Labor Day was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century after years of very poor working conditions, child labor and more. It became a federal holiday in 1894. Since then, it’s meant a day OFF work for many and a long holiday weekend before the kids go back to school!
This holiday makes The Garden Scoop think of all those hardworking plants in our gardens. Let me name a few, or more…
GRASSES! Provide three season interest, feed and “house” pollinators and gracefully bend to our breezes, they also flower and some even offer fabulous fall color too. Whew, that’s a lot. There are tall ones, short ones, ones for marshes and ones for prairie and many natives too.
2-year-old Miscanthus ‘Flame’ grass in Fall – Switchgrass and Reed grasses are in the background
Calamagrostis ‘Avalanche’ and ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum on either side
SEDUMS! They just don’t give up. This family of tenacious plants offer groundcover, specimen plantings and rock garden glory. You’ll find varied leaf color and flowers, heights and texture too. They are also deer AND drought resistant. While most sedum prefer full sun, you will find some varieties are able to handle part shade too! Check the tag. Here’s a video of some of the varieties we offer.
Two types of sedum surround this Aralia ‘Sun King’ and those daylilies in the background are also hardworking plants. In fact, most daylilies are hard workers!
ASTERS! These are fall outperformers! Asters bloom from August into October and are butterfly and bee magnets. Gertens carries several cultivars of varying height and shades of blue and purple. Give them full sun and let them bee! Get it, let them “bee”? (I couldn’t help myself)
Woods blue aster just starting to burst with bloom photo taken in September
Woods Blue aster with a bumblebee (there are at least 4 in this photo), a painted lady and a monarch enjoying nectar in October
CONEFLOWERS! There’s the native Echinacea purpurea along with many cultivars. Coneflowers are very popular with breeders who have created some amazing color and flower variations. While their preference is full sun you’ll find some growing very nicely in part sun. Check the tag. They are also tolerant of drought and disease. Here’s a quick video of some of our Gerten grown coneflowers.
Three varieties of coneflower
Coneflower ‘Lemon Drop’
MN NATIVES! Native plants are known for their hard work. They come from here, they’re adapted to every weird climate we have in Minnesota including drought, extreme temperatures and flood! There are natives for prairies, marshes, backyards and any type of soil and sun/shade conditions you’re looking to plant. By their very nature, they are hardworking.
Wild bergamot aka monarda
Leadplant – a great accent plant at 4 ft. x 4 ft.
Lanceleaf coreopsis (yellow flowers), leadplant and volunteer milkweed
Here’s to the hard worker in all of us,
