Wakeshine : I love penstemmons. A slug free alternative to delphiniums is Aconitum (poisonous so wear gloves) summer, autumn varieties in shades of blue plus white.
Hi there, another pic of my Penstemon 'Apple blossom' to entice the OP into growing those lovely flowers! Only 3 specimens make up this colorful group.
Ooh Papi Jo, I am definitely enticed! How long ago did you plant this penstemeon, and do they spread like this by themselves? did you plant the three quite close to each other?
I have one lonely Raven, bought this year. I have to say it's growing on me. But will it get as big as yours?
Glad you liked my Penstemon 'Apple blossom'. These 3 specimens were planted in the autumn of 2014, about 60cm from each other. They were not very large when planted, but grew a bit in 2015 and... a lot this year. I do not know about the 'Raven' Penstemon's growing features but your specimen looks healthy enough. In my mixed borders I always plant specimens in groups of 3 (or 5), according to the classical "rules" of herbaceous mixed borders gardening. Except for shrubs, which are planted as single specimens.
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Oh how pretty Pap Jo. Thanks.
Hi there, another pic of my Penstemon 'Apple blossom' to entice the OP into growing those lovely flowers! Only 3 specimens make up this colorful group.
Ooh Papi Jo, I am definitely enticed! How long ago did you plant this penstemeon, and do they spread like this by themselves? did you plant the three quite close to each other?
I have one lonely Raven, bought this year. I have to say it's growing on me. But will it get as big as yours?
Hi wakeshine,
Glad you liked my Penstemon 'Apple blossom'. These 3 specimens were planted in the autumn of 2014, about 60cm from each other. They were not very large when planted, but grew a bit in 2015 and... a lot this year. I do not know about the 'Raven' Penstemon's growing features but your specimen looks healthy enough. In my mixed borders I always plant specimens in groups of 3 (or 5), according to the classical "rules" of herbaceous mixed borders gardening. Except for shrubs, which are planted as single specimens.
If you are interested in garden design you will see those Penstemon 'Apple blossom' specimens in square F5 on my garden plan at http://www.rezeau.org/wp-garden/en/garden-plan-2/