I can't keep up

It has been almost a month since I last posted. Not a lot worth noting happens in the yard in August - bean picking, a bit of watering, mowing - but by September things are starting to fade, including me. Already I can feel myself shifting to indoor hobbies.

The rudbeckia is just about finished for the season.

The heads on the hydrangea are so HUGE this year, they droop.

'Limelight'

The Rose of Sharon is the last to bloom in the spring and one of the last to stop in the fall.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite'

I was afraid I had inadvertently pulled up all the volunteer goldenrod, but some persists.

The marigolds are putting on a late show.

Zinnias are one flower you can depend on, all summer long.

'Red Scarlet'

The sunflowers are at various stages, from bloom to droop.

Despite the dogs rampaging through the south bed, some asters are still standing.

This sweet alyssum made a late showing, to provide a lovely contrast to the coleus.

Sedum is another dependable provider of fall color.

'Autumn Joy'

I added some anonymous hardy mums to the big pots. If I had realized how low they would sit, I would have left them in their pots.

The dahlias, planted as a source of dye, continue to pop out one or two blossoms at a time.

'Black Satin'

It's almost time for fall cleanup. It's also almost time for a post mortem, to rehash what went right and what went wrong this year. I'll wait a few months before starting to plan for next year, as that's a good mid-winter project.

Now you sedum

I divided and moved some of the 'Autumn Joy' sedum earlier this summer, and am pleased with how well it is doing. So pleased that I am going to move it again next summer.

The plants I moved get more sun. Also, I learned I can control their height by pinching them back. So now I am envisioning a cascade of 'Autumn Joy' from the top tier, over the castle block, to the bottom, where it will flow like a river of sedum across and down the bed by the front sidewalk.

There is a white version of the same type of sedum that will be integrated somehow, plus the low growing sedums that creep along the ground.

I will also divide and move 'Zagreb', the last of the coreopsis, to sunnier locales, and will probably suppress the calendula that is establishing itself in this bed. Instead, I want all sedum, all the time. At least, that is the plan for now.

Not hip to be square

I recently checked out a satellite shot of my property from Google maps. The last time I looked, it showed the raised beds being constructed in the middle of the backyard. Now those all are done. There are a few things missing, like the newest trees, but all in all, this is a fairly accurate snapshot.

I am very left brained, and my mind favors grids, square corners, symmetry, etc. (The concrete guy who poured the driveway had to talk me into adding the swoop to the front walk.) Yet when I consider the many gardens we saw on the Garden Bloggers Fling, rarely were these design concepts employed. Instead, there were curved beds and meandering paths and visual surprises. Stuff was layered - plants, hardscape, houses. The gardens looked both deliberate and casually constructed.

I also have a tendency to position plants in a patchwork of singles (maybe because of quilting?) In the Fling gardens, I saw instead groupings of odd numbers along side the larger singles. A designer from Toronto (sorry! I am so bad with names!) explained that with singles, there is no place for the eye to rest, whereas groupings and masses draw the eye.

My yard includes almost all these plants, but not arranged like this.

When I saw the sedum below, every which one I have, I immediately wanted to drive home and rearrange the plants by the front walk.

When I did get home and looked at that bed, I made some interesting observations: the Dragon's Blood had migrated to one end of the bed and some of the Purple Emperor looked great while other plants struggled (the bed gets variable amounts of sun), the Autumn Joy and Lemon Ball were positioned willy-nilly, the coreopsis did not "work" with the sedum, etc. I didn't want to risk moving plants in the midsummer heat, but I'm making mental notes for next spring.

I've also been looking at garden design books from the library. These are visually frustrating, as the photos show what one can do with ACRES of rolling countryside. I find it difficult to translate the sweeping vistas to something I can use in my rectangle of a yard. But I am picking up some useful knowledge. We'll see how it manifests on my third of an acre plot.

When the weather is tough, the tough go shopping

The weather is wet and windy and generally yucky. I'd never been to the Master Gardeners plant sale, so I decided today would be a good day to get a lethal chill. There were lots of perennials and a few vegetable plants, plus a few other vendors offered fruit trees and natives. Without a plan, though, I hated to buy stuff just to be buying stuff. I actually walked away plantless.

Since I was in a plant-buying mood, I stopped at Stuckys on the way home and dropped a C-note to help the local economy. I've been wanting to plant something yellow in front of the barberry and have been leaning toward a dwarf golden variety of the same. At Stuckys I spotted a creeping broad-leaved sedge 'Banana Boat' that would offer not only a different color, but different form and texture as well. That's good, right?

It also tolerates clay soil, prefers moisture (its future location is on the wet side of the driveway), and wants to be shaded. If it creeps under the barberry, that is fine with me, but I expect it to be more mound-shaped.

Because I am a sucker for sedum, I picked up a few Sedum rupestre (reflexum) 'Lemon Ball' plants. The bed by the front walk contains quite a few sedums already, both creeping and tall. I am planning to move the 'Autumn Joy' from under the Japanese maple to this bed, but am trying to do it in a more controlled fashion than my usual willy-nilly style.

And yet I made this purchase impulsively.

I wasn't going to grow any tomatoes this year, but my son is staying with me right now and requested some cherries. 'Juliet' (a grape variety) and 'Sunsugar' (a yellow cherry) came home with me. It's the least I can do, in exchange for all the mowing he does for me.

My attempts to grow annual vines look pretty pathetic, and I was tempted by some much more robust specimens at Stuckys, but balked at paying $8 a pop for them (even though they each came with their own little bamboo trellis). The ornamental sweet potato also tempted me, but I opted for the lavender trailing lantana (Lantana Rastrera) instead. Both are attractive to the eye, but the latter is also attractive to butterflies. We'll see how it does on the pergola.

Must be September

The harvest from the vegetable garden is winding down. It was a good year for potatoes, not so much for onions (my fault, I fear, for mishandling the plants last spring), definitely not for tomatoes. There are always lessons learned: One plant provides plenty of zucchini, sweet corn needs to be harvested in a timely manner unless you like the flavor of starch over sugar, you can never have too much horse manure.

September harvest (and the last zucchini)

Another lesson: if there is a way, rabbits and woodchucks have the will. Despite the fortification of wood picket, hardware cloth, and poultry netting, there were occasional incursions by critters. Periodic inspections helped, but invariably damage occurred, even late in the season. I learned that woodchucks climb bean poles...

No beans for you!

... and favor broccoli over cabbage...

Yes to broccoli, no to cabbage

... but no one likes kale enough to justify eight plants.

Not even rabbits or woodchucks like kale

I tried pointing the finger of blame at rabbits, but they don't care for sweet potatoes, nor will they climb onto the cage supposedly protecting the plants, caving it in and nibbling the protruding leaves.

It wasn't me! (This time.)

Fortunately, the enjoyment of late summer flowers balances the frustrations of vegetable gardening. This 'Wild Romance' Aster is a long time survivor. Some years the only thing that saved it was a nearby metal plant marker.

Aster 'Wild Romance', with bee

I've become intrigued by a photo of 'Autumn Joy' Sedum grown as a low hedge that I noticed in Tracy DiSabato-Aust's book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. My cluster gets a bit leggy from not enough sun, but if I move it and pinch it back, perhaps I too can have a sorta hedge of it along the front of the house.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' starting to blush

I mistakenly thought this Catmint was 'Walker's Low' and could not understand why each plant became so HUGE and spread so FAR. While fooling around in that bed, I found the plant tag. Now that I know its true growth habit, I have just the spot for it, around the garden shed.

Catmint 'Six Hills'

As usual, there are lots of plans for next year. I'm antsy to try them out, but FIRST. There is work to do, like weeding the area under the Hydrangea so next spring it can be populated with Bishop's Weed, aka Goutweed. Bishop's Weed can be a bit out of control, but this corner is somewhat isolated and I'm counting on Bishop's Weed's shade loving nature to help keep it in check.

Hydrangea 'Limelight', weeded

I don't quite know what to do about this problem, though. The deck builders did not follow directions to stay within the footprint of the patio slab and extended the deck over the bed with Joe Pye, Cardinal Flower, and Swamp Milkweed. I wrote those plants off, prematurely it seems. It doesn't bother me that they poke up between the boards, so maybe I will just leave them be.

Joe Pye and Cardinal Flower

My granddaughter's interest in photography is rather erratic, so I can't count on her providing me with regular pics of the yard, or much of anything else, for that matter. But then, she is not quite five and still exploring all there is to do and see in the world.

Photo op

Oh, to be young again. (NOT!)

Newbies (and some controversy)

This year I have been surprisingly resistant to making purchases for the yard and garden beyond bales of peat, bags of compost, and a bit of this and that. However, there were a few holes to fill, so some plants followed me home the other day. (Sorry for the quality of the photos - the light was not ideal.)

I am crazy for Coreopsis, but most cultivars crap out after a couple of years, so I have been replacing them with other loves. Somewhere along the line, the Penstemon disappeared from the yard, so I added some into the bed by the front walk, to fill the spots absented by some Coreopsis. This variety is 'Red Riding Hood', purchased at Arbor Farms. I hope the hummingbirds like it.

I am also a sucker for Sedum. While visiting a new-to-me nursery north of Auburn (Garden Gate), I saw some new-to-me Stonecrop, 'Blue Spruce'. Thinking I had no room for it, I passed, only to succumb when I saw it later at Home Depot. It too is now in the front bed.

I have also added some calendula and white alyssum, with the hopes they will self-seed next year. At any rate, I think this bed now is as full as it can be (until something else dies off).

Another full bed is the hosta bed on the north side of the garage. That did not stop me from picking up another Heuchera, this one 'Zipper', to contrast with the darker two in this bed.

I'd also like to add something tall, maybe Ostrich Fern, maybe even replacing the hostas in the back as they are an older variety that is susceptible to slug damage, but that idea will have to wait for another year.

No photos, but I added three Purple Coneflower plants to the south side of the house, all 'Magnus'. This is the bed that contains the Catmint that is spreading every which way. Maybe if I fence it in, it will stay put?

When I started seeds for the vegetable garden this year, I aimed to produce the exact number of plants needed. Unfortunately, this did not allow for the fact that some transplants would not survive. Something has eliminated a few marigolds and 'Roma' tomato plants, so I purchased replacements.

Now for a controversial topic: Neonicotinoids. Some of the plants I purchased from Home Depot came with the following tags, tags I noticed only after I pulled the plants from their pots for transplanting.

My first inclination was to return the plants to the store. But after reading HD's policy online (their suppliers must include these tags for plants that have been treated), I realized that while I now *know* these plants had been treated, I have no idea if any of the other plants I have purchased now or in the past from wherever have also been treated. I could ask, but I would be surprised if many of the local nurseries even know whether their suppliers use Neonicotinoids. And if they do know and the answer is yes, do I stop buying from them even though they are local businesses, which I try to support? It's a bit of a quandary. What would YOU do in my place?

Yard roundup for June

This isn't a comprehensive roundup by any means, but reflects some of what is happening around the yard these days. Besides weeding.

First, the purple smoke bush/tree. Simply stunning this year, but impossible to capture with my camera. Every time I look at it, it takes my breath away.

I wish I had given it a bit more room at the corner of the house, as I don't really want to prune it. Plus I'm not sure how best to shape it. Must research.

I hope these blossoms last a long time.

Next, the butterfly weed. I've tried several times to get this established in my yard, and maybe, just maybe, am finally succeeding.

Good timing, because the butterfly bush bit the dust this past winter. "They" say butterfly bush is not good to plant because it does not provide habitat for the butterflies, but they do like the nectar, so maybe I'll replace it.

Meanwhile, I hope the butterflies visit this plant so I can get some good pix.

Pardon the mess, but this bed is also for butterflies: joe pye, swamp milkweed, and cardinal flower. I wasn't sure they would make it through the winter, but they did. They should be liking our recent wet weather. (That is ground cherry in those two pots. They are not thriving, not sure why.)

I keep threatening to move this 'Love Pat' hosta because every year, it disappears behind some out-of-control black eyed Susan. I just can't decide where to move it. Meanwhile, it perseveres. A friend gave it to me, and every time I look at it, I think of him. I guess that is the true purpose of gifts - to keep each other in our thoughts.

These two 'Big Daddy' hostas were moved around quite a bit before finding their current home behind the kitchen compost bin. They don't like the sun at all, so this location suits them well.

I planted this tulip tree in 2009, I think. It's the state tree of Indiana, has never bloomed, is not valued by those who like their trees to provide bling, but I like it. Someday it will provide the West Wing with some lovely shade.

I went through an ornamental grass phase, which I seem to be over for the most part, but my fondness for sedum continues strong. This 'Purple Emperor' is a tall one and the blossoms remind me of hens and chicks.

'Angelina' is a spreader, which I am grateful for because it will help me in my battle with weeds. (That's 'Dragon's Blood' on the left.)

More transients: I have moved the asiatic lilies and daylilies around a lot, too. The most recent transplants like their new west-facing home. (They bloomed the day after I took this pic.)

These corner plantings are also happy. There is 'Clara Curtis' painted daisy to the right. This has become my new problem-solution plant. I moved some to the bed by the front walk and it prospered, so much so it was crowding out everything else. So I tore it out and have been placing it in strategic spots around the yard where it can spread to its heart's content.

I don't know what I was thinking when I bought these three plants, one Alberta spruce conica and two juniper chinensis. They were an impulse purchase, made during a particularly manic spring (Must. Buy. Plants.) Getting them into the ground required the assistance of my SO and his upper body strength. I don't particularly like them. BUT. They are flourishing. I'd like to find a complementary ground cover to fill in the blanks, something the birds would like. (The corner clematis are 'Betty Corning'.)

Here is another rescue. Several years ago, I was looking for winterberry. The nursery I was at didn't have any, but the sales guy suggested some holly (Ilex x meserveae 'Blue Princess' and 'Blue Prince') as an alternative. Without researching this option, I bought four plants and stuck them under the arborvitae, hoping they would like the shade and fill in the area all around. Ha. Turns out this particular holly likes sun, lots of sun. So this year I am starting a relocation program for them. This is the first one to be brought out into the light.

And that is all, for now.