Thanks for the red lily beetle advice, Marcia. I will get one of those sprays next time I am at the garden center. Or I may have the bacteria you talk about. Is it Milky Spore that works for June bugs?
I would love to have Boltonia in my garden!
Looking for a new look
Ilove dahlias, I love dahlias, too. They are a no-fail beautiful bloom at the end of summer when everything else is spent. They continue right up until the first frost. Thank to last year's mild winter, a couple of dahlias lived through the winter and are up.
This is the bacteriological bug spray:
http://www.biconet.com/crawlers/captainJacksDeadbug.html
I no longer purchase sprays that need to be diluted. I buy them already mixed. I found that if I did not mix the deer spray correctly and if I did not keep it mixed, the leaves could be burned. (The bottle shown in the photo is a refill that needs mixing.)
This message was edited Jun 5, 2012 4:43 PM
If you are looking for something with height in the back, there are always the cottage garden flowers: hollyhocks and foxgloves. The foxgloves bloom first and the hollyhocks later in the season, so they do not clash. If you have room in the back for a trellis, sweet peas are wonderful. I have some growing now.
I love hollyhocks! Very cottage-y! Something to think of for next year... Everything is starting to open up now. I will be posting a picture soon!
Some of the callas can add beautiful color which lasts quite a while. I especially like the callas that have brightly colored foliage as this one. And they are not true lilies, so there are few insect problems.
It is hard to tell which is the foliage and which is the "flower."
This message was edited Jun 24, 2012 7:36 PM
Those calla lilies are indeed beautiful. Are they perennial in your zone? Do you bring your pot indoors?
I tried Hollyhocks here and they were covered in Japanese Beetles and Rust. I ripped them all out. Unless you want another high maintenance plant I'd stay away. People in drier climates have much better luck with them than here in New England. Foxgloves are nice and easy if you have good soil. They need me to add compost to the soil every year and need extra watering but for better soil than I have they are beautiful and easy.
I don't know, I also live in Mass and I grow hollyhocks. They are a short lived perennial , and the lower leaves do get pretty ratty looking, but they re-seed for me and I've had some blooming every year for the past 4 or 5 years. I started with one bubble gum pink double, which re-seeded and always bloomed the same, which surprised me that it would come back true. But this year one is pink, the other, larger one is apricot color, so I guess they don't come back true.
Ya, the lower leaves can look ratty but I LOVE hollyhocks! There were Hollyhocks here when we moved here. They have come back each of the 2 years I've been here. I finally transplanted them into a better/ more visible location and they survived so all is well so far.
Mine were yellow from bottom to top. They were hideous. Plus I never saw so many JBs in one spot before in my life, they were literally covering the plants in hundreds. :( It was a very wet year that year though, so that could have been why they had rust so bad. I actually have a single volunteer hh blooming now in a different area and it isn't that bad so far. I just have so much work with all my roses, lilies and hardy hibiscus that I prefer my other perennials to be low maintenance.
I found a picture of them ... https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wAmHu9yW8WBjh2vqXjCvNtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
This message was edited Jul 1, 2012 9:55 PM
I do have much better luck with a perennial called Kankakee River Mallow, they look very much like pink hollyhocks, but the flowers aren't as large. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cIg7lnQ_axgxxRjkiZEkm9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
I've always wanted to try the Figleaf ones to see if there really is a difference with how much rust they get like I see the seed catalogs claim.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2012 9:53 PM
I have 4 HH for the first time in a few years. The rust is terrible and the only water they get is from dew. We are over 5 .5" of rain below normal. I also have leaf miners . The weevils areen't as bad with the dry weather. I tried sanitation, but no success. Even my malvas have the rust.
I have HH for the first time in several years. The rust is terrible and we are in a drought, over 5.5" below normal. The only moisture they get is from dew. I tried sanitation, but it doesn't work. I have leaf miners, too. The weevils aren't as bad this year, maybe because of the dry weather. Even the Malvas have the rust. Last year's Malva on the left.
Herman
first time for that
RE: rust on hollyhocks. Mine have it, too, this year. Last year they didn't. I have cut off most of the lower foliage. Upper foliage and flower buds look good. Very cold/cool summer here so far, unlike the rest of the country. We've only had a handful of days in the 80's so far. Otherwise, mostly 60's/low 70's.
ilovedahias, did you make some changes? Any pictures to share?
ilovedahlias, how did your dahlias do this summer? Some of mine actually overwintered in the easy winter we had. Those I planted this year did not do as well. Of the five identical ones planted together, one stopped growing at around 14 inches without blooming,while the other four reached about 40 inches but not with the kind of blooms I am used to. The smaller plants in my front garden are usually prolific with buds and blooms but did not do so well. I used some pelletized organic 5-5-5 fertilizer yesterday in that bed but I don't pull those dahlias before the first frost.
A MG gave a talk on Dahlias at the last garden club meeting. He said to wait 2 weeks after the killing frost before digging Dahlias. A bath in a week chlorine solution and storing in dry medium in plastic tubs.
Herman
Yes, it was a great year! I did take a number of the suggestions and implement them, and of course it doesn't usually turn out exactly as you might think, but then successes that you didn't expect also surprise you! I planted some heliotrope in the front, which provided that dark, dark, purple. However, they did not grow to their full potential and were shorter than I had hoped. An unexpected surprise was the bright white petunias that my 7-year old planted, which turned out to be a prolific bloomer, and I did stay on top of them with a little miracle gro. That provided the nice bright spot that I needed in the front. I did spread the shasta daisies around, and I expect they will make a bigger impact next year when they've expanded (which they will..no problem!) Another nice surprise was the towering red Jacob Cline bee balm which I think looked glorious. Also picked up the color with some red daylilies in there.
So next, year--may try the dark purple salvia instead of the heliotrope. Overall I think a good year. And very low maintenance. I think except for the annuals I only had to water a handful of times... I moved the catmint father toward the middle, and away from the front, as everyone suggested, and that worked out just right because they got to show their stuff in early spring before the rest of the perennials started towering over them early summer. And by then they were fading. Thanks everyone for all the ideas! And thanks for encouraging me to stick with my original plan, but just add some more colors. I think it's working. More on dahlias later...
Thanks for sharing your pictures, I really liked the way it turned out! Good job!
Looks good.
Wow it looked really nice! Give the Helitrope some time and maybe it will be more what you expected. I always am shocked at the difference year to year in my new perennials. There are some that never measure up. In my yard it is usually moisture loving plants that never get as big as they should and lots o times they wither away after a year or two.
WOW!!!! Ilovedahlias: that turned out FANTASTIC! thank you for sharing your updated photos. sooo.....inspiring!!!
You guys, your pics are absolutely gorgeous, and your wisdom precious to me; thank you. Oh, I can't wait for spring! ilove, this will be my first year for a 'real' garden. You truly help inspire me - I can do it! :o) Your gardens are lovely!
I'm hoping you'll get us updated this year, it's VERY pretty and I'm eager to see this year's version.
So what is summer looking like in your flower bed this year? I'm eager to see updated pictures!
Still waiting for an update!!!
Yes, would love an update...