Painted Daisies

Day 121
The Daily DuBrule

I have been growing painted daisies since the early 1980's. I remember when discovered them. I was tending the garden of my very first clients. They had many of the basic perennials and I was a greenhorn, pretty new to the business, and a sponge for new plants. I was so impressed with the brilliant red color of the flowers and the long wiry stems that make them ideal cut flowers. 

Fast forward to 2008. I finally had a big sunny garden of my own. I had been selling perennials for over 30 years. Painted daisies had gone out of fashion and were not an easy sell in my garden center. I hardly used them in my designs. They had simply fallen out of favor for flashier, new introductions. What the heck, I thought, why not try them in my garden? Well, the result has been wonderful. I started with three small plants, I now have four as a self-sown baby has thrived. Thus, I have a large "drift" of these brilliant, showy flowers. I do cut them and use them in arrangements. That's what they are meant for!

Despite the fact that I don't normally group two kinds of daisies together that bloom at the same time, I am quite enamored of this serendipitous arrangement that has evolved in one of my borders. In the background is a huge, flowing mass of the greater leopardsbane (Doronicum pardalianches). My painted daisies are in front. The glowing golden centers of the painted daises echo the yellow ones behind. It kind of works, don't you think?