GARDENING

The blue foliage is the result of a glaucous coating called a leaf wax or leaf bloom. The thicker the bloom, the bluer the leaf.

Hostas are generally bluer when the leaves first emerge and the bloom is newer, or as they mature and the leaves generate a thicker leaf bloom. Direct sunlight and heat can sometimes break down the bloom, as can rainfall and overhead irrigation.

Carpathian bellflowers (Campanula carpatica) are not long lived, generally three or four years, but make up for their short lifespan by their long bloom period and by gently reseeding.

They are about 12 inches high with up-facing blue or white flowers. They do well in sun or partial shade in average well-drained soil. They are extremely drought-tolerant once established. Place them in a rock garden or toward the front of the border.

The summer gentian (Gentiana septemfida) is one of the easiest gentians to grow, blooming from midsummer to fall. The trumpet-shaped blue flowers have five petals and are held on trailing stems on plants 6 to 12 inches in height. Place them in partial shade in well-drained organic soil.

‘Dropmore’ catmint (Nepeta ‘Dropmore’) was developed by Dr. Frank Skinner of Manitoba. It’s hardy, long-blooming, non-invasive and very drought-tolerant once established. It forms a low bushy mound of grey-green foliage 12 to 15 inches in height and is excellent for edging or a rock garden, as it thrives in full sun in a well-drained soil.

Sara Williams is the author and coauthor of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, the revised and expanded Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, the recently published Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She continues to give workshops on a range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail. com ). Check our website (www. saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events: July 28, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and July 31, 6:30p.m. to 8 p.m. - Labour and Learn at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo; July 29, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – NEST Secret Garden Tour, tickets at Dutch Growers.