We love our Shasta daisies.  Some may think them a little too “Mary Ann” and not enough “Ginger”, but we like their cheerful little faces and carefree abundance. And they need almost no maintenance except for a little fertilizer and occasional deadheading and division.

The daisies perform for us from mid-June, continuing into September, bedecking the front of our house and brightening the sidewalk leading to the front door. An excellent cut flower, too, we fill countless mason jars and old milk bottles with them, a bit of summer brought right into the house.

We’ll probably divide them in late summer/early fall this year. This will help keep the daisies vigorous as well as allow us to brighten a few more corners of the yard with them.

If you’d like to plant your own, Shasta Daisies want lots of sun and good drainage. They’re occasionally susceptible to powdery mildew, but a sunny location, good airflow, and watering at the roots will help ward it off. Plan to divide occasionally; the perennials tend to die out at the center as they expand outward in a ring. You’ll have lots of new plants for your yard. And sharing their sunniness with friends and neighbors is never a bad thing, either.