Persicaria is surely among the most under-rated of plants. Here in the Blue Mountains they do very well and require very little attention.

DON’T GROW PERSICARIA FOR THE FLOWERS!

Mind you, bees and other insects adore the tiny flowers.

Some of the small, immature leaves at the bottom of the stems are quite beautiful.

A beautiful leaf from persicaria  Red Dragon
A ‘VALENTINE’S’ HEART
Persicaria as a backdrop to Siberian iris.

Providing shade and a little cover for birds around the birdbaths.

Persicaria in morning light.
Persicaria surrounds  surrounds a birdbath.

It is very dangerous to let a dragon run amok in your garden, and I must say that this is definitely true in the case of persicaria. They can be quite invasive. I often have to pull up clumps that have established themselves without my knowledge or consent. But they are easy to remove and I adore them for the foliage contrast they provide.

When my clumps grow a bit too tall I cut them back. I like to expose the colourful stems, which are almost translucent.

EVEN THE STEMS ARE BEAUTIFUL

Here is a little gift from Mother Nature. When I cut the tops from my Red Dragon a red-eyed dragonfly used one stalk as a landing pad.

Damselfly on persicaria.

I thoroughly enjoy having persicaria in the garden….a very handsome and generally well behaved ‘Red Dragon.’

HERE IS ANOTHER HERO OF THE GARDEN – AJUGA

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