In a Vase, on Monday – Daisy Days

Chris Mousseau

I have childhood memories of running through fields during summer holidays, laying in the grass, bees buzzing, fluffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, picking daisies, Today’s vase, on this first Monday of summer, brings back these memories, with Ox Eye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare – not native to North America but now found in fields, along roadsides and in gardens almost everywhere), Blanket Flower (Gaillarida – which is native here and grows readily in gravelly, dry soils), Lanceleaf Coreopsis (also native and seems to do all right in dry soil) and the tiny white flowers of what I think is German Chamomile – Matricaria recutita. It’s not native here but seems to pop up regularly with no assistance.

This patch of Matricaria recutita is about two feet high. I guess we had a mild winter because these are supposed to be annuals that self seed, but this clump came back on old wood.
After the Leucanthemum vulgare (a dear friend calls them Margaritas…) has flowered, I’ll chop off the seed heads and toss them where I want them to grow the following year. It’s that easy

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting IAVOM and giving gardeners around the world an opportunity to share their flower designs. Happy summer, everyone!

14 Comments

  3. Memories from one’s early years: it is not surprising that plant and flower related ones remain so clear. Your Vase has a very ‘innocent’ feel, lovely.

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  5. I love the cheery look of daisies. As kids, my sister and I would use food coloring in water to color them blue, green and red, a fond memory. I think your small daisy might be feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). Similarly, a plant appeared in my garden, probably from a gifted plant, and now I have many. I do love them in arrangements, so long-lasting.

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    1. Well feverfew wins with height and perennialization – Thank You! – I’m not sure about a few of the other differences I’m reading, namely citrus scent in feverfew, so will report back after that!

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    2. So…some sites say feverfew smells like citrus, others say just strong and unpleasant. In my garden, the plant smells strong and unpleasant, like a bad batch of Vick’s Vaporub. Even worse, they say do NOT plant it anywhere you need pollinators to produce seed/fruit since the smell keeps away bees! Mine is growing in the middle of my tomato patch! Guess what’s coming out of the ground first thing in the morning!!!

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      1. Uh-oh! I thought bees loved composite flowers, but I guess not all of them! Thanks, I’m going to keep an eye on my few, but they are mostly in a small area next to the house.

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  6. So many of those common names are interchangeable. Paris daisy is also known as marguerites, or, according to some, ‘margaritas’. I really do not know what to call it any more, and I am not certain that I am familiar with ox eye daisy. I likely met it with a different name.

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