Fluffy Flowers

It's fun to have a variety of textures in the garden.  Here are some fluffy flowers.  The big white plant is Giant Fleece Flower. It is about 5 feet tall and about 6 feet across.  I have it in the area between the forest and the lawn where I need some substantial plants to cover the ground so that brambles and trees don't grow up. It blooms mid June and keeps its flowers for about 6 weeks.  It is in part shade but could also be in full sun.

The astilbes are much daintier and start blooming the beginning of July.  I have finally found a good spot for them where they get some full shade, dappled shade and a few hours of sun.  They are about 15' from the nearest tree so they are not competing with tree roots.  They like the soil to be damp but not soggy. A top dressing of compost in the spring is sufficient feeding.

Meadowsweet is also a big plant. It grows to about 4 ' high and will spread to form a very large patch if it has the space.  It enjoys damp ground and can handle a fair bit of shade, but a sunny location would be fine as well. The meadowsweet doesn't even need to be fertilized once it's established.

I started some ageratum from seed this spring.  They are just starting to bloom now as I only planted them in early May.  They like sun.  I have them in a large pot with some zinnias and they are doing well together. I sprinkled some slow release fertilizer on the soil and that's keeping the plants healthy.

All these fluffy flowers are excellent food for the many small pollinators that are so unobtrusive we barely notice them.  These same pollinators help to pollinate the vegetables.