April 08, 2021
Every year native spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis) seeds itself into rocky nooks and crannies and pops up in new places in the garden. I usually like where it shows up, like this spot at the top of a stone stair. Bees love the flowers too, so having lots of early-blooming spiderwort makes everyone happy.
The shade-loving flowers open in the morning and close up in the afternoon for their siesta. By late spring, they’ll go to seed, and other plants will take over visually.
This self-sown spiderwort is getting a raspberry from my little Audrey garden stake, which rises from a pot of ‘Dragon’s Blood’ sedum and sedge (Carex leavenworthii). The burgundy-hued sedum came through the Big Freeze outdoors in this unprotected pot. It also holds up all summer (in dappled shade) with no fading away. A winner!
Same color scheme, but all my ‘Burgundy Ice’ dyckias died during the epic freeze. So I replaced this trio and am impatiently waiting for the bamboo muhly grasses all around to return from their roots and provide a fluffy, chartreuse screen for my neighbor’s driveway. By early summer, I hope!
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