21 Hot Dates for Blackeyed Susan

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Janet

Here we are in July, my Paintbox Garden month for yellow/gold. and what more summery illustration of that sunny part of the paintbox than blackeyed susan!

When Carl Linnaeus named the genus of North American plants that include the ones we call blackeyed susan as Rudbeckia, he was honouring someone very cherished in his life, his Uppsala University mentor and fellow botanist Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740). In 1730 Linnaeus moved into Rudbeck’s house where he became tutor for his three youngest children (of 24 in total by three wives!). It was Rudbeck who recommended Linnaeus as lecturer to replace him and as the botanical garden demonstrator, even though he was only in his second year of studies.

In Wilfrid Blunt’s 1971 biography, Linnaeus, The Compleat Naturalist, the author quotes Linnaeus: “So long as the earth shall survive and as each spring shall see it covered with flowers, theRudbeckia will preserve your glorious name. I have chosen a noble plant in order to recall your merits and the services you have rendered, a tall one to give an idea of your stature, and I wanted it to be one which branched and which flowered and fruited freely, to show that you cultivated not only the sciences but also the humanities. Its rayed flowers will bear witness that you shone among savants like the sun among the stars; its perennial roots will remind us that each year sees you live again through new works. Pride of our gardens, the Rudbeckia will be cultivated throughout Europe and in distant lands where your revered name must long have been known. Accept this plant, not for what it is but for what it will become when it bears your name”.

The painting of Rudbeck, below, hangs at Uppsala University.

I am a great fan of biennial blackeyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta). They have been an integral part of my little meadows here on Lake Muskoka since we built our home in 2002. In fact, they were the plants I sowed initially, along with red fescue grass (Festuca rubra), to retain the sandy soil we placed on the property once construction was finished. And it’s a bit of an understatement to say that they grew well, given they had no competion yet from other tough customers. They grew extraordinarily well here.

When I think back to the summer of 2003, it’s of having these amazing ‘lawns’ of blackeyed susans, which later evolved (with a lot of research and work on my part) into more complex meadow-prairies.

I spent summer 2003 photographing them, and had a little photo show the next summer – long before I switched to digital.

I even wrote about them for Cottage Life magazine, given that they seemed like the ‘way back’ for our property from construction site to buzzing, fluttering habitat (and, ultimately, a much more bio-diverse place than our little shore had ever been).

They became part of the pollinator landscape here, attracting all types of bees and butterflies.

Over the years, I’ve chronicled the lovely plant pairings that pop up – because I never know where this little biennial will be next. Unlike its more refined, floriferous, multi-stemmed, perennial cousin Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, which I’ll talk about later in this blog, common blackeyed susan is a single-stemmed will-o-the-wisp, its seeds spread by birds, its short 2-year lifespan all there is (leafy rosette the first season, flowers the next). Occasionally, depending on the length of the flowering season, it might emerge and flower in the same year, or it might even hang around to flower a second year, but that is rare. However, individual plants can begin flowering from June well into September, so its plant partners can be highly varied – as varied as the ones in this cottage bouquet I made years ago.

Hot Dates for Susan

1) In my own garden at the cottage, wild beebalm (Monarda fistulosa) is a hardy perennial that I adore for its attractiveness to bees and hummingbirds. In fact, I have two small meadows that I call my “monarda meadows”. And this is how it looked growing alongside Rudbeckia hirta at Niagara Botanical Garden’s Legacy Prairie

Here’s a closer look at this duo in another garden. Note the dark streaks on this blackeyed susan; it’s one of many selected strains that come under the heading “gloriosa daisy”. Genetically, they’re no different from common Rudbeckia hirta wildlings, but have traits that make them worth growing as separate seed mixes, in this case ‘Denver Daisy’.

2) Here is blackeyed susan at the Legacy Prairie with swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). Note that it will tolerate very dry, sandy conditions and remain quite compact, but if grown in the kind of moisture-retentive soil that swamp milkweed prefers, it will grow much taller.

3) In contrast, this is how it looks growing in sandy soil with the more drought-tolerant butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) here at Lake Muskoka.

4) Similarly, in dry soil blackeyed susan will be happy with hoary vervain (Verbena stricta), one of the toughest customers in my meadows….

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5) ….. while more moisture-retentive soil creates conditions for blue vervain (Verbena hastata) – and taller blackeyed susans.

6) There is simply no better bee plant than mountain mint (Pynanthemum sp) (unless it’s calamint). Here is Virginia mountain mint (P. virginianum) at Niagara’s Legacy Prairie growing with blackeyed susans.

7) I grow the smaller veronica Veronica spicata ‘Darwin’s Blue’ in my meadows. Surprisingly drought-tolerant, it is lovely with blackeyed susans.

8) Another blueish-purple plant that makes a good sidekick to blackeyed susan is English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), shown below along with Anthemis tinctoria. A surprisingly hardy subshrub, its main requirement is dry feet in winter; it will languish and die if the soil stays moist.

9) There aren’t many glamorous plants in my meadows, but a brief flirtation with perfumed Orienpet lilies (half Oriental-half Trumpet) several years ago added a touch of the exotic. And I simply love the juxtaposition of a sophisticated lily like ‘Conca d’Or’ with the humble blackeyed susans.

10) Annual mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria’) is beautiful with fancy gloriosa daisies (Rudbeckia hirta cv.)

11) I adored this colour-echo combination of golden Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ‘Golden Sunrise’) with dwarf ‘Toto’ gloriosa daisies (R. hirta cv) at Montreal Botanical Garden.

12) An ebullient assortment of gloriosa daisy cultivars mixed with blue cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) was used in this mini-meadow at Montreal Botanical Garden a few years ago.

Here’s a closer look at that pairing; the gloriosa daisy cultivar is Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’.

The other blackeyed susan I grow is Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’. After being named Perennial of the Year in 1999, this bushy plant soared in popularity throughout the world. In the “new American landscape” made popular by Wolfgang Oehme and James Van Sweden, it was deployed alongside ornamental grasses in massive sweeps of gold. It continues to be one of the most popular summer perennials, and spreads very easily (too easily, perhaps, for some).

13) In my city garden, I grow a host of pollinator plants in my front garden, and Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ is the perfect, long-flowering companion to purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Since I enjoy it so much, I suppose it’s not a surprise that the neighbourhood rabbit seems to like the blossoms, too – as I discovered last summer, finding a large clump deflowered.

14) My friend Marnie Wright (whose garden I have blogged about previously) uses ‘Goldsturm’ throughout her Bracebridge garden. I especially like it with summer phlox (Phlox paniculata), and…

15) ….with agapanthus (Agapanthus africanus), and….

16) ….with Marnie’s gorgeous daylilies (Hemerocallis ‘Jade Star’).

At the Toronto Botanical Garden, Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ is used in a few gardens.

17) Here it is with balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), and ….

18) …with ‘Diabolo’ ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) that has been coppiced to keep it compact, and….

19) .. with the prairie grass little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and…..

20) …with great blue lobelia (Lobelia sophilitica).

At Toronto’s Spadina House gardens, Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ provides huge colour from mid-to-late summer…..

21) …. when it celebrates the beginning of autumn with a brilliant splash of gold from (appropriately) goldenrod (Solidago sp.)

My work as a matchmaker is done. I hope you found a dance partner or two for your own blackeyed susans!

The Wright Stuff: A Plantswoman’s Muskoka Garden

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Janet

Spending most of the summer on Lake Muskoka a few hours north of Toronto as I do, I am far away from the public gardens where I tend to get my regular photo fixes. Fortunately, I have a lovely friend in the nearby city of Bracebridge who generously invites me to pop by her spectacular garden whenever I feel the urge for a hit of colour and beautifully designed borders. Her name is Marnie Wright and over the years, we’ve found we have much in common – including our age!

I first met Marnie on a GWA (Garden Writers’ Association) tour in Portland, Oregon, and later on a local garden tour where I mentioned I was working on a long-term colour project. “My garden has quite a lot of nice colour happening now,” she said. “You’re welcome to come by anytime.” That was my first visit, one warm July day when the blackflies and mosquitoes were still rather hungry. I was completely wowed by Marnie’s wonderful little house and by her abundant gardens filled with interesting structures and whimsical folk art, like these big-eyed dragonflies.

Marnie’s lived in her house for 34 years on a 91-acre property hewn originally out of an alder bog. Thus the two acres on which she actively gardens has a high water table and can be very wet in spring, once the deep Muskoka snow melts. But summer-damp conditions are perfect for a host of perennials, especially the daylilies (Hemerocallis) Marnie loves to collect – she even grows some from seed.

So if you visit in July, you’ll see rainbow displays of daylilies in the borders.

Some — like beautiful ‘Jade Star’ — grow with blackeyed susans (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’) around the three linked ponds in the centre of the gardens….

…and some of the seed-grown ones mix casually with gloriosa daisies and echinacea around a rugged shard of lichen-encrusted Muskoka granite near the barn at the end of the driveway.

Despite the generally moist soil, xeric-loving verbascums tend to self-seed and thrive in a long border with beebalm (Monarda didyma). The key to their success might be the long ditch Marnie created behind the bed to drain away the water and create a more mesic soil.

Yes, Marnie’s place looks gorgeous in July, with its roses and summer blossoms……

…but was just as beautiful this week, on a fine August morning when old-fashioned summer phlox (Phlox paniculata) was doing its ebullient pink thing and pairing oh-so-nicely with the goldenrod that also grows…..

… by the millions, along with flat-topped aster (Doellingera umbellata), smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum leave) and obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) in the fields surrounding the house.

Summer phlox also makes a nice companion to these pale globe thistles (Echinops sphaerocephalus)…

…and enhances the vintage garden chairs that Marnie paints a rich purple. These ones are perfect for relaxing in while enjoying a campfire…..

….but the chairs have looked lovely through the years no matter where they’re situated.

Purple pops up a lot in Marnie’s designs – especially in her annual favourite, ageratum, seen here with dark purple heliotrope.

And in the Verbena bonariensis that looks so lovely in an unusual pairing with yellow blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly Belamcanda chinensis).

Speaking of roses, there was even the odd August-flowering rugosa rose attracting bumble bees to its abundant pollen.

Marnie is a great collector of interesting vintage objects that find their way into the garden. Some find a functional use, such as this coffee table – formerly an old wash-tub table from the Beatty washing machine factory in Fergus, Ontario …..

….while others are more picturesque than pragmatic, like this old watering can paired with a Rex begonia on the potting table.

A recent acquisition was this bell wheel from a local church, now taking pride of place in a flowery border.

The odd reptile can be found climbing the back wall of the garden shed….

…which, in itself, is a delightful bit of rustic, old Canadiana.
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Glass objects find their way into the garden, too. On the left are decorative glass totems that Marnie made using thrift store vases and plumbing pipe. On the right is a glass ceiling fixture from one of the grand old Lake Muskoka lodges. Somehow, I can see this with flickering candlelight (solar, maybe?)

I love all the beautiful vistas that Marnie has created. These perfumed lilies frame a view to her little “dock”, with a miniature Muskoka chair overlooking a tiny, lake-like pond.

Look past the Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium) towards one of Marnie’s rustic arbours in the centre of the garden. Squint a little, and you can see the little succulents….

….she’s growing in the old picture frame leaning against the bench.

There probably isn’t a perennial combination that Marnie hasn’t experimented with in her borders at some time or other. I loved this July vignette, of queen-of-the-prairie (Filipendula rubra), sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica ‘The Pearl’), gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides), Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) and spiky Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum).

And this August combination features the bold pea foliage and yellow flowers of American senna (S. hebecarpa), paired with echinacea, summer phlox and scented lilies.

She works her design magic in pots and planters scattered throughout the garden, often with plants she’s grown from seed in one of her small greenhouses. This pot features a variegated phormium with red and yellow kangaroo paws (Anigozanthos), calibrachoa, golden globes (Lysimachia procumbens) and other annuals.

Outside the barn where she keeps her mowing tractor (45 minutes weekly manages the lawns), there’s always a fun combination.of annuals in whiskey barrels. This year’s colour scheme uses red, purple and white flowers.

Her window boxes are luscious! I particularly loved this one from a few summers back, with orange Thunbergia alata, yellow Bidens ferulifolia, blue Salvia patens, chartreuse Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’, purple Ageratum houstonianum and peach Calibrachoa.

In the shade next to her front door is another window box with tuberous begonias, salmon fuchsia and purple violas, among other annuals.

Behind the house are her two small greenhouses, which help her get a spring head start on annual seeding. In summer, one is filled with small figs and the other with a jungle of ‘Sungold’ cherry tomatoes, Marnie’s favourites — safely protected from hungry deer and growing tall in the warmth and humidity.

She passes me a handful and I swear they’re the sweetest little tomatoes I’ve ever eaten.

At the end of a long path beyond the greenhouses flanking the forest is Marnie’s swimming pond, which also features an assortment of water lilies and other aquatic plants and a windmill to aerate the water.

The cool water offers welcome relief on hot summer days – not just for Marnie, but for her old dog April.

Another spot where visitors can escape Muskoka’s summer heat is the shade garden near the road. Here a path wends through giant hostas and other traditional shade plants that revel in the rich soil (all entirely organic).

Here Marnie tries out seldom-seen perennials like devil’s bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), which is happy in shade like this or in full sun, provided the soil remains moist.

It grows tall enough to look lovely beside deep-pink Astilbe tacquetii ‘Superba’.

There are lots of rusty foxgloves (Digitalis ferruginea ‘Gelber Herold’), left, that self-seed throughout the shade garden. And I love the jewel-like, blue fruit of the North American native umbrella leaf (Diphylleia cymosa), one of many big-leaved perennials that thrive here in the dappled light.

Whenever I visit Marnie’s garden, I come away with the impression that she has managed to do something that other skilled plant collectors and designers often forget to do. I think you might agree…..

Janet Davis Explores Colour

In the garden & the world

Tag Archives: Marnie Wright

21 Hot Dates for Blackeyed Susan

The Wright Stuff: A Plantswoman’s Muskoka Garden

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