Sunday, August 15, 2010

A Golden Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

For this month's Garden Blogger Bloom Day post, I'm focusing on that common "weed" Goldenrod (Solidago sp.).

Late summer color that lasts for weeks, pollinators love it, and it grows without any care from this gardener, what more could you want from a back-of-the-border perennial? Can't forget to mention it also make a great cut flower and as a filler in mixed arrangments, it is unmatched.

I started off my clump of it by digging it up from a apartment house construction zone near me. It looked sad for a few days, then settled right in.

I like it so much, I entered a stem of it in the local Montgomery County, MD Fair competition. Do I think it will win or even place? Heck, no. But I do think having it shown lined up in a wall display of vases filled with many other gorgeous garden flowers will give other home gardeners "permission" to grow it and to not think of it as a lowly weed.

 My only problem with this plant is that it self-sows a little to vigrously and that means weeding it out between pavers in my walk and other places where a 3 ft tall plant just cannot remain. It is fairly shallow-rooted though so not a big problem to pull up.

5 comments:

  1. I love solidago and am glad you're featuring it for Bloom Day. It's beautiful even when the blooms fade and it sets its fluffy seed.

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  2. After reading your article I went to google images and put in golderod. The first page that comes up is enough to make anyone appreciate solidago blooms. Thanks for the post.

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  3. That plant is really beautiful and is a great addition to any garden. Thank.

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  4. I can never quite bring myself to pull the goldenrod, no matter how weedy it looks up until the point the flowers begin to show. How can we not love something that has survived this year's drought?

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  5. Just a few days ago I noticed goldenrod flowering and felt a little sad that autumn looms. At the same time, I mused about harvesting a large bouquet for the dinner table. Always felt goldenrod is terribly under-appreciated. Nice to see it featured on Bloom Day!

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