Purple Coneflower
If you are like me, you probably spend a lot of time surfing the web looking at other people’s houses, design website, and garden blogs. When I began my garden, I spent way too many hours scouring the web for inspiration. One particular blog that I kept going back to was Digging, by Pam. In particular, I was fascinated with this post, from her first garden. I loved the shot overlooking the purple coneflowers onto the patio.
I decided I wanted a view like that. Except I wanted it from my couch. I wanted to be able to sit on my couch, in the nice air conditioning and look out my window and see a view like that.
Last year I went to the Spring LadyBird Johnson Wildflower center plant sale and got a couple of coneflower starters I knew exactly where they would go. I planted them in March, and waited until the middle of August for them to bloom. Where they are now, the get great afternoon light, from about noon until the sun goes down.
The flowers are the most incredible purple, orange, and green. The bloom starts out small, flat and all green, and after a week or so, the color begins to change, and then eventually the center of the flower gets rounded and extends. It’s a great show. Overall the plants are 2-3 feet high or so. Of course I’m not deadheading, because I want the entire bed to fill out with coneflowers. And I’m sure next year they will.
Coneflower Plant
Purple and Orange Flower
