Horticultural dysfunction can be, from one to six, annoying, frustrating, very infuriating, entertaining, confusing and pleasantly surprising. Much of this is more natural than it is dysfunctional.

1. Arundo donax, giant reed is not as giant as expected. Four potted specimens look like big grassy weeds amongst these lily of the Nile. They will be removed if they do not grow as fast as they famously should. They are here only temporarily for this summer anyway.

2. Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ creeping rosemary is not as prostrate as expected. I thought that it would cascade more limbry from the top of the wall rather than become fluffy but barely pendulous shrubs on top of the wall. In a row, they look like Soul Train.

3. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile are expected to bloom for summer. Here on the edge of a trafficked walkway, they are too tempting to kids with sticks. Fortunately, their evergreen foliage is a nice border even without bloom. We try not to be too discouraged.

4. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile is trying to bloom a bit more than expected, by fasciation. Perhaps it is trying to compensate for the destruction of so much other bloom nearby. Ultimately, a fascinated bloom will be no more substantial than a normal bloom.

5. Echinops sphaerocephalus, globe thistle is unexpectedly solitary. This is the first that I have grown since my second summer after high school, so I do not remember how they typically bloom. Yet, I expected a branched bloom stem. Maybe that is what it does next.

6. Helenium autumnale, sneezeweed was expected to bloom later in summer. This is the first for me, so I can neither complain nor question its timing. Two other varieties bloom red and orange. They, the globe thistle and others came from Tangly Cottage Gardening.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

12 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Unexpected”

    1. Helenium, three cultivars, were some of the many gifts from Skyler Walker of Tangly Cottage Gardening. I will enjoy showing them off later in their season. I will try to remember to get a picture of the fascinated lily of the Nile bloom. However, it is in the same row as the decapitated stalks, so may not survive long enough to bloom. Decapitation has been unusually bad this year. Unfortunately, the larger bed of lily of the Nile, where decapitation is not as common, is not blooming as abundantly as it typically does.

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  2. This was a very well-written and entertaining post, and interesting to hear about all the different situations. No matter the turnout, I know it can be fun to grow things one hasn’t tried for many years. “Annoying, frustrating, very infuriating, entertaining, confusing, and pleasantly surprising”…indeed.

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    1. Oh, that lily of the Nile is the worst! We knew when we put them there that this would likely happen, but we thought that the foliage would be nice anyway, and fortunately, it is.

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  4. Prostrate rosemary is one of my favorites, but I normally grow them in containers. What a lovely situation to have a beautiful stone wall to grow them above as you do there. I suspect that they will become more pendulous with time. and will perhaps look better if you replace the other shrubs with more of the prostrate rosemary. They have a nice rhythm, and will be such a treat when they bloom.

    So sorry for the lillies the children beheaded- gardening in public places can become frustrating when visitors ruin our plantings. Echinops has never done exactly what I expected of it, either. Although it looks tough, perhaps it needs more specific growing conditions to grow into its potential. Or perhaps it just needs more time to establish….

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    1. Those other shrubs ‘are’ the rosemary. Only the fleabane that is sprawling over some of them is not rosemary. I should cut them down low to let them start over, even if they just grow back as shrubbery. They do not look bad as shrubbery. I would just prefer more pendulous growth.
      We expected that the lily of the Nile would get decapitated when we put it there, but wanted the fluffy foliage anyway. The few flowers that manage to bloom are bonuses.

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      1. Fishing weights tied to the ends of a few of the branches would help train the rosemary branches into a more pendulous habit… and maybe also start some interesting conversations….? Sometimes you just have to communicate to a plant what you want it to do- and hope it cooperates.

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