At long last, the identity of the mystery purple shrub (obtained in the Plant Swap with my sister in June) has been revealed! My niece saw the plant at a nursery and wrote down the name -- caryopteris (bluebeard) 'Longwood Blue'. When I visited my sister yesterday, theirs was in full bloom:
So that's what I have to look forward to! I love the soft, freeform look and the violet-blue flowers. It fits beautifully into my cottage garden theme.
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Dave's Garden provides this information:
BLUE MIST SPIRAEA, BLUEBEARD
Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Longwood Blue’
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Caryopteris
Species: x candonensis
Cultivar: Longwood Blue
Perennial Resource describes the plant like this:
"An abundance of fragrant, soft violet-blue blossoms radiate from the silvery-green, spicy-scented foliage of this variety from late summer into fall. This late bloomer is especially valuable because it looks its best when many other perennials are done for the season. The beautiful blossoms can also be cut for bouquets that will last a week or longer. Forming a large, airy mass, C. 'Longwood Blue' makes an outstanding filler plant in the border. Groups planted in sunny, dry areas will catch everyone's attention, and the foliage will remain fresh-looking all summer long due to its drought tolerance. Selected at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA."
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Here's what it looked like when I planted it on June 14:
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And here's what it looks like today:
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I assumed mine would be too young to bloom this year, but upon close examination today I found this:
Sure looks like a bud to me!
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Here's the caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' in context. It's behind the liriope and pink gaura, to the right of the azalea and to the left of the tall blue veronica. (Looks like a faint green Y against the wall in the photo.) This has turned out to be quite the Longwood Gardens themed location -- the liriope was purchased several years ago after discovering it and admiring it at Longwood, as was the gaura 'Pink Fountain' this year; and now the mystery purple shrub turns out to be Longwood-inspired too!
I really like the variation in height, foliage and color (blue, pink, lavender) that this section of the right front border has developed this season. It will look even better when the caryopteris comes into bloom. What a great addition to my garden!
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