Silver Foliage—A Perfect Foil (Part II)

Villain or hero? Is it possible for a simple silver plant to serve as a perfect foil—a contrast to highlight the finer points of primary plants in the garden?

We pick up the story, Silver Foliage—A Perfect Foil for Purple, where I left it in June 2010. The silver-haired character of this story is Dusty Miller.

Dusty Miller cools off his hot orange and yellow companions.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild gardens, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France.
May 2008

Dusty Miller has more aliases than a secret agent. He registers under many names—Senecio cineraria, Senecio candicans, Ceneraria maritima, Centaurea maritima—so you must look carefully at his photo identification to make sure no other seedy characters are impersonating Dusty.

An annual visitor to many regions of the world, Dusty puts down permanent roots to establish himself at his many homes in zones 8a-10b.

Dusty's short stature of 6-12 inches allows him to travel incognito among the throngs until the time he chooses to shine his bright, white spotlight behind a primary plant character.

Dusty Miller is incognito in a crowd.
Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, France. May 2009

Look behind the most beautiful wallflower in the crowd to see
Dusty Miller shining bright.
Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, France. May 2009

Dusty Miller contrasts with Salvia greggii 'Ultraviolet'.
My garden. June 2011

Dusty Miller doesn't clash with
the ground huggers sedum and purple heart.
My garden. June 2011

Dusty Miller dons his bright yellow blooms to attract pollinators.
My garden. June 2011

But, don't be fooled by the handsome Dusty Miller. When he dons his bright yellow hat, his charisma escalates and he'll court every pollinator in town. Be careful how you touch him, hold him and coddle him. He's lethal. He's toxic. All parts are poisonous.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

The Best Hummingbird Feeder

With lightning speed and buzzing whoosh, the hummingbirds battle and dive bomb around the bright red hummingbird feeder. Territorial and jockeying for the best position at the feeder, one smart hummingbird sits back on a willow tree branch while three others whiz up into the air to do battle. The little one gets to sip first.

Round and round the garden they go; where they stop—do you want to know?

Monarda 'Jacob Cline' in full bloom with
wide leaves of crocosmia 'Lucifer' not yet blooming.

As I write, I watch three hummingbirds buzz by the window on their way to lay claim to two large patches of the red bee balm, monarda 'Jacob Cline' (sometimes listed as 'Jacob Kline').

Jacob is a tall, strong bee balm, easily growing taller than 3 feet if receiving ample moisture before the blooms. This is the third year for this variety. The 2010 summer heat and drought were especially tough for this bee balm, but it bounced back, tripling in width this spring!

The hardy perennial is suitable for zones 3-8, making it a wonderful choice for many of you who want to garden for the hummingbirds.

Planted with the bee balm is another hummingbird favorite, crocosmia 'Lucifer'. Although the red of Lucifer is a bit orange for the red of Jacob, I put the two together for the hummingbirds—sometimes garden style is for the birds, not me!

I sowed seeds of white shasta daisy 'Alaska' up the slope behind the red/orange group. Now in the second year, the daisies are blooming for the first time. I want the white daisies to provide a contrast for the red blooms of the bee balm and crocosmia.

To really thrill the hummingbirds, I divided my salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' and also added it with the shasta daisies. Hopefully, there will be a thick swatch of white daisies and blue salvia behind the red Jacob Cline monarda for summer 2012.

By the way, I allow the tall, purple verbena bonariensis to sow and grow just about everywhere in this area of my garden as that plant is the favorite feeder of Goldfinch. There are more than just hummingbirds in the garden, after all!

There are other colors/varieties of bee balm in my garden, too. 'Raspberry Wine' and 'Blue Stocking' are also hummingbird feeders—Jacob Cline blooms first; then Raspberry Wine; immediately followed by the Blue Stocking. All three colors overlap and extend the bloom season for monarda.

Monarda is an economical plant to grow since it spreads rapidly with rich, moist soil. That said, I find that 'Raspberry Wine' tolerates drier soil than the other varieties and I grow it in more locations for that reason. Deer have never done more damage than sample a bloom or two. Rabbits tend to avoid monarda altogether. I've not had trouble with mildew, but I watch the lower leaves. If I see any droopy leaves in the morning, I know they need to be watered (at the base of the plant).

Once our temperatures are over 90°F, I worry that the sugar water in our manufactured hummingbird feeders gets too hot, so I take those down and let the flower garden provide fresh nectar for our buzzing friends. It seems to be working well!

Monarda 'Jacob Cline' (Hummingbird feeder) is backed by
purple verbena bonariensis (Goldfinch feeder).

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Rose Campion Chased by Celebrity Flower Stalkers

Rose Campion poses in front
of tall, dark and purple larkspur.

Why is Rose Campion so alluring? Rose is such a simple garden flower, but she's so enormously popular that readers overwhelm my blog in their search for candid photos and juicy details. Could it be her scandalous reputation has leaked to the media?

Rose Campion is not as virtuous as she seems. She reproduces prolifically throughout the garden. But, the offspring are so identical, adorable, lovable and deserving of support. That said, if she continues at this rate of reproduction, I may have to ask some of you to adopt seeds to raise the young in your gardens.

Rose Campion and her children attempt to blend in
with the garden crowd of cleome and larkspur.

With Rose's silver foliage, slender arms and perfect upright posture—she is indeed quite glamorous. No companion distracts from her eye candy beauty, though she generously makes everyone else in the photos look good, too.

Rose has no pesky enemies, loves the sun, but has a fear of too much water.

My blog is not a tabloid, but I suppose I can give Rose Campion a dedicated keyword to make your search easier. I know you want to see her in person, but all of you celebrity flower stalkers cannot trample my garden in your rush to take her photos, caress her blooms and stroke her luxurious, soft foliage.

Rose Campion takes center stage. 

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

My "Lazy Gardener Garden" in Spring

Gaillardia 'Burgundy' self-sows;
Achillea 'Moonshine' grows rapidly;
Annual Nigella 'Miss Jekyll' self-sows.

Welcome to my "lazy gardener garden" in late spring! In my attempt to minimize how much work that I have to put into all the different gardens, I am relinquishing some of the design control to Mother Nature.

This large section of garden is on the east side of the house where the light has changed as trees have matured over the last five years. Rather than agonize over what to plant in a section where the sunlight and shade ratio is still changing, I'm allowing self-sowing and rapidly growing annuals, biennials and perennials "do their own thing."

I used to call this section the "butterfly garden" but since all of my different gardens attract butterflies, that's not as descriptive as it could be. I've relocated some of my stellar sun-loving perennials, such as coreopsis and agastache, from this section to the front garden.

There is a revolving color scheme of blue, purple, white, yellow, red and orange from spring through fall. All plants are drought tolerant and deer resistant, though there are a few plants, such as rudbeckia 'Goldsturm', that must be sprayed with rabbit repellent.

Salvia 'Caradonna' (self-sows true to parent),
Homestead Purple verbena (spreads rapidly),
and nepeta (easily divided)
in April 2011.

Purple salvia and nepeta give way to yellow, red and blue in late May.

There are several varieties of gaillardia (blanket flower) in this garden. I can no longer say for sure what each one is/will be as they have been cross-pollinated and the resulting seeds can be anything from solid yellow, burgundy, deep orange, or bi-color. That is the risk of letting seeds go rather than propagating by cuttings. The offspring will not necessarily be the same as the parent. The gaillardia 'Burgundy' is holding color fairly well among the offspring, but the solid yellow gaillardia has not. Gaillardia 'Tizzy' (plants) did not return this year, but 'Tokajer' has returned though I've not seen seedlings of that variety.

The prolific, self-sowing gaillardia can result in different colors
and heights due to the cross-pollination of the varieties. 

Blooming in April and May in the "lazy gardener garden":

salvia 'Caradonna' (self-sows true to parent)
allium 'Purple Sensation' (bulbs have multiplied over two years)
nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' (easily divided; minimal self-sowing)
'Homestead Purple' verbena (spreads rapidly by runners)
achillea 'Moonshine' (matures rapidly; divide every 3-4 years)
gaillardia (multiple varieties; some self-sow)
salvia greggii 'Navajo Red' (has produced offspring from seed that are true to parent)
salvia 'Black & Blue' (spreads by runners and easily divided in late spring)
salvia farcinacea 'Victoria Blue' (matures rapidly and am hoping for seedlings next year)

To bloom in summer:

monarda 'Jacob Cline' (spreads rapidly by runners; needs more moisture than the other plants)
ageratum 'Wayside Blue' (self-sows and spreads rapidly by runners)
crocosmia 'Lucifer' (corms grow rapidly and can be easily divided)
achillea 'Terracotta' (matures rapidly; divided every 3 years)
shasta daisies (divides easily; some varieties self-sow)
rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' (self-sows)
laceflower (self-sows)
marigolds (some varieties self-sow)
orange cosmos sulphureus (self-sows)
echinacea 'Sundown' (hasn't performed well for five years)
agastache (some varieties self-sow)
asclepias tuberosa (self-sows)
ascleplias incarnata (self-sows, but takes years to bloom; more moisture)
hypericum 'Sun Pat' is shrub-like (minimal self-sowing)
amsonia hubrichtii (self-sows)
verbena bonariensis (self-sows)
Russian sage (self-sows, but is new to the garden)
bronze fennel (self-sows too much; must deadhead)

Because I allow the plants to self-sow and spread, there is minimal care and maintenance. I let the seed heads stand until the following spring, when I cut them back at one time, divide any mature plants and transplant seedlings. I rarely provide supplemental water unless rainfall is scarce when the transplants and seeds need a good start. Since I allow the self-sowing of seeds, I don't use mulch except around the base of new plants. Mulch on top of the ripened and fallen seeds would prevent germination. In spots where the soil needs boosting, I work in amendments (organic compost) and sow seeds of filler plants such as nigella for spring and marigolds and cosmos for summer.

Less maintenance for the gardener means more time to enjoy the flowers (and work on the other gardens)!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Salvia 'Caradonna' is Grape, But Not Seedless

I was a Grape Nehi addict at an early age. I'd hunt for grape popsicles in my grandmother's big freezer. I'd run out to buy a grape snow cone from the "ice cream man" driving around the neighborhood. Purple treats tasted so good!

The color purple represents happiness to me, so when a variety of purple flowers blooms in sweet synchronization, I'm in gardening heaven.

Grape spires of salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'

For springtime purple, the spires of s. nemorosa 'Caradonna' mix and mingle with a number of other purple companions.

Although not as popular as salvia 'May Night', 'Cardonna' is a more economical selection as she naturalizes wherever her seeds land, stretching gardening dollars for years and years. It is quite common for the little starts to bloom the first year with the true color and form of the mother plant. This salvia is also easy to transplant (or pull and discard, if you must) as the seedlings are shallow-rooted.

Cardonna is so tough! She's perfect for resisting drought, deer, rabbits and other pests. Suitable for zones 4-8, she can be grown in a variety of garden soils including clay, sandy and the good stuff.

As with other nemorosa varieties, cut this salvia back to the basal foliage after blooming for the hope of repeat blooms and to keep the foliage looking tidy. Of course, if you want free plants, leave a few spires to go to seed. When the seeds dry, you can let them fly with the wind, or strip them off the stem and toss them around the garden. I don't collect and store the seeds for planting, I just disperse them as I go around the garden.

For grape companions, I love to use the spheres of allium 'Purple Sensation'. Salvia 'Cardonna' and allium 'Purple Sensation' bloom at the same time, starting in mid-April here in zone 7b. Allium bulbs should be planted in the autumn to be ready for the spring bloom. Zones 4-7 can grow the allium, and like the salvia, it is deer and rabbit resistant.

But wait, there's more!

'Caradonna' and 'Purple Sensation' grow knee-high—and let's just say that the allium needs something to cover the gangly knees! The ground-covering, glandularia canadensis (verbena) 'Homestead Purple' fills that void.

'Homestead Purple' loves the same growing conditions in zones 6-9 and is sun-loving, drought-tolerant as well as being deer and rabbit resistant. A perfect purple partner.

Top purple: Allium 'Purple Sensation'
Middle purple spires: Salvia 'Caradonna'
Bottom purple: Verbena 'Homestead Purple'

If you're not so fond of all this purple—yellow, white and even orange look great with all three of the purple players. As for my personal taste, I'll savor a bunch of grapes!

Yellow yarrow, orange blanketflower and lavender nepeta
will soon break up the monochromatic purple color scheme.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Lilacs are Here, There and Everywhere

Lilac 'Miss Kim' in full bloom in my home garden.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina; April 2011.

Fragrant and beautiful, lilacs are perhaps among the most romantic of the spring-blooming shrubs. There are modern offerings of this old-fashioned shrub that make it possible for me to grow lilacs here in my warm, zone 7b garden in North Carolina. Lilacs perform much better in the cooler northern zones. This shrub has been reliably deer and rabbit resistant in my garden. No munching, even though the deer walk right past the shrub year-round as they sneak through my shrubbery to drink from our water feature!

It has taken four years for my 'Miss Kim' to bloom abundantly. I first planted her in full sun and she toasted in summer. I transplanted her to a space between two tea olives (osmanthus fragrans) to give her some shade. Between the fragrance of the lilac and the fragrance from the tea olives, the combined perfume is very heavy and can be enjoyed from all area of my garden. Not unlike walking into a department store and being overcome by the scent of hundreds of perfumes!

Another reason why I squeezed 'Miss Kim' in between the evergreen tea olives is because she gets to be a bit dowdy looking when not in bloom. So, I let her bloom. Take her photo while she is stunning, then cut the panicles of perfume to bring indoors.

Lilac 'Miss Kim' (syringa pubescens susp. patula)
zones 3a-7b
4-6 feet
full sun (partial sun is better in the warmest zone)

While visiting JC Raulston Arboretum in mid-March, I found 'Miss Kim' blooming along with a cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata). The cutleaf lilac has an open, airy form and is taller and looser in structure.

Cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata)
zones 4-8
6-10 feet
full sun

Cutleaf lilac at JC Raulston Arboretum.
Raleigh, North Carolina; March 2011.

Blooms of cutleaf lilac.

Nearly everywhere we went in Paris—tucked into city streetscapes and along the River Seine; or growing in full glory in the parks, such as the Jardin des Plantes—lilacs were in full bloom for the first week of April.  While the shrubs were not labeled, there was no doubt about the fragrance! By the time we reached Provence, I had stopped taking photos of lilacs, but they were still blooming in abundance, especially in our quiet little neighborhood in Aix-en-Provence.

Lilac in full bloom in Jardin des Plantes.
Paris, France; April 2011.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Don't Blame the Deer, A Rabbit Ate that Flower!

This is repeat of a story from 2010. A few updates have been made—the rabbits chopped down tall zinnias in the summer of 2010. In March 2011, the voles ate my Dutch iris bulbs and the roots of some of the coneflowers before the rabbits had a chance to eat the foliage.

There have been times when I have blamed the deer for eating one of my "deer resistant" perennials. After all, deer tracks around the hardy geraniums provided clear evidence. So, I moved those geraniums inside the cottage garden fence, out of reach of the deer.

And, the geraniums were munched! To the ground. So, let's be fair in our accusations. Deer will munch on many wonderful garden plants, but sometimes the culprit is a rabbit.

How do you tell the difference between deer damage and rabbit damage?

If you are a gardener, you probably own a good pair of sharp, hand pruners to use for plant cuttings. The teeth of a rabbit are razor-sharp and the damage will look as though someone expertly cut the plant stems. A perfect, clean cut.

Deer will pull and tear at the plant, so the cut will be ragged. Like cows, deer are ruminants and have no upper incisors. They chew their cud just like a cow. Fawns have only four little milk teeth. As they learn about foods to eat, the little ones will try out different plants in the garden. I can tell when deer have tried a plant and rejected it, because they spit it out on the ground. Sometimes in their pulling, they will completely uproot a plant.

Not rabbit resistant

Among the many deer resistant perennials in my garden, there are several perennials that I've found to be consistently preferred by rabbits.

1. Aster
2. Dutch iris
3. Echinacea (coneflowers)
4. Rudbeckia (black-eyed susans)
5. Daylily foliage must be protected until bloom

I gave up on asters completely (although they appear on many rabbit resistant lists) and I no longer try to protect the rudbeckia. I use rabbit repellent on the echinacea until the plants grow above rabbit nose height. By the way, I use no deer repellents in the unfenced gardens.

My favorite rabbit repellent, I Must Garden, has no bad odor, lasts a long time and is earth and pet friendly. The product is made locally, but I have no affiliation with the company.

Was it just luck that the rabbits didn't eat my Benary's Giant Zinnias in 2009? Yes, because in the summer of 2010, a young bunny chopped down tall zinnias like a lumberjack with a chainsaw! From now on, I will spray rabbit repellent at the base of tall zinnias!

Dutch iris foliage emerges in January and February, but it will be the bud formations that will need spraying as we approach March and April.

The rabbits can easily go under the cottage garden fence where they have eaten more Dutch irises, scabiosa and annual gomphrena. I suspect they are nibbling a bit on the dianthus (cottage pinks) and phlox sublulata (creeping phlox) and leucanthemum (shasta daisy).

I know that they will eat phlox paniculata 'David' but they ignore phlox paniculata 'Robert Poore' and 'Eva Cullum'.

The rabbits devour geranium 'Rozanne' but they never touch geranium 'Brookside'.

This selection among varieties is a mystery to me. My only hypothesis so far is that the rabbits didn't find my garden until after the uneaten phlox and geraniums had matured. They found my garden when the 'David' phlox and 'Rozanne' geraniums were newly planted and not established. Tender little plants should be protected!

Rabbit resistant plants in my garden

There are many more plants on rabbit resistant lists. However, I'm including only those that I have personally tried in my garden. Of course, rabbit damage may vary in your garden.

Agastache
Ageratum (some nibbles)
Allium (ornamental; some nibbles on culinary chives)
Amsonia hubrichtii
Anemone
Angelonia
Asclepias (milkweed)
Azalea
Balloon Flower
Baptisia
Buddleia
Canna
Carex
Caryopteris
Clematis
Cleome
Coreopsis
Crocosmia
Daffodils
Daylily
Gaillardia
Geum
Ginger
Helianthus (swamp sunflower)
Heliotropium amplexicaule (creeping perennial heliotrope)
Herbs - basil, fennel, lavender, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme
Hypericum (St. John's Wort)
Ice Plant
Iris (Japanese - foliage nibbles)
Lantana
Lamb's ear
Larkspur
Marigold
Miscanthus
Muhlenbergia
Monarda (Bee Balm)
Mum
Nepeta
Petunia
Poppy
Pulmonaria
Russian Sage
Salvia (elegans, nemorosa, greggii)
Sedum
Snapdragons
Spirea
Spanish Bluebell
Verbena (perennial 'Homestead' and bonariensis)

Rabbits and deer can do a lot of damage. The loss can be discouraging. Although there are no guarantees in growing plants on rabbit resistant and deer resistant lists, you can minimize the disappointments. You can have a beautiful garden in spite of rabbits and deer!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Bloom Time Line: Spring Bulbs

This is repeat story from 2010—a popular topic for those anticipating spring blooms from bulbs! As an update for 2011, the VOLES ate all of my Dutch iris bulbs over the winter. Very sad! Worse than the deer herd whose population is ever-increasing and chose only to munch a yucca in desperation over the winter.

When do plants bloom? That's always an important question when designing a garden. By noting bloom times, it is easier to match up companions for the future.

When selecting bulbs to bloom in mid-April, I shopped for bloom times in May or June—based on zone 5 bulb sellers.

All of my bulbs were planted in late autumn for spring bloom. The bulbs that have been in my garden for several years bloomed a few days earlier than new bulbs. Bloom time was also earlier for bulbs in all day full sun— versus bulbs in sun for half of the day.

Below is a recap of the dates for spring blooming bulbs in my zone 7b garden in North Carolina. Of course, warmer zones will have earlier blooms and cooler zones will have later blooms. Bloom times also differ by variety, so I'm not including daffodils in my recap.

April 15 - Dutch iris (iris x hollandica)
Blooms finished on most varieties by May 7.


April 15 - Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
Blooms ended around April 30.


April 15 - allium aflatunenense 'Purple Sensation'
Blooms were fading by May 7, but the green orbs will be interesting for another week.



April 22 - Star of Persia (allium christophii)
Still in bloom on May 7 and the green orbs will be left for interest.



Every bulb included has proven to be deer resistant. The Dutch iris foliage was nibbled by rabbits early on. The irises recovered so I consider all of these blooms to be rabbit resistant. Your results with wildlife may be different.

These perennial bulbs multiply every year, so it's important to mark the location in the spring if you need to divide the bulbs in the fall.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Garden Inspiration: Blue and Gold

Lantana 'Miss Huff'
with salvia 'Black & Blue'
in Helen's garden

A big happy birthday wish to the gardener who inspired the combination in today's feature. Helen Yoest at Gardening with Confidence™  is celebrating her birthday on March 3!

When visiting Helen's garden in September 2009, I was struck by the deep blue of salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' planted with the gold and orange blooms of lantana 'Miss Huff'.

These are two easy plants to grow as annuals in cold zones and perennials in warm zones. Both are water-wise and can handle drought conditions with minimal water. Plant in full sun. Afternoon shade is fine in the hottest zones.

Lantana camara 'Miss Huff' is a perennial in zones 7-10 with blooms of gold and orange. She can grow quite large, reaching a whopping shrub-size of 4-6 feet in height and width. Late to emerge in spring, usually May in zone 7b, don't cut back lantana in the fall. This shrub is a wonderful butterfly magnet. Deer don't usually browse the blooms until late autumn and their preferred food is very scarce.

Butterfiles love the lantana 'Miss Huff'
growing in my garden; July 2010.

Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' is a perennial in zones 7-11. Growing up to 4-6 feet in height and width, with splendid deep blue blossoms, this is a hummingbird favorite. Also late to emerge in spring, you may find the offshoots several feet away from the original mother plant. Don't but this one back in the fall either. As with the lantana, deer tend to leave this alone unless they are desperate for food.

I will divide my Salvia 'Black & Blue'
to plant with the Lantana 'Miss Huff'.

I have been growing both the lantana and salvia in my garden for years, but not together. When I moved coreopsis last year, I made a note to fill the space with a combination of lantana and salvia. This May 2011 will be the time to put this inspired combination together in my butterfly garden where I also grow bronze fennel, a host plant for Black Swallowtail Butterflies.

Bronze fennel in my butterfly garden
serves as a host plant for Black Swallowtail Butterflies.

Bronze fennel is perennial in zones 4-9 and can usually be found in the herb section at garden centers. Growing to a height of five feet in my garden, it will self-sow with abandon unless you deadhead the blooms in the fall. The foliage starts out very dark and fluffy before the stems shoot up and produce gold-yellow blooms. Fennel is reliably deer resistant, though the critters may sample it now and then without doing any damage.

Lantana, salvia and bronze fennel are great companions with similar growing conditions and are beneficial for pollinators—an easy butterfly garden inspiration to replicate!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.