Take a Photo, Quick!

When I went out of town two weeks ago the 'Black and Blue' saliva and 'Stella de Oro' daylily blooms in this planter had yet to open. These were planted last year and the saliva was on my list to move to another, more open spot in the garden. That didn't happen. It does look lovely against the color of the house and picks up the colors in the stained glass windows, but as many plants do, when planted against a wall, this one gets devoured by insects as the summer wears on. I'm not sure I ever figured out what was doing all the damage, but it looked terrible by July last year and had to be cut to the ground leaving a bare planter. I think when plants are in a protected spot like this the birds and predator insects that keep most plants free of damage don't like to come so close to the structure and overlook the meal on the host plant. At least that's my suspicion. Also being in a small planter like this with little soil and no air circulation may add stress to the large plant, making it even more susceptible to insect damage. But so far this season it is beautiful and I will appreciate it while it lasts! It is a lovely saliva with striking colored foliage as well as dramatic dark blue flowers.