These are our Phlox paniculata, 'David's lavender' and 'David.' They grow approximately 4-5' tall, and the flower heads get so big and heavy that they tend to flop over, especially after a heavy rain. My dad and I built cages for them out of copper pipe. I learned how to cut and solder pipe, which barely scratches the surface of all the amazing things my dad can do with tools (he's a machinist). The pipe has darkened to a beautiful patina, and the phlox no longer do a nosedive after summer thunderstorms.
These are some of the few non-natives in the flower garden. I first saw the lamb's ear while visiting the Well-Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray, NJ with my cooking students. As one of them said, it's so soft that you would want to make a pillow out of the leaves. The flowers are lantana, a big favorite of nectar-loving insects. I like them because each flower is so tiny.
Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium purpureum, is a native that butterflies, moths, and bees absolutely adore. It is fascinating to watch bees forage in the blossoms, growing their pollen baskets on their legs, and fly off...only to return almost immediately for more of the good stuff. We also see a lot of yellow tiger swallowtails making a snack of it.
Finally, in this corner...northern bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica, in the back, and Rudbeckia fulgida, black-eyed Susans, in the front. The bayberry is female and is growing its little berries, which are now light green but will fade into a dusky gray-blue in a few months. The black-eyed Susans stay in bloom from August through September, and we leave the seed heads up all winter for the birds. They are an especial favorite of the dark-eyed juncos and goldfinches. They are also a big hit with tiny black ants.
Another sign of late summer is that the crabgrass is going to seed. Sparrows will get buried in patches of it, and pop up and down as they grab at more seeds. It almost makes up for the crabgrass part.
Next up...hopefully...our first sweet potato harvest. Wish us luck!
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