment, but is easily grown anywhere with a regular weekly soaking during summer and early fall. a little fertilizer [some
bonemeal or bulb-type] and plenty of water, and they can hit 12′ – they spread
like wildfire …my 20′ oval bed came from a gallon pot at the garden club plant sale and swap, years ago.

heliopsis need almost no work after planting. they are better massed in a single large bed. mowing keeps their spreading habit under control and within a mixed bed their rhizomes would quickly take over. certainly the dramatic effect of their burst of color needs no companion flowers. the eye is unavoidably drawn to their brightness. the blooming period is enjoyed for almost three weeks, nature’s lovely
gift in the middle of a browning month, before the autumn leaf color begins. swamp sunflowers against the impossibly blue sky are incomparable!

i remember the little lady saying “you’re going to hate me for this..”
it has been 17 years, but i still couldn’t thank her enough!

vty, j-lea


DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy
« Autumn Morning Musings
Gardens I Love »

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Standouts

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

There are so many ways to enjoy herb plants, that they are not for herb gardens only. Think about tucking them into the landscape, into containers or into your home. I do I enjoy thee? Oh, Herb, Let me count the ways! 10 Ways I Enjoy Herbs (and you can, too!) In companion plantings, herbs […]

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Shirley poppies and Bachelor Buttons Not every garden writer alerts you to the fact that annuals can have seasons that are shorter than other choices. For places like Ohio which have hot summers, there are common annuals that only do well when our weather is cooler, such as in early summer. Those flowers sort of […]

Newest Postings Here

  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time
  • 3 Tips For Landscaping Successfully With Ornamental Trees

Finding your way home via the garden path


Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Visit For A Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • Wanelo

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings

Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening

What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal

Journal, Planner and Log Book

Shop Small Trees and More

People’s Choice

Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

posted in Uncategorized

1910 garden plan

3 Tips For Landscaping Successfully With Ornamental Trees

posted in Landscape Design Know-How, Landscape Trees

Garden update

Mid-Ohio Gardening Update

posted in 2018, How's the weather?

All Season Garden Color with Bold Foliage Effects, Masterful Contrasts

posted in Garden design ideas, Landscape Design Know-How


Bonsai Trees

Stay updated!

Get all the latest tasty goodness straight to your inbox!

Topics

Past Posts

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Garden Enthusiasm

Garden Enthusiasm Delivered

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2021 · Part of Ilona’s Garden by Ilona Erwin