Garden Assessment Now

This is the time of the growing season where I tend to decide if plants were worth their growing space. Yes, it's still early in the season but my garden space is rather limited and certain things just aren't worth the indoor germination or direct sowing, while other things are just wowzing me..lol.

Here are a few of my assessed plants and thoughts..what about yours?

Datura..worth every drop of water..growing well! Exotic blooms, not really bothered by anything.

Nicandra..unbelievably easy. I forgot that I just threw the seeds where I did and they're so carefree. Bug-free, disease-free and beautiful in continual bloom. I should have made my whole garden with these...lol.

Gaillardia..still waiting on this one to become substantial.

Swamp Milkweed..nice growth..what I had expected.

Nigella..putzy. I thought I'd have more substantial growth with these.

Poppies..I'll have to read about everyone else's success since these seemed to have vanished to seed heaven.

Zinnia..lots of varieties and Green Envy. Always a staple when they have plenty of air..lol. Keepers certainly.

Liatris spicata..what a show-off..lol. Truly reliable.

Jacob's Ladder..ho hum with these.

Hollyhock..not as growthy as I had expected...I'll see.

Garden Phlox..tall..a show-stopper, worth the sowing for sure, although they're diminishing in beauty. I have to resolve myself to cut them back for a possible rebloom.

Black-eyed susan..always a winner, even from seed!

Summer pointsettia..not worth it for me.

Balloon flower..what gives with this plant? Stunted growth..I don't think it's happy wherever I put it..lol.

Obedient Plant..now we're talking growth. I'll have this take over the other half of my gardens..lol.

Coreposis..worth it for me!

Cosmos..ok, they're easy but they're blooming in a stunning way. I'll keep these around.

Balsam Impatiens...well worth the indoor starting. They don't demand anything and their show keeps going.

Sea Oats..seem slow but sturdy. I'll have to wait. I think they're worth it.

Nepeta..yes, easy and looking good.

Black eyed susan vine..more delicate than I wanted but it's a sweety.

Queen's wreath vine..another I-can-take-anything vine

Snail vine..rugged and faster than a snail to grow!

Pampass grass...remarkedly easy to start from seed and a fast grower. I'll keep these.

Cleome..setting buds now. Worth the wait.

Four O'Clocks..yes, easy here but they're still showstoppers!

Nicotiana..Only the Lonely..great bloomer and performer now but where's the fragrance...lol. Worth the effort indeed.

Crepe Myrtle..easy grower..what a surprise!

Canna..always worth the seed starting scarification..lol

Lamb's Ears..easy from seed and growing nicely. Worth it!

Daylily..blooming easily from seed now. Worth it!

Norway Spruce..easy and growing well from seed, the little buggers..lol.

Hyacinth Bean Vine..a real crapper and poor performer. Looks great everywhere else but here.

Ok, I'd better stop since I have way too many things to comment on. How's your garden at this point?
Trish

Petunias in a container are always a must have for me. I put containers of them around seating areas. I just love the fragrance in the evening and in the morning. Easy to grow and a real show stopper. Just keep them deadhead, lots of water and regular feeding, and they bloom like crazy!

Purple Coneflower-I started these last year. They were okay then. But this year they are showing off! Lots of blooms and fragrant too.

Chamomile-Another easy one that volunteers readily. They bloom so well. And I like the fragrance too. I need to learn how to dry these for tea. I really like chamomile tea.

I could go on and on too. These are just a few.

Sharon

Phlox paniculata 'David'... bloomed profusely all last summer (deadheaded) and a few babies this year. Resistant to mildew. Ready to bloom this week, I hope.

Gypsophila paniculata 'White Festival'... a real show-stopper this year (its second) with pink blooms.

Iberis sempervirens 'Snowflake' (Candytuft)... great masses of early flowers, and now tidy and interesting foliage after cutting back.

Liatris Spicata... lovely accent in a corner, no trouble, overwintered well.

Stokesia 'Klaus Jelitto'... blooms profusely if kept deadheaded.

Veronica spicata 'Red Fox', Veronica spicata 'Blue Bouquet', and Veronica spicata 'Goodness Grows'... lush foliage this year, and wonderful spikes of color. Helps hide my iris after they flower.

Also very good: Gaura lindheimeri 'Dauphin', Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink', Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant', Artemesia 'Powis Castle', Zenobia 'Dusty', Cornus services 'Kelseyi',

Frustratiion with: foxgloves, delphiniums, lupines, Myosotis sylvatica 'Victoria Blue', and campanula.

Like Sharon, I could go on and on... but Thanks! because making the list has been an interesting exercise for this beginning gardener!

-darius

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planted a rudbeckia called Irish Eyes from seed last year and lost all of them except for one which surprised me by flowering yesterday. Looks exactly like black eyed susan except has a pale chartreuse center or "eye". Can't decide if I like it or if it's creepy...maybe should be renamed blind eyed susan.

I like this thread, will help me organize my thoughts for next year.

Cosmos ... this is a must-have for me and they are stately against the stockade fence. I have bright lights and sensation I think, the pink ones are my favorite but all of them are wonderful.

Nasturtiums in the seat of a wicker chair ... these are OK but I put the cosmos too close to them so they are not really evident unless you walk up to it. Since they do well in poor soil conditions, they are very happy in the clear plastic lid of a deli container!

Siberian Lilies - just tall spikes with no flowers, hoping they will someday flower for me...?

Rudbeckia - still waiting to see what it will do. Has tiny buds on a plant as tall as me.

Morning Glory volunteers are climbing my cosmos. I should have set up strings from the stockade fence in the spring. Dumb of me not to, I planted moonflowers which NEVER come up for me even though I nick and soak and am careful. Have Scarlet O'Hara and Heavenly Blues planted now and they are not blooming yet. But they're climbing like crazy!

Scarlet Runner beans -- went right up the ropes to the top of the fence and are now over the top. Lovely red blooms but I think the birds are eating them, which will mean NO BEAN HARVEST.

Atlantis Orange marigolds... I LOVE these. I love marigolds anyway but these have a blossom that is about 3 inches across and one of these has 15 blooms on it! Awesome!

Double petunias... if you can get them to set in, they are lovely, almost rose-like, but they keep dying on me and have gotten very leggy. Uglier than most other petunias when you need to deadhead them. I won't get these again.

Purple coneflower - not a bud in sight. But a nice tall foliage plant !??

Shasta Daisy - Alaska -- this is a beauty. There must be 20 flowers on this one small plant. Delightful to have it!!

Sweet Woodruff... lovely, and spreading nicely in my narrow beds alongside the sidewalk on the yucky side of the house... I also put 3 kinds of mint in there hoping that it will be a mint garden by spring and I won't have to worry so much about yanking a million weeds in this little used area.

SUNFLOWERS.. these are all volunteers from the bird feeder and man, are they delightful! There's a 1 foot strip of soil covering a drain pipe from the garage, next to the stockade fence... it's FULL of sunflower husks but the parsley and bright lights swiss chard are growing nicely under the sunflower umbrellas. And yes, there are morning glories climbing the sunflowers. I need to remember to pair them up or put the scarlet runners next to the sunflowers next spring.

Well, that's one bed... I could go on but won't for the sake of bandwidth.

Bless you all,
Janie

This was my first time starting anything from seed (always afraid the cats would ruin my project, but was brave this year to take a chance), so I am thrilled with my new morning glories and scarlet climber, both seeds that were given to me last year by generous gardeners.

Started Ricinus (castor bean plant) from seed, only one seed out of 5 germinated, but it looks great. Unfortunately I am afraid to plant it in the garden where I had planned to put it because of a bunny invasion. I think I may just put it in a better pot and make it a deck plant.

Unhappy with my Gallardia too...no flowers, lots of foliage

Love my Cimicifuga...pulled out a section of liner by the edge of the stream, filled it with dirt and planted the new baby there - not one wilty leaf, even with the 90 degree heat!! WOW!! I amazed myself! Have had beautiful yellow flowers all summer.

Lychnis...great red flowers, but got much taller than I expected, will have to move further into the center of the garden

Helenium - Morheim Beauty...and it IS a beauty too! Non-stop flowers for a month now, without any sign of it ending soon

All my hostas, I just love them and the slugs are battling it out with the garter snakes, so the hostas look terrific!

Artemesia - Silver Queen...growing in the back where nothing would grow before! Just LOVE IT!

Biggest Disappointment...Lost Valley Daylily, traded for it last year, very pretty, but definately the wrong color for the garden it is in. Drives me crazy every time I look at it. Am wondering if it will ever stop blooming so I can move the darn thing!!

Gosh, I think I too could just go on and on, now that I have started thinking about it!