The busy Lieschen develops its colorful flowers despite low sunlight Photo: Claudia von Duehren
By Claudia von Duehren
Large terracotta pots with lushly blooming geraniums or mini petunias look fantastic. But these sun worshipers have no chance in the shade. That’s where my favorite flower comes into play…
After many failed attempts with geraniums and the like, I switched to the busy Lieschen. With a bit of luck I’ll get hold of them as tiny plants in late spring at Aldi or Lidl for just a few cents. With horn shavings and some compost soil they go into the bucket next to the pavilion. Hardly any rays of sunshine reach there and yet the busy Lieschen develop a sensational display of flowers and abundance.
I distribute the remaining plants to the shade beds, where they have so far created beautiful splashes of color.
Also popularly known as the “drinker”, the hard-working Lieschen just needs enough water. I add liquid fertilizer to it fairly regularly. Particularly ambitious gardeners cut the tips of their shoots, including the top four leaves, every 14 days and thus stimulate even more abundance of flowers.
I have already planted the more elegant sisters of the Busy Lieschen, the so-called Noble Lieschen with double or particularly large petals, but with less success. They lost their flowers or simply died. So I stay true to my drunks!
Claudia von Duehren writes every Saturday from her green paradise Photo: Private
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