Flowers are blooming at the farm and I'm so glad to have color everywhere I look. One of my absolute favorite perennials is starting to show up, and it always makes me happy when the amsonia begins to bloom. It's one of my top favorites to grow and enjoy. This plant grows to be a small compact shrub in the landscape, standing about 2 ft tall with beautiful foliage, but what really sets it apart is its gorgeous flowers.
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Amsonia starts like baptisia with spikes that shoot from the ground and at the top have clusters of small star-shaped blooms that are a light, powdery, true blue color. The entire plant is covered in these showy blooms for weeks on end, and the vase life is phenomenal, making it the perfect addition to a cutting garden. We cut off our amsonia for weeks on end and love that it usually carries us through Mother's Day. Warm temps will bring on the blooms faster, so watch for spurts of 80-degree temps to really crank out the flowers on your plants. It doesn't carry much of a scent but can dazzle with its delicate appearance that resembles clusters of small tweedia blooms. Once the flowers are gone, the foliage works well in designs and arrangements, and the fall color and seed pods can be used as well, making this an all-purpose plant.
We planted an entire 200 ft row of Amsonia a few years back, half the row is shaded, making for a succession of blooms for the cooler that extends our harvest season and keeps our designers happy. I'm so grateful to see the cherry face of Amsonia back on the farm this year and can't wait to mingle it with the ranunculus and poppies and all the other spring jewels on the farm.
XOXO, Jess
