Zone 3 Flowers: Gaillardia

Description: Gaillardia aristata, commonly known as the Blanket Flower, is a perennial member of the sunflower family prized for its cheery, daisy-like flowers. The Blanket Flower's similarity to summer flowers such as the Black-eyed Susan can be deduced from its other common name of Brown-eyed Susan.

Hardy: Zone 3

Bloom Time: Mid summer

Height: 15''

Spacing: 15 - 18''

Sun Needs: Full sun 

Water Needs: Low

Outstanding Features: Beautiful multicolored flowers.

Uses:  Beds, borders, butterfly garden, cutflowers

Tips: The Blanket Flower is drought tolerant and can grow under very difficult conditions, even enduring full summer heat with only moderate watering and feeding. Blanket Flower won't overwinter in clay soils. Light, well-drained, sandy soils are best, and it has even been known to flower on seashores and sand dunes.

This is what mine looked like last fall. I planted them late and got them on sale, so they didn't look so happy.

Zone 3 Flowering Ground Cover: Bugleweed, Ajuga

Description: Great low-maintenance perennial grown for its colorful foliage and ground cover habit. Produces profuse blue flower spikes. Semi-evergreen to evergreen. Some selections feature variegated foliage and bloom colors in white, pink and rose.

Hardy: Zone 3

Bloom Time: Late spring - early summer

Height: 6''

Spacing: 12 - 16''

Sun Needs: Part to full shade

Water Needs: Medium


Outstanding Features: Wonderful dark and interesting foliage.

Uses: Ground cover, ground cover, in masses, boarders, edging.

Tips: Spreads but underground roots

If I had a Huge Building & Nowhere to Garden

...I would totally do this! I love these buildings! I don't think we have anything around here (Winnipeg is cool, but I think our winters wouldn't really allow this sort of awesome art) but if we had more heat through out the year I would totally do something sort of vertical garden like this!

Zone 3 Flowers: Chinese Astibe

Description: Astilbes are mainstays of shade and woodland gardens. They are clump-forming perennials which feature graceful, fern-like mounds of mostly basal, 2-3 ternately compound leaves, usually with sharply-toothed leaflets, and tiny flowers densely packed into erect to arching, plume-like flower panicles rising above the foliage on slender, upright stems. Chinese astilbes are slowly spreading, rhizomatous plants

Hardy: Zone 3

Bloom Time: May to August

Height: 10-12''

Spacing: 1 1/2 feet

Sun Needs: Part shade to full shade

Water Needs: Medium

Outstanding Features: Mass or group in shade gardens, woodland gardens and shaded areas of border fronts or cottage gardens. Drought tolerance and dwarf size facilitate use in shaded areas of rock gardens. Excellent spreading ground cover or edging plant for shady areas. Also effective on pond or stream banks.

Uses: Cut Flower, Ground cover, Rain Garden

Tips: Tolerates: Dense Shade, Black Walnuts, Deer, Rabbits. Removing faded flower stalks will not prolong bloom but may improve plant appearance, particularly if a ground cover look is desired. On the other hand, many gardeners leave the flower stalks in place after bloom because of the continuing ornamental interest of the dried seed heads. Divide clumps when overcrowding occurs (every 3-4 years).

This is what mine looks like so far this season. It's getting there!
(I bought it on sale because it was looking a little sad, but I've nursed it and it seems to be doing well!)

Zone 3 Flowers: Fleabane (Erigeron)

Description: Fleabane Daisies have similar flowers to the fall blooming Michaelmas Daisies, but produce a showy summer-long display. This selection has bright lavender-blue flowers for many weeks, over a bushy clump of green foliage. Excellent cut flowers for the summer border.

Hardy: Zone 3

Bloom Time: Early to late summer

Height: 18 -23''

Spacing: 18 -23''

Sun Needs: Full sun 

Water Needs: Medium

Outstanding Features:  Beautiful flower for a flower garden, blooms all summer

Uses: Accent: Attracts Butterflies, Border, Containers, Cut Flower, Edging, Massed

Tips: Removing faded flowers will greatly increase the blooming season. Easily divided in early spring.

My Attempt at Growing Chinese Lanterns

At my wedding I wanted to have live Chinese Lanterns for my centre pieces. I got married on September 1st and Chinese Lanterns don’t come in season until late September or early October and I wasn’t about to wait any longer to get married (3 years was long enough thank you very much!) so I opted for fake ones.

I found a really great placed called Urban Flora to supply them for me (In case you need to get some yourself!) and the centre pieces turned out really well.

The wedding went off great, all is well and I’m living happily ever after, but that’s not "The End", I still want to have some live Chinese Lanterns. I searched high and low here in Winnipeg but I couldn’t find a place that sold seeds. I ended up ordering some off ebay and they’re growing right along. Still very small, as you can see from the picture (below), but growing none the less.

When I’m in my house I’m going to put them where they want to be (outside) but I thought in the mean time I’d post to you about these wonderful lanterns and how to care for them.


Step 1
Sow Chinese lantern seeds indoors in well-drained soil, four to six weeks before the last frost. Cover seeds with 1/4 inch of soil. Keep the sowing container in full sun. Germination should take two to four weeks.

Step 2Transplant seedlings outdoors in full sun to partial shade. Soil should be on the sandy side and well-drained. If you have clay-like soil, add garden soil or composted manure and tiny stones to improve drainage. Plant seedlings 18 to 24 inches apart.

Step 3
Regularly water Chinese lanterns in the early morning, about every other day. Watering Chinese lanterns when the sun is too high and strong can cause the plant to burn. Chinese lanterns should grow to a height between two and three feet.

Step 4
Fertilize Chinese lantern plants monthly, if necessary.

Step 5
 Cut stems back to ground level in late fall.

Zone 3 Flowers: Threadleaf Coreopsis, Tickseed

Description:   Delicate, daisy-like flowers complement fine-textured green foliage on this herbaceous perennial. Blooms, about the size of a nickel, come in a variety of yellows; breeders have produced pink and red bloom colors too.

Hardy: Zone 3

Bloom Time: June - Frost

Height: 16 - 24''

Spacing:  20''

Sun Needs: Full sun to part shade

Water Needs: Low

Outstanding Features: Good for naturalizing and wetlands. Attracts birds & butterflies. Suitable for cut flowers. Very easy to grow!

Uses: Boarders, ground cover, in masses, in containers, great for a good pop of color, cut flower

Tips: Propagate by dividing root ball. Dead-head spent blooms. Cut back to basal foliage in the spring and fall.