Summer Flowers - Purple Cone Flowers and Black-eyed Susans

Here is a photo of a mixed planting in the cabin garden. Like just about all the plants there, these are legacies of the former owners – this year, we are mainly cataloging what’s there among the hostas and other plants, in order to get an idea of what grows well there and how we might improve things more to our liking.

Both of these plants – the purple cone flower and black-eyed Susan – thrive in the mid-Atlantic area, but I’ve seen them do better in sunlight that is more direct than what they are receiving in the garden. They are shaded by the tree canopy for the most part, except for two or three hours in the afternoon when they are getting direct sun. Then, they fall into the shadow of the apple tree, for the remainder of daylight.

Not much to report from a quick Wikipedia check on these…the cone flower is supposed to have medicinal qualities, preventing the common cold, but these are unverified. And of course, the black-eyed Susan is Maryland’s state flower. Another note from a recent hike, these were among the “wild plantings” that Mrs. Hoover wanted to have established around the Rapidan Camp up on the Shenandoah Ridge (I posted about a hike to this camp in July, check the index to the right for the postings).

One item of particular note in the Wikipedia stuff, though: Black-Eyed Susan is also the name of a cocktail which is the official drink of the Preakness horse race. The recipe: 2 parts Bourbon whiskey, 1 part citrus vodka, 3 parts sweet & sour mix, one part orange juice and garnished with orange and a cocktail cherry.

Now that’s worth a try next year.