Echinacea (purple coneflower) and heliopsis (false sunflower) are long-livers, blooming in late summer and loving the sun.


Late bloomer, but long-liver, phlox (shown here is ‘David’) benefits from divi- sion every five or six years.


The many varieties of Ligularia will


light up the shade garden in August. ‘The Rocket’ has tall spikes of sunny yellow and ‘Desdemona’, has ray-like golden blooms with lovely round foli- age that has red undersides. What to do about lilies


While you are refreshing your


perennials, it might be a good time to start thinking about how to replace the lilies in your garden, assuming the red lily leaf beetles hasn’t already done them all in. One option is Hemerocallis or daylil-


ies, which are impervious to the beetle. While nothing will ever take the place of your lilies, carefully chosen Hemero- callis hybrids can extend the bloom- ing period and add a lot of summer colour to the garden. There is a white one called ‘Sunday Gloves’, with slen- der, ruffled petals that is a rebloomer. Daylilies are one of the most reliable plants that include yellow blossoms. They will also go after the native


tiger lily and, if hungry enough, the little red devils will go after hosta and even Solomon’s seal. For late summer colour, there is


30 • Home and Gardener Living


Daylilies might be your only alternative to lilies after a few years of lily leaf beetle infestation.


always Echinacea which now comes in almost every hue except blue: what used to be called the purple coneflower now offers a wide range of yellows, melons, corals, oranges and pinks. You need to plant several to have a real show and they don’t multiply the way your lilies did. The sunny garden


For the sunny gardens, phlox, which


can add just about as much colour as lilies, although not in yellows, is another option. My favourite is the white ‘David’, which is of medium height – about 30 inches – and mildew resistant, but many people are turning to the new variet- ies that feature a darker eye in the same


www.localgardener.net


The humble tiger lily is also prey for the hungry red beetle which has decimated lily populations further east.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40