The Echinacea (Coneflower) at the market is putting on quite a show right now! These tough, enthusiastic plants are easy to grow in most gardens. Stop by and enjoy all the summer color in our perennial area and display gardens!

Perennial Manager Jaime Brennan tells us about Echinacea, the perennial of the month here at Kirby's:

"Echinacea has been around for a long time (North American Plains Indians used it for a variety of medicinal purposes. They learned about it by watching injured or sick elk that sought out the plant!) and is a plant that is shared between many gardeners.

"It is always fun to see where it wants to be in your garden. You may have planted it in one garden the year before and have found it chose a new location the following year, maybe with the help of a winged friend. You can find a large array of Echinaceas from purpurea to newer varieties like 'Hot Papaya'. They are all striking and provide a food source for butterflies when they are in bloom and for birds when they have gone to seed."

In 1998, the Perennial Plant Association chose Echinacea purpurea "Magnus" as the perennial of the year.
Some varieties are fragrant
Echinaceas are considered deer resistant.
Echinacea makes a great cut flower for bouquets, lasting up to two weeks in a vase.
The spiky brown seedheads are also great for dried arrangements.
Echinacea is well known for it's medicinal benefits. For a scientific look, go here.

We carry 16 different kinds of Echinacea at Kirby's: Echinacea purpurea; 'After Midnight'; 'Double Decker'; 'Fatal Attraction'; 'Fragrant Angel'; 'Green Envy'; 'Green Jewel'; 'Hot Papaya'; 'Magnus'; 'Pink Double Delight'; 'Ruby Giant'; 'Ruby Star';'Virgin', 'Big Sky', 'Sombrero Hot Pink', and 'Sunrise'. There is a color and a style for everyone!

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Hostas Perennial Manager Jaime Brennan tells us about a plant with leaves of endless variety, Hostas, the July perennial of the month here at Kirby's:

"What is a shade garden without a Hosta or two? They come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. My biggest challenge every year is selecting just a few new varieties.

One of our new varieties this year includes possibly the largest known Hosta, 'Empress Wu', growing up to three to four feet high and wide with leaves measuring more than 1 ½ feet wide and long.

It has a strong upright habit with pale reddish violet flowers starting in early summer.I only wish we had more shade to plant one. At the other end of the scale we have 'Love Pat' a 14” Hosta with intense blue, deeply cupped and puckered leaves. White trumpet shaped flowers bloom from mid to late summer.

When I first started gardening I used to challenge myself to design shade gardens without any Hostas. They were too common for me at the time, but now I have come to appreciate the gracefulness of their leaves, the texture and variety of color that help to brighten any shade garden. It is also a joy to watch the hummingbirds dance from blossom to blossom.

We carry 24 varieties of Hostas: Hosta plantaginea; 'Blue Angel'; 'Blue Mammoth'; 'Dancing in the Rain'; 'Elegans'; 'Empress Wu'; 'Francee'; 'Frances Williams'; 'Ginkgo Craig'; 'Gold Standard'; 'Hadspen Blue'; 'Honeybells'; 'Love Pat'; 'Niagara Falls'; 'Northern Exposure'; 'Pauls Glory'; 'Peanut'; 'Remember Me'; 'Robert Frost'; 'Sagae'; 'Sum and Substance'; 'Thunderbolt'; 'Tokudama Flavocircinalis'; and 'Wolverine'.