Ok, now, just where do all of your gardens stand, right now?

I like to sit under here & watch the birds.

This is my hummer bed. Have Salvia guaranitica Black & Blue and Salvia elegans Honey Melon on the far side of the bed.

Beside my front steps.

Your garden looks lovely broots! Even tho' the nasturtiums' blooms aren't too noticeable they do set the other flowers off nicely, a lot like an ivy would.

What are the temperatures like there? We had two warm days (finally) but today was cool again. :( I really wonder what our winter will be like since we've been under a winter jet stream effect all summer.

This message was edited Oct 2, 2004 2:46 PM

Great pics Linda. What is that nice pink spikey thing between the liatrises.

And where is the Salvia transylvanica? Very big yet? Too cold a summer.

Thankyou Pam for the nice comments. Maybe it is a good job you can't see the nasturtium blooms because orange nasturtiums kind of clash with red nicotiana don't they?

Weather wise we finally had two nice days on Sun & Mon, around 27ºC & quite humid but last night strong winds came up & temp's dropped fast. It is 15ºC today & don't imagine it is going to get any higher. Lots of black clouds so think there is another storm up there.

Thanks for your nice comments Brenda. The pink spikey plant is Agastache 'Red Fortune'. Definitely not rated for my zone. Says Zone 5 on the tag. I am going to try & take some cuttings today & see if I can get them to root. I really haven't had much luck with starting cuttings. Don't know if I should dig it up or what. I sure would like to have it again next year as the hummingbirds go crazy for it.

Here is one of your Salvia transylvanica. It's the biggest one. I really wanted to see it bloom. Not much chance of that now. No we didn't get much of a summer. Only two weeks of warm weather. The rest was cold & rainy.

Did your Salvia patens have time to bloom? Mine are pretty much on their last legs except for the ones under the arbor. Usually I am able to pinch off the old blooms in Aug & they re-bloom in Sept, but I only got the one flush of blooms this year.

Did they get a chance to bloom? You bet. And I put some in my Mom's garden before I got around to mine. Hers are even better. I gave a way to a few other friends too, so maybe this is the 'blue one' Ginny was mentioning. Hope we can get seed from it for next year.

If it's blue, I want it, gotta have it. Please let me grow it. My gentians, that I started last year. They are actually bluer than it shows.

Maybe if I'm really lucky I will see blue poppies next year. I managed to get four of the Meconopsis betonicifolia to the garden. The ones in the middle.

Echoes, you want blue poppies? I can run out to Butcharts and get seeds from their Tibetan blue poppy's if you'd like.

Let me know

Linda in Victoria

Oh, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would love you for doing that. I'd sure like to try some more. Do you know what kind they are? Doesn't matter, I'll try any.

Brenda your salvia patens look great. I hope you are able to get a lot of seed from them. Mine are just starting to set seed now & the seed is so easy to collect. If you aren't able to get any, just let me know & I'll send you some of mine. You sound just like me when it comes to blue. If I see a plant with blue flowers I have to have it. Gentians are such a beautiful blue too. Have never tried them as I didn't know if they would survive here. Only tried the blue poppies once & that was when I first started gardening & I didn't have any luck with them.

That's good to know Linda. The same goes for the S. transylvanica. I collected some more seeds if yours don't make it this winter, you can try some more. Mine were very slow to show this spring, but they came.

Echoes, here's the Tibetan Blue Poppy.
http://www.butchartgardens.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TBG&Product_Code=SDP99&Category_Code=12

Will have to research that one. You've got mail.

Starszz, the one I have is called Absolutely Fabulous. Tangerine with a red circle in the throat. Very small bloom though. Hope it is because it isthe first year. Really envy you being so near.

The one I saw up near the house years ago was called Jerusalem. They were always sold out and now it probably has gone.
Spent yesterday planting a ton of relocated lilium. Yum. Digging bulbs for local bulb sale. - in the MUD.

Busily weeding huge dandilions that have just magically appeared??? how so???

S--- in Northern MB today. Ouch.

Inanda

Stripped the veggie garden today - at least the corn, beans, peas and lettuces. Even if it doesn't snow tonite (yes SNOW) it just isn't getting warm enough during the day for anything to improve now.

Will pick all the tomatoes tomorrow.

Brugs didn't make it out of the garage today and likely won't tomorrow either. Did pick my first ready to use eggplant today and delivered it to my niece.

Think of it - one year ago we had day time highs of nearly 30 (and yes that is celsius)

I was thinking of you Lynn today when I saw the Northern forecast. :( Pretty sad isn't it.......hurts to haul plants in that rarely saw the sun, didn't have much heat, and hardly grew at all! :(

Lynn, you're just on the wrong side of the jetstream, as we were for most of the summer. I pulled peas and beans too. Just feel like cleaning up and hoping for a better season next year.

I too pulled tomatoes, beans and cucs today .... in the pouring rain. No fruit on the maters, none on the cucs so figured it was time. Breaks my heart to do it so soon but when they really haven't done well all summer I guess you just bite the bullet and do it ... waiting for a wonderful year - next spring and summer. Right? Course Ernie is going to have me building a hoop house for my tomatoes so maybe next year will be the year.
Saw on the news some of you had "gasp" snow today. My heart aches for you and hope all your brugs are safe.
Dianne

Wow.....what an incredible response! Here's some of mine I took this late afternoon!

This message was edited Sep 9, 2004 10:34 PM

this is, I think, my nicest container!

the huge top piece of the arbor is, would you believe, a main stem of a Pieris Japonica(my neighbour gave me two pieces, so Fred and I set the 1st pce in today!

this wonderful old holey wheelbarrow, sure came in handy! look at the size of the coleus and the Plectranthus!!!!!!!!!!!

this is amazing!!!!!!!!! Reason being, look at the size of the Empress Tree(Pawlonia Tomentosa)'s leaves,.....like elephant ears..I bet these ears can outdo your's.Liz!

this is the entrance door to my glass house, in the back yd.

Passiflora "Lavender Lady"................this vine has not stopped blooming all summer! what a treasure!

this summer there were strings of hot days, so we put up this canopy tent??

Cllemiatis "Huldine", one of the most satiny-white ones in the collection!

Now, this is a rare Solanum from a wonderful nursery in the Lower Mainland!

:D Your garden is lovely Elaine thank you for showing it to us!

great pics, lovely garden, particularly like the black four door in the first pic (my first love after 4 footed ones is trucks) LOL

Great to see your gardens Elaine..you have quite a collection of interesting pots and statues to set off your plants..
Now you have me thinking about potting up some sedum..LOL

I really like this one.. Sedum Matrona..

Cheers,
Carol

Love your fairy Starzz! :)

Well, I haven't responded to this thread, so I thought I'd give it a go today. Our weather here in the southern interior of B.C. was hot and dry all summer up until 2 weeks ago when it cooled off considerably and has been raining off and on. My plants and flowers, don't seem to have minded the change (as much as I have, anyway) and are still looking great. Right now my dahlias (Blue Bayou Powder Puff) are blooming profusely, as are my Rudbeckia Indian Summer, with new buds everyday. My minature roses are still blooming very well with only one other David Austin english rose blooming with them. My impatiens and begonia annuals are all still looking fabulous as well as (of course) my Wave petunias. My PeeGee Hydrangea is on it's last blooming legs, with the dark ridges appearing on the blossoms already. I have some gorgeous Gerbera Daisies blooming like crazy as well, one an antique pink and one other salmon colored one. I have two Canna Lilies growing in pots on my patio that are about 5 feet high and looking strong and healthy. Haven't decided whether I am going to lift the tubers or bring the pots inside for the winter. And of course my 6 little dahliettas are going stong too. So my garden is still looking pretty good for September 10. I hope I have many more weeks of enjoyment from it yet.

Indian Summer Rudbeckia

Lavender Lace Miniatre Rose.

Have a Great Weekend, everyone!

Donna

:D So nice to see plants covered in bloom....love the sunny colors of the Rudbekia and that rose is gorgeous!