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| Our Shasta Daisies passing the baton to the Black-Eyed Susans in a relay of blooms |
I love Shasta Daisies! But, I don't love the Shasta's all-too-short bloom-time. For weeks they tease their arrival, only to bloom for as little as 7-days. It's a lot of dragging-of-feet for very little kick-at-the-can.
And, just as I've had to enjoy my daisies on the fly, my Black-Eyed Susan clusters require patience of another kind. These showy favourites typically last longer than daisies; but, it’s usually mid-July before I get to see any blooms at all.
This year, I planted my Black-eyed Susan and Shasta Daisy perennials together – side by side – almost as one plant: A strategy long-known as companion planting. Lucky for me, Daisies and Susans mingle readily, their foliage is complimentary, and their bloom times are virtually consecutive.
The success of this experiment convinced me that the ability to work within the confines of what life has to offer - merging pro and con, yin and yang, Daisy and Susan - is essential in a garden setting; and, just as gardening has always been a series of trade offs and substitutions, a gardener’s occasional creative guidance must work in conjunction with the natural order of things.
Happily, I've learned that just as human runners pass a baton from one team-mate to another in a relay race; similarly, plants pass an invisible baton in a relay of blooms. This year, enjoyment of two of my flowering favourites has been greatly enhanced through creative planting that helped guide one such relay process in my garden to a resounding win.
