Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

Cover Your Summer Garden with a Blanket of Color

G. 'Fanfare' with a Friend
G. 'Fanfare' with a Friend

I worked all week on a Power Point presentation for last night’s Central Oklahoma Hemerocallis Society meeting; so, if you don’t mind, I’m going to post the following article I wrote for the Oklahoma Horticulture Society’s newsletter last  month.

Cover the Summer Garden with a Blanket of Color

Previously published in Horticulture Horizons Aug./Sept./Oct. 2008

In planning your garden next spring, don’t slight the humble Blanket Flower, a/k/a Indian Blanket, Gaillardia species. Not only is G. pulchella Oklahoma’s State Wildflower, and therefore should be included for that reason alone, its relatives now come in varieties other than the standard orange and yellow. A genus of the sunflower family (Asteraceae,) Gaillardia was named after M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th century French magistrate who was a patron of botany.

Blanket Flowers can be planted as container specimens or by seed. Seeds take awhile to become established, so you may want to start them indoors for earlier bloom. Being impatient, I usually start with purchased container plants. Gaillardias are either annuals or short lived perennials that often perform as annuals by blooming hard all summer and then completely dying out in winter.

As seed heads mature, I scatter them across the ground. By doing this, I often get varieties not true to the original hybrids, but I enjoy the change. Who knows, maybe, I’ll find a new variety blooming in my garden someday. G. ‘Dee’s Impossible Dream’ anyone?

G. 'Red Plume'
G.'Red Plume'

Blanket Flowers like full sun and well-drained soil. Don’t plant them in the richest areas of your garden as they will become leggy and have fewer blooms. In mid-summer when many plants are nearly bloom free, the various Blanket Flowers provide nonstop color. If deadheaded regularly, they will bloom until frost. Flowers should be given an inch of water a week until well established. Later, when the foliage droops in the heat, it’s again time to water.

When I decided to turn part of my vegetable garden into an experimental flower meadow, I added several different containers of Gaillardia varieties to the area.

I knew I would be hard pressed to water this bed as frequently as other parts of the garden, so they were an obvious choice because of their drought tolerance and heat resistance.

Some of the best performers this summer were G. ‘Fanfare’, G. ‘Red Plume’ and G. ‘Yelllow Queen’. I also grew G. ‘Arizona Sun’ and the native G. pulchella which were great too.

Oklahoma's State Wildflower
Oklahoma's State Wildflower

If I haven’t convinced you that Gaillardias are a great addition to your garden, let me add one more incentive. They are butterfly magnets. Being an important nectar source, one plant will often be covered in butterflies and various species of bumblebees and honeybees. The humble Gaillardia is an important part of the ecosystem. Growing it can be one contribution you make to the planet and its smaller creatures.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. LaDonna

    Dee I just discovered your blog in a link from another blog. It’s great! I love Gallardias and need to plant these new varieties. I missed your COHS presentation Friday, it was my youngest daughter’s birthday. I’m sure it was delightful! I just started a blog, but really don’t know what I’m doing, you have quite the talent for writing!

  5. Anna

    Dee–I love your new header! It is so different and you kept the road which was my favorite part.

    Good post too. I had blanket flower at my last home and miss it here.

    Anna´s last blog post..John Deere and Pansies

  6. debra

    Oh so pretty . . . I love the terra cotta (“red dirt”) color scheme, and the montage of favorite Oklahoma flowers and prairie grass across the banner! Your “signature” Dee is especially nice. A very sweet, very personal gesture. Kudos to you, Dee! It’s gorgeous, debra

    debra´s last blog post..Home of the (Los Angeles) Times

  7. Curtis

    I am a bad OK gardener. I haven’t planted this in my yard at all. And I have the perfect spot for them.

    Curtis´s last blog post..Cone Flowers this Summer

  11. linda

    I wonder if they will grow in my area, zone 9? Love your blog and need about an hour to spend just reading it 🙂

    linda´s last blog post..Frustrations!

  13. Gail

    Hey Dee! I love this plant and tried to get it while visiting my fav native plant nursery. It was so popular they had sold out! I am so glad to know that it grows well from seeds. Thanks for the reminder and cultural hints! It’s a good looking plant and would play well with The Susans! …and with that name, Gaill-ardia, it’s a must have! Warmest wishes my friend! Gail

    Gail´s last blog post..A Walk Through The Garden on A Fall Day

  14. Marnie

    Great post. They are one of the hardest working plants in mygarden. I often have to replace them but they are worth the bother.

    I’ve never seen the red variety. I will look for that one.
    Marnie

  15. Liisa

    Dee,

    I just love the Blanket Flowers!! I purchased some G. ‘Fanfare’ and G. ‘Oranges and Lemons’ this year… I really am hoping that they come back next spring!! (keeping fingers crossed)

    Liisa

    Liisa´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day

    Liisa, ‘Oranges and Lemons’ didn’t come for me, but it did bloom its heart out last year. Fingers crossed for you.~~Dee

  16. Cindy

    I’ve got seedlings of the native all over the corner bed but I’m coveting that Red Plume! I think I’ll go Googling for seeds.

    Cindy´s last blog post..A Rainy Bloom Day

    Hi Cindy, I grew ‘Red Plume’ for the first time this year. It bloomed nonstop & is still blooming.~~Dee

  18. Kathy Purdy

    I didn’t know they are annuals or short-lived perennials. I wonder if mine will come back next year.

    Kathy, they might, depending on which variety you planted; or, the seeds may grown into new plants.~~Dee

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