Arron Stanton Training

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Houttuynia Cordata Invades the June Perennial Garden

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Houttuynia cordata invades the border. It has taken over the largest border in the garden, even slipping under the concrete path to cross over to another border. I bought it for its many-hued leaves but most of the plants that come up every year have deep green leaves, which is fine with me. In early June, the plants are 2 feet tall and cover every available space in the border. They bring out tiny, stark white flowers that ordinarily may not be conspicuous at all but when there's a wide area of them the effect is stunning! After they bloom I hew them down to allow the other plants a chance to make it through the rest of summer.
 
Gardening is an ongoing revelation. I like the borders wild, packed with plants. It's survival of the fittest. I have one rose bush left. The others succumbed, choked out by the more invasive plants like houttuynia. Then again my modus operandi is laissez faire. I don't deadhead in autumn so plants seed themselves freely. I never quite know how the garden is going to look each year as the plants relocate themselves. I guess I am far from being a garden designer. I set some conditions for the plants and let them make their own space.

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