Really end of summer blooms- September almost here

All you guys with your beautiful gardens! I had to go out into my yard and try to find some beautiful things. Turns out it was easier than I expected. I haven't been out in the garden much in the last few weeks. I have gotten involved in a community effort to stop a local elementary school proposal, which is a long story. Suffice it to say, things are busy for me. I feel tired and guilty just thinking about how I haven't watered anything lately and that my plants are probably dying out there, so I figure if I don't look at the plants then I won't see how needy they are. Some plants are suffering, sure. But most everything else is doing okay. Anyway, lots to show you, this may take several posts.
1. Geranium 'Rozanne'
2. Caladium from Gita
3. Redbud
4. Blanket flower
5. Double Knockout Rose

1. Snapdragons perking up again now that things are cooling off.
2. Zinnia 'Envy'. I'm hot and cold on this color. What do you guys think? It looks awesome in a combination I will show you in a different picture. But alone, it's very meh. The robustness and flower output make this zinnia delightful to grow though.
3. Lonicera sempervirens still going!
4. Volunteer Salvia 'Bonfire' with my B&B Salvia. You would think I had done it intentionally, it looks so nice!
5. 'Indian Summer' This is the last survivor. I had 5 or 6 plants in early summer, this is the only one that hasn't succumbed to some disease. I let the flowers go to seed so that I can collect them. Still blooming despite my neglect!

1. Phlox from my grandmother's. I seriously can't believe this thing is still going.
2. Acalypha, has survived many 50° nights without damage. Possibly a warm zone there.
3. Verbena bonariensis. Sowed late spring and now it's finishing it's bloom. Hope it returns next year or self sows!
4. OK here's my shameful picture of the canna I bought at Walmart on clearance. I haven't watered it in weeks and it's already probably super rootbound and I'm a huge jerk for leaving it in this state. But despite my terrible treatment of it, it has a BUD! I promise to water it now. Beautiful magenta color against the dark leaves. Oh I would be so mad at myself if I killed it.
5. Coleus (from cutting) from Gita. Wish I knew it's name! It was a sad little cutting when I got it, but it has filled out very nicely and it's one of my favorites (I think I say that about all my coleus!).

Tired of me yet?! I promise this is the last post.
1. 'Blue Wave' Lacecap Hydrangea
2. Ageratum and petunias, posting more pictures because I just can't help myself. They are still just this beautiful.
3. This is the combo I was telling you about, that the Zinnia 'Envy' really works with. I'm sorry, no picture does the combo justice. Something about the magentas and the purples and the lime green just really do it for me right now.
4. The whole front yard. It's definitely overgrown and now I'm ready for a more subdued theme. But I don't have the heart to start cutting things back, winter will be here soon enough.
5. Zinnia with the 'Diamond Head' EE. Everything looks brighter in front of those black leaves. Can't wait to see what next year will hold for this EE if I get it to carry over.

Typ, it's all beautiful! I totally agree with you about the combo colors with the Zinnia. I like the pale yellow, but it's at its best when it's contrasting with other colors!

Your camera takes such nice close-ups. For me, whenever I try to do a real close-up, it gets blurry! Maybe there's a way to fix this, or maybe the camera (my cell phone) just isn't made for super close-ups. The single blossom of gaillardia looks soooo artistic!

Cat, I took these with my cell phone! Every phone is different, but with my android, you can just touch the screen where you want the phone to focus. I love it because I can automatically do a macro or supermacro setting without having to do anything except touch the part of the picture I want to focus on. No time-wasting drop down menus. SOOO easy! We can talk about it more and maybe I can help you when we see each other.

thanks, Typ! My daughter showed me this summer how I could focus by touching (of course my 11 year old had to show me this--LOL), but I still have trouble with blurry images close-up.

Okay, here's a photo of a scene in my garden that makes me smile. Now that the salvia bloom is dwindling, the bees have discovered the celosia--and they *love* it! They actually end up fighting for 'prime real estate' on the various plumes! Well, here's a whole bunch of them with their heads buried in the plumes. :-D

OOOH so adorable! That is a great picture. Don't forget to save some seeds from that plant for me! :)

Karen--Love your pictures--Mt fave id the Blanket Flower---it is made up
of all these individual little blooms....

I have a dark-leafed Canna, but the blooms are red/orangy--not magenta.
I will have roots to share...Deep magenta is my favorite color in the garden.

I have that coleus too--have had it for a long time. It can change colors--
sometimes a lot of red and mixed shades of rust and such. No name...

I LOVE the Ageratum and the petunias! What a nice play on different shades of the same color.

My Acalypha cuttings are trying to root....I lost a couple. I think the very, sturdy
tip cuttings are doing the best....We can all compare notes next year.
I plan to experiment and leave mine outside. Cut back--slip a big pot over it (bottom cut out)
and will fill the pot with fried leaves...mulch the base well--and see what happens.
What do i have to lose???/ They will be gonners anyway.

Here is my dark-leafed Canna....

See Ya soon! Gita

thanks, Typ. And I think I will have plenty of seeds from it to share! :-)

Gosh Typ, you sure do have a LOT of beauty still going on in your garden!! (don't feel shy about sharing the pics -- Bring 'Em On!!!) < =D

Ooooooh Catmint, BEEEEEESSSS!!!!! I love bees!!! What a fabulous shot of all the cute happy little bees enjoying your Celosia!

Thanks Gita and Speedie! I thought the blanket flower pic was my favorite too, but the first one of the geranium is my fav right now. Looking at the pictures again, I'm so sad about that canna. I really hope it recovers. Looked like I killed at least one of the stems, but I think the main stem with the bud will be okay. I put it in a pan of water overnight to rehydrate.

My one Acalypha cutting that I have had since the beginning has lost all its leaves. I brought it inside a few weeks ago when the temps dipped. I don't know yet if it's shocked or dead. Will keep watering and hoping. I am still planning to dig one plant to try to overwinter it like a coleus. If that doesn't work, then in Spring I will ask for cuttings from that person in FL who offered cuttings to Sally after her article.

typwc, those are excellent pictures!
that canna testifies to them not wanting to die or go dormant if given any hope. maybe they have to get frost to go dormant.

Catmint- pictures- you might try not trying to get close, step back a little but then crop the picture. I didn't know bees loved celosia- that's great!

My acalypha cuttings got wet and they may be all rotted. I could try more. I had a problem with trying to mulch my banana to keep it warm over winter- the leaves got all wet so there was a rotten wet mess at ground level- I am concerned about that happening again next time I try to protect something- so I might put dry leaves in a pot and invert it over the base of the plant, to keep them dry.

I can, almost, assure you that MD Flower and Foliage will carry the
Acalypha again next year. It may cost 50 cents more IF someone
claims it, re- names it, and then claims a patent on it.
At least that's what the owner i spoke to thought might happen.

Lets hope between all of us who grew it--will have some success at
propagating it and will have some to share.

Thje cuttings I took were pretty big--not just the little growing tips.
So far so good on 3 of them. They are rooted. The two I took later--
are not yet.
I will try to take some more--maybe smaller--and try to root those too...
More like I would do a Coleus...

Karen--Cannas do not need a lot of watering--as they have those big, fleshy roots.
I have never, ever seen a canna droop.
Will you try and save some seeds from that Blanketflower?

Have to decide what i am going to do with the 3 small, pink ones I bought.
for the winter......think....think...They are doing awesome since i re-potted them.
Two of them are blooming.... G.

Went to Hershey Park on Saturday. Of course I love going there because of the flowers. I didn't take all the pics I wanted: I didn't want to look like a weirdo or a terrorist doing recon. My absolute fav is the Coffee Cups EE planter. Such a simple combo but so lovely. The pot was enormous, the plants were lush. There were probably 10 containers like this on the walk down to the gate. Pic #4 makes me giggle.
I want to go to Hershey gardens one of these days. Love the amusement park too though.

Amazingly---some of my blooming plants keep marching g on.

I am most amazed at the non-stop Begonias that I got in spring from the GH's
where I scored endless plants.......shhhhhh!
Usually--these die on me--rot out, or whatever. Same pots--same location. Hmmmm....
They are still in full, healthy bloom this year. Kudos to the GH growers!

1--The Begonias....
2--Close-up of the blooms--the yellow tint is b/c of sun shining on them
3--My other two Mums--from what I posted earlier. From the same GH. 3/$10.
4-New England Aster--now in full bloom--and, full of bees.
5--NG Impatiens--they NEVER give up!

Karen, Nice pics. Those EEs are bigger than August! Is pic #4 planted purposely to look like a face or was it just a coincidence? My fav combo is pic #3.

Gita, I decided that I need to plant a lot more annuals in with the shade perennial beds next year. I'll have to get some of the NG Impatiens - the pink/lavender colors will blend in nicely and based on your observations that they "NEVER give up" will add the all season color that I'm looking for.

beautiful blooms, Gita! I agree about the NG impatiens--it's just been bloom after bloom. I'm definitely getting them again next year. And that is such a gorgeous color for the begonias!! What kind are they?

beautiful Gita! Do you pinch the New England aster?

Gita: Do you happen to know if your aster is "Purple Dome?" I'm trying to ID an aster that looks like that. How tall is yours?

Gita, I love those begonias. love the leaves and the POP of orange, well you know I like hot combos.

Can you grow NG impatiens from seed?

Cat--
I can just tell you it is those :Non Stop" begonias that you can buy
in the spring. I believe these grow from a disc-shaped corm, which
you can dig up and save in a dormant state. You can look at it Friday.

Sally--
NO! I have never pinched the N.E, Aster. Should I?
It IS getting bigger and wider though. I think, maybe, sections of it could
be dug away in the spring and new plants started. Never done that either....
The root base is now approaching 2sf.
Pretty bloom in late fall when nothing much else is blooming.
Lots and lots of bees on it.

Karen--
on the begonias--that "pop of orange" is not there...it is an illusion bc the sun was
shining on it. You know--when sun hits blooms--they never look right.
I'll show you an earlier photo....

I don't know about growing NG from seed....I don't know if they even make seed...
It IS an impatiens--maybe cuttings would root in water?
I don't think they would do well indoors...those mushy stems.....

Happy---
I don't know the name of my Aster. I seldom pay attention to names of anything....
I got it end of season on clearance at a Nursery. A couple half-bare sticks in a pot...

I can tell you that it is quite tall--and the stems are semi-woody.
It is doing well in my YUK bed...so it must not care about dry soils...more power to it!!!

G.

--The begonias on my steps.
--The whole N.E. Aster. Those plants on either side of ir are B&B Salvias. BIG! No?
--This shot is from last year...2012

I asked about the Aster because yours looks so full and mine is five feet tall and splayed out. I think mine has too much shade

I'm still waiting for the rest of my asters to bloom.

Last year, the aster got so floppy (even with full sun) that all the blooms were literally on the ground. It looked like a very pretty ground cover!

This spring/summer I pinched them back pretty severely. They're upright and bushy now, but still not blooming.

Sally--

Mine is a bit splayed too, but I have it inside a 2-tier Peony Ring to, kind of,
keep it together. The ring stays there year round.

I meant to tie it up a bit, but never got to it..You may not see it in the picture--
but it is a bit spread open in about 4 sections.

Do you know that rabbits chewed every leaf off the stems as far up as they can reach?
Also in the Heliopsis Daisy and my Salvia Cardinalis . They are all in the same area.
It was terrible!! Oddly--they did not touch the B&B Salvia--or I may have missed it...

I bought a new (40" x 25'--$9.97) roll of the green, plastic fencing at HD. This is a
darker green and a bit sturdier than the bright green I have been using for years.
Also--less visible. These can be such an eye-sore!
Will cut it in half, lengthwise, next spring and put it around all the vulnerable plants.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=plastic+garden%20fencing&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SearchAll

The heaviest duty one is the one 3 rows down, partially unrolled, 3' x 25'. for $19.97.
That is even very difficult to cut with garden scissors...Might give the rabbits a hard time too.

May just buy an extra bag of Milorganite--since it worked for speedie
to keep rabbits out of beds. Gentle fertilizer too...

G.

My goodness, what GORGEOUS babies you all still have!!! I may have to try to get out there and grab a couple more shots of my front pretties, there are still some out there, and my Jerusalem Cherries are putting out blooms now. I think they're confused. The front Dahlias that were all bushed out (and still are, by the way) now have a ton of buds set on them. WHAT!?!?? I think they are confused as well.

Gita, yes Ma'am, I completely agree with the Milorganite idea. I do love having bunnies around my yard, and allow a certain section of clover to just go wild for them. Between that, and the use of Milorganite elsewhere, I have no bunny troubles. Well... then there's also the use of Critter Ridder where I'd previously found bunny nests in my front beds. I do NOT want them digging into the root systems of my Irises (or anything else for that matter) to nest... especially if I don't know they're there and I get out there with a shovel.... **SHUDDER** at the thought!!!! I want to keep them AWAY from where I know they will not be safe! =( Go Toward The Clover Dear Bunnies!!! =)

Speedie---

How often do you need to "refresh" the application of Milorganite
around your beds??? And--how much do you apply for it to work on the rabbits?

I am looking for a REAL testimonial from you--as i will be steering people to this product
next spring instead of watching them buy bottled stuff that does not work
but costs a fortune.

For those of you here that have NO idea where to find Milorganite--go to your
local Home Depot and it will be in the same aisle (outside) as all the lawn fertilizers--
but--likely--in the back end, as it is not a mainstream item for lawn care. Their loss!!

This is what the bags look like.... Gita

To be perfectly honest, I just hand-sprinkle it around very lightly, so I have no idea how much I use. About 1/3 full of a HD 5-gallon bucket does BOTH my "Big Bed" (approx 25' x 6') AND my little bed (approx 10' x 4'). (ok, I guess I DO have a rough idea of how much I use, HA!!) I only apply it twice a year.
DISCLAIMER: I started using that at the same time as I started using the Critter Ridder, so I cannot honestly say which one is doing the most good.

OK, here's what the Big Bed out front is looking like as of yesterday. No shots of the other beds 'cause they're boring. Iris foliage, Otto Lyuken, garlic... just green. :)

Here's one of the Dahlia's with 4 new buds on it.

And one of that whittled-back corner area; annual verbenas, petunias, and a bit of Alyssum. ... OK, a LOT of Alyssum. ;)

The poor confused Jerusalem Cherry with a couple new blooms. She just doesn't know what to do! (Iris foliage to the right)


One of the other Dahlias (whose name escapes me at the moment), with ... ?? vine wending its way through her. Darn, what vine is that?? Annual, prolific self-sower, bright red blooms... cardinal something-or-other??


Mums, one pink and one yellow/white. They would look a lot better had I cut them back during the season like I was supposed to. < =/ Still got loads of begonias around too, as you can see, and a bit of the Homestead purple verbena is wending its way back around there as well. Some of a spearmint plant can be seen in the foreground, bottom right of the photo. That mint is REALLY happy there, Wheee!!! < =)

Speedie, I love the mums together with the begonia! :-)

Speedie---

Your vine is the Cardinal Climber?

I like yout last picture too--very colorful! G.

Great to see so many blooms on our bloom thread!

Speedie, I have a confused forsythia that is currently blooming.

Typwc, Some people swear by NG impatiens. I am not one of them I prefer 'Sunpatiens" as more forgiving of less than consistent care (watering) and more adaptable than NG in my mostly shady yard with very little fussing necessary through out the season They are also easier to multiply thru cuttings than NGs. There are short ones and tall ones in a good range of colors.
An alternative to expensive plants or growing from seed might be ordering "plugs" in the Spring and growing them out.

coleup---
I am confused......a normal state for me.......:o(

What IS a Sunpatiens? Do you have a picture? I can google too...

I was always thinking it is the same as NG Imps... G.

Yes, I think it probably has a lot to do with yard conditions. I have NG impatiens in my front yard, and in the rose bed and they have flourished in both spots with no extra effort on my part, so they must really like the sunlight conditions there. They get morning/dappled sunlight in both places.

This message was edited Oct 10, 2013 8:04 AM

OK--I Googled Sunpatiens....

Seems they ARE a different class of Impatiens...
Says they are a cross between the NG imps--and wild Impatiens.

http://www.vivagarden.com/flowers/sunpatiens/

Looks just like reg. NG Imps too me, though....

Gita

'Sunpatiens' is a new species of impatiens developed by Sakata by crossing a NG impatiens with a type of wild impatiens. The y have the flower size of NGs and lots of garden vigor from the wild.
They grow in sun or shade and handle heat and humidity, requiring less watering than NGs. They also remain unaffected by Imp Downey Mildew.

They used to be 'exclusive 'to HD stores, but now are findable most places mid-May. My favorite colors are below.

http://www.vivagarden.com/flowers/sunpatiens/

My in-ground NG impatiens bloomed nicely all summer, but the ones in hanging in baskets were much finickier. Under my neglectful care, petunias, begonias, and calibrachoas bloomed much better. Regular impatiens (before downey mildew hit last year) in baskets also bloomed non stop with very little fertilizer or additional water.

Next year, all of my annuals will be in containers and not in-ground, so no more NG impatiens for me. I'm going to try Sunpatiens and NonStop Begonias next year!

Thanks Coleup and everyone else who chimed in. Maybe I'll try SUNpatiens next year too. I like petunias but I hate the way they smell en masse. On a sultry summer night, the stink is overwhelming! :)

Oh my Diamond Head EE has a bud, err, inflorescence, or whatever. I'm curious to see what it will do, as this is my first blooming Aroid, but I feel like it is somewhat inappropriate for my front flower bed. Something about it just seems a little too.... suggestive! ;)

Huh... Petunias have a scent? I never noticed! I'm gonna go out there and take a whiff as soon as it stops raining.

I find only the dark purple petunias have a scent...LOVE it! wish they all did

Montauk daisy
Button mum...seems to be lone survivor don't know why the 5 others I had are gone
Volunteer Salvia in area I need to totally revamp, weeds are going crazy!
Goldenrod with Asters