On one of my weekly pilgrimages to Faddegon’s (it’s my happy, peaceful place at all times of the year, and is the only space I can visit some beloved Australian tree ferns, as I cannot for the life of me keep them alive in my home) I came upon these little coneflowers, bursting forth with cheery blooms and mirroring a sun-filled sky. They are still going strong even at this late summer date, and if I had any more room in the garden, I’d be planting them, but that sort of space-planning will have to take place next year. We are getting ready to put the gardens to sleep for another winter, and save for a few spring bulbs, our planting cycle is pretty much complete.
Hybridizers have been working wonders with the Echinacea species, and these varieties are a pretty example of that. There are some that even come with a sweet fragrance – something I never thought I’d sniff when all we had was the fragrance-free ‘Magnus’ variety of my youth. The world has come a long way, and once in a while it’s for the better.
