artemisia
After a morning rain, yesterday afternoon was great for working outside. I had a small household plumbing repair that had to be done inside first but when I finished there was a clear sky, the sun had dried things out and the temperatures were cool enough to work without getting all hot and sweaty. It felt a bit like a fall day in fact.
I cleaned up one of the front beds and then trimmed back an artemisia that was getting out of bounds. I dislike working with artemisia. The plant feels funny in my hand, too rubbery or something. And the fragrance is one I really don't like. It gives me the creeps.
I keep it because the color and texture makes a nice contrast to other plants. The kind I have is called "Powis Castle" and it spreads out to about 6 feet in diameter, almost making a tall groundcover. I've heard that this variety is a cross with the variety that was used to make absinthe. It seems to have somethng sinister about it.
Posted by Bill Hopkins on September 7, 2004 12:01 PMiS THAT THE SAME AS A DUSTY mILLER?
Posted by: mary lou at September 8, 2004 01:11 PMI don't mind the smell too much but I agree about the rubbery feel. Perhaps it gives off an oil? We had one but it had got a bit neglected and I took it out when we tidy up the planting around our seating area.
Posted by: Colin at September 9, 2004 02:39 AM'Powis Castle' really is a nice contrast plant.I found a variegated artemisia, 'Limelight' at a plant blowout. Sure am glad I planted it in a pot! Very invasive but really pretty green and gold, highly divided leaves.
Posted by: sally at September 9, 2004 07:57 PM