A gift of three miniature roses was the beginning of my interest in growing all kinds of plants which are called “dwarf,” “pygmy,” or “miniature.”
Substantial proof of my new interest lies in the number of dwarfs which I’ve added to the area where I first set the little gift roses.
One miniature leads to another so often that I’ve enlarged my Lilliputian garden a dozen times or more!
Searching For Lilliputians
Now I dog-ear my seed and plant catalogs, looking for such words as “nand,” “lilli put,” “dwarf,” or “miniature.” I’ve discovered many perennial pygmies this way, all of them as easily grown from seeds as annuals.
Two very special favorites are the dwarf scabiosa—S. lucida and S. graminifolia. S. lucida stays about eight inches high and is a continuous succession of pink “pincushions” the entire summer.
S. graminifolia is a few inches taller but still of dwarf habit and a beautiful variety with large, violet “pincushion” flowers and narrow, silky foliage.
One of my happiest choices among pygmy plants was the dwarf Penstemon davidsonii. It has turned out to be a real treasure!
Compared to the 2, 2 1/2- and 3-foot hybrid penstemons, this dwarf is less than 12″ inches tall. In addition, its absurdly-large flowers are a luscious ruby red.
My next find was a little veronica — V. colensoi—which has lived up to everything the catalog said of it. Unlike other veronicas, this one never sprawls but holds ten-inch spikes of white flowers firmly over practically evergreen and tidy mounds of foliage.
The Fern-Leaf Verbena
Equally lovely and a striking deep violet-blue is a dwarf, hardy verbena—V. erinoides. Its rounded, compact plants have ferny foliage and cover themselves with flowers from early summer until frost.
This teams beautifully with artemisia `Silver Mound,’ a dwarf that spreads itself out in the sun as a mat of silver lace.
My continuing pursuit of pygmies resulted in two delightful additions to my columbine season. These are not long-spurred hybrids but old-fashioned short-spurred kinds. Nevertheless, they are completely unordinary.
The first, Aquilegia vulgaris erect edelweiss, make a bouquet of white flowers, all on top and all out at once, though buds continue to mature as long as dead flowers are picked off.
They rise from lovely foliage, all pale, silvery green, the sheen so noticeable that the leaves seem always to have just been enjoying a summer shower!
The other little columbine A. glandulosa Vera, also under 12” inches tall, has starry, radiant blue flowers borne three to a stem, with as many as 12 stems rising together above a mat of foliage that stays close to the ground.
A Dwarf Anchusa
The description following dwarf anchusa (A. caespitosa) was not in the least an exaggeration, for though the anchusas Propmore,’ `Bluebird,’ and ‘Pride of Dover’ have been with me for a long time, none can be quite so appealing, so deeply blue, or so tidy as this one.
And, this will be the year I will learn whether the little milfoil (Achillea Macedonica) which grew last season from seeds will live up to the catalog promises—”a well-behaved, extremely free-flowering achillea, like a dwarf ‘Gold Plate,’ with exceptionally fine-cut, silvery foliage.”
Though I could not find seeds for a miniature Scotch bluebell (Campanula rotundifolia), I am enjoying three plants of this adorable dwarf.
Mine were labeled “Little Scot.’ Their dainty mounds of exquisite bells only five inches high spill over all summer.
Pygmy Perennial
Pygmy perennial salvia has become another favorite of my own and of all who visit my garden. And, it bloomed the first year from June-sown seeds.
I am speaking of the little Salvia jurisicii, a highly decorative plant with a firm manner of growth resembling that of the popular annual salvia.
The 10-inch flower racemes are a glowing purple-violet and catch the eye immediately wherever they are placed.
Six Hills Hybrid
Other successful-from-seed tiny perennials have been thrift or sea-pinks (Armeria maritima) in the ‘Six Hills Hybrid variety.’ Its dense, pale-pink flower globes, chaffy in appearance, suggest everlastings.
And another favorite is the blue fescue (Festuca ovina glauca) with its delightful silvery blue tufts of grass.
I find it nearly invaluable for foliage contrast, especially at perfection with mounds of low-growing flowers in yellow, blue, and pink.
Particular Care In Planting Pygmy Seeds
I have taken particular care in planting the seeds of all my pygmies, and not one has proven difficult to grow.
All have endured extreme temperatures, but not without a precautionary straw mulch, held down with evergreen boughs after the ground had frozen.
- I prepare the seed growing medium as the seed source recommends, using a finely-sifted mix of two parts good garden loam, one part fine peat moss, and one part coarse sand.
- Since I do not grow large quantities at a time, I use five-inch flower pots, filled to one-half inch of the rim, after being firmed lightly. Then I moisten the soil well and sow the seeds as evenly as possible over the surface.
- A very light covering of soil is sifted over them, then firmed down and moistened lightly, and a piece of glass covered with brown paper goes over the top. The pots are examined daily, and I remove the glass when the first seedlings appear.
How To Care for Seedlings
When the seedlings can be handled comfortably, I put them into 2 1/2-inch peat pots, then set them into flats and fill the hollows with good soil.
Then I place the flats in a cold frame, where the seedlings grow and toughen up until early September when sometimes they are set in permanent places or sometimes put directly into the cold frame until spring if plans for their places have not been completed.
I’ve been completely successful with this method. I start the seeds early in June to give them the best possible growing time to attain strong, husky roots before winter..
44659 by Marguerite Kunkel