Plans for Next Year

The late summer/early fall front garden.

The garden has begun its Fall decline, with things looking more rusty, brown, or golden yellow. So I'm starting to take stock and think about next year.

For one thing, I will absolutely be planting more Dahlia's. My one purple Dahlia I got from Home Depot has been such a surprise and a delight that I can't wait to try more. I like plants that require little care and bloom for a long time. The Dahlia totally fits the bill.


The oft photographed pale purple Dahlia,
continuing to bloom its little heart out.

I took a trip to Lowe's for some compost to dump on a few patches of dirt that were rather too clay-like for my comfort, and came across a huge rose sale... so of course I walked out of there with three bags of composted manure and a new rose bush, a rather leggy-looking Christopher Marlowe (a David Austin shrub rose) for a wopping $5 (which my husband still felt was too much money, because in his words, "would you have bought that rose anyway? So now you just spent $5 more than you would have if there hadn't been a sale.").


Rosa 'Christopher Marlowe'

In all honesty, I really was thinking of buying another rose bush or two (add roses to my list of garden addictions) in the Spring. My front/side yard is like the Sahara and roses seem to really like the 10+ hours of sun I get during summer. So I was going to buy another rose, and I was lucky enough to find a cheap one that I liked; Rosa 'Christopher Marlowe'. In my opinion, this is a truly slutty rose; it has tons of petals, buds that are pink with shades of orange and yellow, a lovely scent, and it reblooms. I mean how could I resist that for five dollars? The photo above really doesn't do it justice (the link sort of does).


Common culinary sage (Salvia officinalis).

For next year, more plants from seed. I had lots of success with sage, love-in-a-mist, echinops, sunflower, and allyssum (not to mention the tomatoes, basil, and cilantro). The sage in the picture above, I grew from seed this Spring. I think this plant might actually be a clump of three individual plants, but still, this baby got huge in just two seasons. Plenty for stuffing the turkey. Truly easy to grow, high germination. Not to mention that the sage is really pretty. I'm thinking about spreading it in a few more places as an edger, but first I'll wait to see how it does over the Winter.

Last lesson - mulch! I didn't mulch the garden this year and have grown to regret it. I wanted to see how many of my plants would self sow. Hah! A ton of plants did self sow. They're called weeds and most of my summer was spent weeding. Never again.

-Steph

A New Garden is Not Cheap

I moved this Clematis this Spring, and it has put out its first and major bloom. It really grew a ton since last year, and makes me want more Clematis because they make me feel like I'm in Hawaii (I can always dream), but these plants are really expensive! I did start some from seed, Clematis 'Radar Love.' Three sprouted, and I gave one away, but it will probably be a couple years until I get blooms.


There's lots of new things going on in the garden this year.

I bought some new perennials:

Achillea 'Coronation Gold' (Yarrow)
Geranium 'Brookside' (Cranesbill)
Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies' (Cheddar Pinks)
Potentilla fruticosa 'Abbotswood'
Artemisia 'Silver Mound'
Rosa 'Sun Flare'
Rosa 'Belinda's Dream'
Iris sibirica (white) (Siberian Iris)
Lilium speciosum 'Rubrum'
Lilium 'Black Beauty'
Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Ladder)

Though technically I bought the lily bulbs last year, but this is the first year of growth.

Annuals from Seed:

Pink Impatiens (common, but pretty)
Nasturiums
Sweet Pea
Thunbergia
Morning Glory
Cosmos
California Poppy
Nigella (Love in a Mist)

Starts of the Nasturium, Sweet Pea, Thunbergia, and Morning Glory have all been eaten by some dastardly creature. Curse you, wildlife!

Veggies and Herbs from seed/seedling:

Tomatoes
Peppers
Cukes
Green Onion
Mesclun Mix (already eaten)
Radishes (easy, but I don't like them)
Alpine Strawberries
Sage
Cilantro
Basil
Catmint (for Oscar, the best cat ever)

Honorable Mentions:
Grandma Dixon's Rose -- I dug it up and planted it in my yard. At first it was being eaten, but after a few sprayings with Horticultural Oil/Spray, it seems to have recovered and is budding!

-Steph

P.S. If I disappear after this post is published, my husband will be the prime suspect.

22, Feels Like 3

Apparently, it is unseasonably cold this week. I'm hibernating due to the frigidity, but I did lean onto my front porch to get this shot of my Scotch Broom (a pink one). I have my doubts about whether it will survive the winter in a container, but I bought this plant on a whim (curse you, Home Depot) and was never happy with it (just read all the nasty reviews on Dave's Garden, it will make you shudder). So I dug it up and put it in this container to see if I will like it any better. The jury is still out.

My sister gave me this houseplant over the weekend. Well actually, I stole the houseplant from her (thanks Maria and Don). It was a little sickly looking, so I did a little pruning, and voila, healthy as a horse (well, maybe except for those black tips).

Yesterday I went to Home Depot again, this time for some screws to hang this gift from my sister.


Then, acting on the same urge that struck me when I bought the Broom, I couldn't leave without the following:

Happy New Year!