• my place
  • the rural story
  • gardening tips
  • using garden tools
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Me

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop

Garden Stories and Memories

Thrift, Daffs and the Three sisters

i cannot continue this ‘heirloom plant’ saga without mentioning a classic southern
spring combination… the very-pink spreader creeping along walls and red-dirt banks
is called”Thrift”( i believe it is a creeping phlox). so rugged and egalitarian, it appears
along the roadsides frequently, at an old cabin or around a high-dollar iron gate; along
with the host of common daffodils, it it the first spring color we see. people often find
thrift’s color garish and bright, but after the evergreens of winter, my hungry eyes seek
out the blast of color. it is the harbinger of spring in the piedmont region here in upper-
middle GA. also the lemon yellow “ordinary” daffodils appear, yet another flower you
can usually find planted off in the woods defining an old homesite foundation.
the old folks knew that these two planted together, with simultaneous blooming
periods, would raise the spirits of the most winter-jaded soul.
this combination is so very common…i remember riding to see my grandparents
when i was little ( eons ago). i have a clear color memory of seeing the pair along
the banks and ditches and front yards of houses along the way.

the other southern classic combination planting, i call the “Three sisters”
( this term “classic”does not necessarily imply greatness, but frequency of use)
these heirloom shrubs, in bloom at the same time in middle- march, are spirea,
forsythia and quince, all ‘common’ varieties. this is another plant combination of
many an old homestead, mine included. i find it a good landscaping rule to grow
same-time blooming plants together, color harmonies can be very pleasing.
however, the sight of these alternating shrubs of yellow, white and deep rose-pink
does not really do it for me. there is no visual harmony here…more an annoying discord;
although not quite a clash, it seems obvious they are grouped by bloom timing, more
than true color considerations. on the other hand, these were the available landscaping
plants of the time, easily rooted or divided and passed on. our present sophisticated
color groupings and exotic cultivars are the result of years of plant improvements and hybridization.

at any rate, i wanted to give a picture that is repeated all over the south. hot pink
and clear yellow flowers; alternating white, rose and bright yellow flowering shrubs
in endless repetition.
although i speak of them as ‘old-timey’ combinations, i still see the Three sisters newly
planted in front of many recently built homes. old habits seem to die hard, and i suppose
that is what makes a classic….

next time: the side porch and the Southside pariahs…

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related


« Old-Fashioned Nuisance Plants
GGW Blog Photo Contest, Flowering Tree »

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.

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

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

Newest Postings Here

  • Deals from Amazon
  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
buy quality plants

On Facebook

On Facebook

Meta

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

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Top Posts & Pages

  • Mugo Pines: When to Trim and Prune
  • Flowers that Monet Grew In Giverny
  • Grandma Can Make Fairy Houses From Forest Finds
  • A Little Something For You: Garden Journal Template
  • St. Francis Joke All About Gardens
  • How To Grow Lavender For Its Heavenly Scent
  • Pruning Your Mugo Pine
  • Scrapbooking Garden Journal
  • Furnishing Grandma's Fairy House
  • Old Fashioned Gardening

Past Posts

ilonagarden

Instagram post 17959863785360234 Instagram post 17959863785360234
Instagram post 17989258745013455 Instagram post 17989258745013455
Instagram post 17976222752103831 Instagram post 17976222752103831
Instagram post 18056018824416584 Instagram post 18056018824416584
Instagram post 18335731483076224 Instagram post 18335731483076224
Instagram post 17977547744261532 Instagram post 17977547744261532
#atlanta #beautiful day☀️ #atlanta #beautiful day☀️
#atlanta #chattahoocheeriver #atlanta #chattahoocheeriver
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Part of Ilona’s Garden by Ilona Erwin

Copyright © 2023 · Ilona's Garden Journal