Cheerful, versatile perennials brighten the garden for weeks on end
postulate any 4 - class - erstwhile to draw a peak , and chances are you ’ll get a daisy . The daisy has an innocence and chasteness that makes it an immediate favorite of youthful and sure-enough . Its round yellow center smile at us like the Lord’s Day , chip in the flower its name — daisy , or “ day ’s eye . ”
In the garden , perennial daisy can carry a bed all by themselves or make a expectant filler . Their first flush of bloom span the gap between tulips and irises , and they keep belong strong all season . A unmarried industrial plant of vivid paint daisies or a clump of wintry white Shastas can make the color of neighboring plants come animated . And whenever a way needs brightening with a vase of flowers , daisy are a natural choice . They make great cut flowers , endure for a week or more .
I ’ve always like daisies for their versatility and their long - survive efflorescence , but I also take account the toughness hide behind those bare flower . Daisies need no coddling . They boom in almost any soil and are rarely troubled by insects or disease .
Growing daisies
Most daisy are ridiculously easygoing to grow . Scratch up a fleck of ground , sparge out a packet of seeds , and presto ! well-nigh all of them boom in ordinary garden grunge , and many do best with a dieting on the skimpy side . In container they may involve a schedule of loose feeding . Give daisy a safe dose of sun , keeping their root well - drain ( particularly in winter ) , and they wo n’t kick .
The daisies key out here are perennial , but that does n’t mean they live forever . Most are at their good for only a few yr . partitioning will reinvigorate a planting , but I usually do n’t inconvenience because my daisy replant themselves by ego - sowing . Golden marguerites and Shasta daisies , in particular , sow themselves with abandon , but unwanted seedling are never a job . you’re able to smother them with mulch or come up them off with a hoe easily .
My garden are often redesigned on the acantha of the moment with shovel in hand , so I apprise the manner most daisy can be transplant with rest , even during blossom time . Out - of - office young plants are easily dug up and readjust elsewhere . I have also move 20 - lb , back - break bunch of Shastas without losing a single flower , just to get them a little nearer a exceptional rosiness . The secret to this trick is water , and plenty of it . If you ’re doing this procedure in hot summer sun , rig up some impermanent shade for the plant for a few day while the roots get restore .
Daisies that delight
Marguerite ( Argyranthemum frutescens)Photo / Illustration : Michelle Gervais
Painted daisy ( Tanacetum coccineum)Photo / Illustration : Diane A. Pratt
Marguerite(Argyranthemum frutescens , formerlyChrysanthemum frutescens )
Painted daisy(Tanacetum coccineum , formerlyChrysanthemum coccineum )
Shasta daisy(Leucanthemum × superbum , formerlyChrysanthemum×superbum )
Blue marguerite(Felicia amelloides )
Golden marguerite(Anthemis tinctoria )
‘ Clara Curtis ’ daisy(Dendranthema zawadskii‘Clara Curtis ’ , formerlyChrysanthemum rubellum‘Clara Curtis ’ )
Daisies deliver in any setting
Daisies ca n’t be neatly assigned to a single genus , but they do all belong to the same family . The archetypal word form — a lily-livered center ringed by a single rowing of petals — is shared by any number of metal money of the vast Compositae . Although they are in the same family , daisy can be as different as 2d cousins at a family reunification . whitened Argyranthemum frutescens ( Argyranthemum ) can be shear for a groovy , controlled appearance that ’s perfect in a formal garden bed or in a container . At the other extremum is dismal marguerite ( Felicia amelloides ) , a sprawling suffrutex with a casual melody suitable for a naturalized garden of low - maintenance plants .
daisy with stanchly good forms can lend physical support to nearby plants . Some Shastas ( Leucanthemum×superbum ) , for instance , have stout stems that resist the nothingness , so I embed them near ill-famed leaner like larkspur ( Consolida ambigua ) , rather than repair to stakes .
I ’ve also find out to appreciate the weak - kneed types , such as golden marguerite ( Anthemis tinctoria ) , which flops at the slight stirring of the summer wind . Instead of weave a cat’s - cradle of garden string to keep my Leucanthemum vulgare top dog - up , I let them relax at the front of a bed or crowning a wall . Their fine-textured foliage and graceful efflorescence stem are the perfect yin to the strong yang of masonry or Lucy Stone .
Daisies blend easily with perennials , annual , shrubs and foliage plants . Each one has its own strengths and personality — something to keep in mind when you ’re planning your partners .
Finer - textured and paler - colour plants gain importance when they ’re paired with daisy . A dash of lustrous - pink painted daisy ( Tanacetum coccineum ) sprinkled among wiry - stemmed coralbells ( Heuchera ) or lamb ’s ears ( Stachys byzantina ) draws the eye to the more subtle plant .
Golden marguerite begs for unassailable pink or lavender and juicy partners . This extraordinarily long - blooming daisy is still start strong for me in the heat of high-pitched summertime ; it sour well with the purplish spire of salvia ( Salvia×superba‘East Friesland ’ ) , and with the purple orb of lily - of - the - Nile . balmy pinkish daisies like ‘ Clara Curtis ’ ( Dendranthema zawadskii ) make a patrician composition with whites or gray . Ideal neighbors include artemisias and the floating globes of pinkish and white cleome .
There’s a daisy for every gardener
Daisies decidedly miss snob appeal , but their unpretentious shape and undemanding nature give them a secure place on my Top-10 inclination . daisy provide a range of colour and growth habit to fit almost any situation . My various garden — in the restrained Northeast , the mild Pacific Coast and now the utmost Midwest — have all depended on daisies . In new gardens , I ’ve used these reliable plant to fill space in a hurry , create an “ established garden ” smell while slower perennial take their time meet in . I include quite a little of daisy in established gardens , too , for their refreshing simplicity and stalwart physical composition . It ’s courteous to have plants you may depend on .
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Golden marguerites flower right through the first frost, thriving in Zones 3 through 8 though they sprawl in high temperatures. Photo/Illustration: David McDonald
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A well-kept secret, blue marguerites have long been used as low-maintenance perennials in casual garden settings by gardeners in warm-winter climates. Photo/Illustration: Susan Roth
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Painted daisy (Tanacetum coccineum)Photo/Illustration: Diane A. Pratt
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Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum×superbum)Photo/Illustration: John Glover
Blue marguerite (Felicia amelloides)Photo/Illustration: David Cavagnaro
Golden marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria)Photo/Illustration: Peter Lindtner
‘Clara Curtis’ daisy (Dendranthema zawadskii)Photo/Illustration: Susan Roth
Photo/Illustration: David Cavagnaro
Opposites attract. Bold painted daisies draw the eye to more subtle neighbors like thin-stemmed coralbells.Photo/Illustration: Pam Spaulding
Relax. It’s alright to let weak-kneed daisies like golden marguerite lounge about in a bed edged with stone.Photo/Illustration: Susan Roth
Easy to start from seed, painted daisies should be replaced every two years or so in hot-summer regions to keep them fresh-looking.Photo/Illustration: David Cavagnaro
Pinch without mercy to keep golden marguerites compact.Photo/Illustration: Clive Nichols
