Skip to main content

Backyard Nature Wednesday: Copper Canyon daisy

Copper Canyon daisy, or Compositae Tagetes lemonii to give it its proper name, is a sprawling perennial daisy native to the southwestern United States. It blooms in the fall, providing a counterpoint color when everything starts to turn brown. It is a tender perennial so it only blooms as long as the frost holds off. So far its blooming has not been hindered this fall.

The plant can get quite big. Mine is several years old and it gets up to six feet in width and between three and four feet in height. It dies back in winter, sometime all the way to the roots depending on how severe the season is, but, regardless, it gets cut back drastically in the spring. Otherwise, it would probably get even bigger. Its blooms are very attractive to butterflies and bees, but deer, not so much. So this is definitely a good and reliable plant to grow where deer are a problem in the garden.

The only criticism that some people have of the plant is its fragrance. It has a sharp, pungent fragrance, similar to the familiar marigold, that some find objectionable, although I quite like it myself. But I wouldn't put it in a bouquet for the indoors. The fragrance would simply be overpowering in an enclosed space.

This plant also has several other common names, including Lemmon's marigold, bush marigold and mountain marigold. It is an easy plant to grow in this area for it can tolerate high, sustained summer heat and humidity. It is also very drought tolerant and basically never needs watering once established. It likes a well-drained soil and full sun, although it will also tolerate light shade.

Copper Canyon daisy is one of the old reliables in my garden. A definite winner here.

Labels:

Comments

  1. CarmenDecember 10, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    Hmm...It looks like one my landlord has in front of the house. It blooms between summer and the fall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersDecember 10, 2015 at 10:20 AM

      I'm not sure this plant would survive as far north as you live. It's only recommended as far north as zone 8a (lowest temperature 10 degrees F.) although it might survive if it is in a protected area. But no doubt there are plants with very similar blooms that would be happy there.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more