LaurieAnn's Birthday Post

In honor of my sister’s birthday (won’t tell you which one, but it’s less than mine… she’s the baby) I decided to post photos of her favorite plant. So I posed the question to her, “What is your favorite flower or plant?” and in her usual shy, reserved manner, because she has absolutely no opinion about anything… this is her response.



I have lots of loves... I love the black (dark maroon/chocolate) flowers/plants; I love black Mondo grass and the black dahlias - don't grow them because we need to dig them up for the winter.



Plus the black fountain grass that is only an annual here. My dream one day is to have an all black garden with just touches of another color or two.



My all time put anywhere plant is the coleus. I love the fact that they come in so many colors. The chartreuse (is that the green yellow that our room was painted?) colored one looks great with the black elephant ears. And they are not that expensive and grow into a huge mass. A very thrifty plant for an annual.



Another gem is the Iris - most deer leave them alone and they are so pretty and come in many sizes, colors and habitat types. I have them in my rock garden and front soil garden.



Probably for me, my workhorse of a plant is the fern. The deer leave them alone and since we are in the woods, they belong here and grow like they do. Even the ones that I buy and don't dig up from other parts of the property thrive. I put some in a big pot that weathers over and after 6 years; they grow so big in the summer that they actually fall over.



Finally, I love moss - it is beautiful in its shades of chartreuse, medium and deep greens and brown flecked. I am going to do a terrarium planter this spring/summer so I can bring it in for next winter. I love the way it smells and feels when you rub your hand over the different types and heights. I never realized just how many different mosses there are.



I could go on, I never realized how many plants I love. Don't get me started on trees..



Note from Julie: I guess this must be in our family blood, although I quite sure that it is from our Mother’s side and not our Father’s side.

I need to add another note here – although I live in sunny Southern California, my sister lives in Connecticut on a wooded parcel of land that is pure heaven for our family to visit. The deer, bunnies, and wild turkeys are often a nuisance to their landscaping, but we love seeing the animals and love, love, love how green everything is well into summer. The humidity, well I’m really the only one that can take it being the native of the east coast but we all endure and enjoy every moment we have visiting. I’ll be sure to post photos over the summer when I head back to attend my niece Becca’s wedding.

For more information: www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net