Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tickseed

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tickseed.... Coreopsis verticillata 'Creme Brulee'
(Click picture to enlarge)

"Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its vigor." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Well, Stephen has seen the "garden" and has been busy helping with additional plantings in large pots around the patio and on the deck stairs. The space is really coming together and looking more like a nursery every day. He likes my "ordered chaos" method of landscaping and with most areas planted... I think it looks pretty good. Of course there is the constant task of weeding that would be so much easier if the temperature and humidity were not at the same 99% level all the time. And that pesky drainage problem that will be better but will not likely go completely away... so now to find a small shrub that loves swampy soil. Oh, and that mint that keeps getting out of hand and the black swallowtail butterfly that simply will not leave the fennel alone. I really should say the "former" fennel... as it is now but a skeleton (literally) of its former self after one night with 35 large caterpillars on it. That story is for another post.

These are my calming, mellow yellow flowers for this week. Coreopsis... tickseed... the common name given because the seeds resemble ticks. Hmm.. that isn't very comforting here with all the real ticks in the preserve. The leaves are fine and delicate in texture, almost like an asparagus fern and this contrast is wonderful next to the coneflowers and the butterfly weed. We have four varieties... Creme Brulee (above), Sienna Sunset (an apricot - peachy color), Autumn Blush (pale yellow with burgundy centers) and Moonbeam (pale yellow and slightly smaller bloom). They bloom from April through to frost, but to keep them going strong requires the deadheading of spent blossoms. This is tedious... so I simply shear them back.. wait a few days and they spring back into action. I did try the little snip, snip, snip but lost interest in that pursuit really quickly when the burning sun came over the roofline and the temperature soared. Yes, shear and get in the house to some of that peach ice tea and air conditioning. Yes, they are perennials.. I like to garden and plant, but do not care to do it every year.. so for me the perennials are the way to go. Butterflies love them as do the dragonflies and bees. They add so much to the space... texture, color and a little fun.

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