Clematis, "Etoile Violet"
June Pics Continued
"Strawberry" Foxglove (grown from seed and winter sown)
Pansy, "Chianti Mix" (also grown from seed and winter sown).
Shirley-LOVE the purple on the clematis etoile violet.
Sally, I had foxgloves a few years back, every once in a while one will pop up from a seed away from the regular planting area. I am pretty familiar with the young leaves and try not to disturb the new plant. I found 2 this year the white one and a purple that was growing behind the garage, which my husband pull up by the roots thinking it was a weed when he was mowing, thankfully I found it in the compost pile just in time, it is now blooming in the new garden bed.
The white one is under the weeping cherry by the watergarden, they seem to like moist shade, that is where I find them the most.
When I get dried seeds sometimes I just sprinkle them where I think they will look nice and let them fend for themselves. I also do this with columbines.
This year I started Pam's Choice under lights, so next year they will bloom.
moist shade, there's my problem. I tend towards dry. Thanks for your info.
Thanks Jen! I've had Clematis "Etoile Violet" growing in my garden for easily 10 years. It's on the same arbor with Rose, "New Dawn" that has just finished flowering. I then dead head the spent blooms, trim it back to renew it's vigorous growth & to encourage more blooms, add Rose fertilizer and reapply more mulch. It's does the rest!
Back in the 70's - early 80's, when our 22' well did not yield enough water for the garden, I discovered that foxgloves were one of the few plants I could grow in the beastly dry shade of a humongous Paulownia. It was shear serendipity that they found their way into my garden, since at the time I couldn't tell a petunia from a tulip. An elderly lady down the street handed me a handful of seedlings from her garden, the parents of which she said her daughter had brought up from North Carolina. It seems like the volunteers are the ones that tower over 6', and a beautiful forest they made for a few weeks this year. I think of her every June now when the foxgloves return and the bumble bees tumble about them.
These bloom in shades from white through blush to darker pinks to a deep red-purple - y'all let me know if you ever want any seeds.
Shirley - love the colors in your daylily 'Catherine Woodbury'. Attached is an image of a seedling I grew many years ago with those same colors, but with a green heart, blooming in late July - August, and very - wonderfully - fragrant.
To all and to anyone's post that may overlap mine - great thread - wonderful flowers
appreciate the foxglove feedback. I'm gonna work hard this year on adding organic to my bed soils, then maybe I'll feel confident to ask for seeds. Something I do grow in really dry shade, altho it isn't lush, is a native Silene, white campion, I think. Pure white flowers show up nice in shade-or sun-, followed by cute seed cups later, self soweing.
Sally,
In the Fall, if you rake leaves, and IF you have a "Blower/vacuum" do you bag the shredded leaves? I do--and stick the bags in the back where no one will notice (except ME!). I KNOW you have a "back"......
Before I close off the bags, I may sprinkle any one of these things in it as I fill it.....
--A bit of lawn fertilizer (for the Nitrogen)
--Some manure--for the bacteria to help decompose it
--Definitely some water, to keep it all moist....IF you feel generous--make it some diluted Fish Emulsion...
Then--I just close off the bags and stick them under the tall Arbor Vitae in my back yard.
By next Spring--you can open them up and use all the semi-composted leaves to dig inti any beds you want to be all "humus'y and moist. Anything left over--use it to mulch the beds. WHY would anyone put raked, shredded leaves out to be picked up by the County? It is a "gardener's Gold"!!!!! Need an acid soil? Go get some oak leaves...
If you poke a few holes in the bottoms of the trash bags, before you put them down for the winter, it will allow a bunch of fat earthworms to go into the bags and "help" in the decomposition of the leaves.
Next Spring--just dig up an area and then put big hand-fulls of these leaves on top. Then, dig it over again and again. Your plants will love you! Voila! A moist, humus-filled flowerbed!
Like--maybe you did NOT know this already!!!!
Gita
Sally, aren't those campions a surprise? For flowers that do so well in full sun, who knew they'd do so well in shade? A co-worker at the office some years ago once yanked a plant of Lychnis coronaria from her hedge and brought it in to me, and descendent from it turn up in surprisingly shady spots, too.
Another Lychnis that blooms well in partial shade is Lychnis alba (Evening Campion) - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32264/ - used to be a lot of it below a towering stone wall buttressing the hill beneath an old church along the Patapsco. That, and the site of the old mill are pretty much all that's left of the mill town, Daniels. But, along with repairing the wall, evidently someone thought the wall would look better without the "weeds" at its base, so they and the Evening Campion were herbicided grrr.
Still, I did see one plant of it along a nearby trail a few late afternoons ago.
Gita, I don't think tips on turning something otherwise destined for disposal into something as useful as humus can be repeated often enough. We've been doing that, too, but it never occurred to me to add the other goodies - thank you.
bluespirit,
I believe that it just helps things decompose.....
I have NO other reasons--nor am I an expert at this kind of a thing. I just do what seems to make sense...
Note---If you wait TWO years, you will definitely have some amazing compost!
AND--IF you REALLY have free time--I would shred the vacuumed leaves twice....
Gita
Gita, expert schmexpert - I learned so much from the folks left behind when the mill closed in 1972. Their families had worked at the mill for generations and some had Appalachian roots - it was like moving inside a Foxfire book (sort of) back in the mid'70s. Anyhoo, any time I had a household, cooking or garden question, I always went over to Mrs. Johnson's house who set me straight right away. She may not have gotten all through high school, but her knowledge and wisdom saved my *bacon* many a time.
(Although, I'll admit I was dazzled by the botanical science shared in the Morning Glory forum - guess sages come in all guises)
I'll be back tomorrow night - enjoyed visiting with y'all.
Hey, Bluespiral, nice to see you posting here!
Hi Gita~~~Yes, I fully agree that throwing away leaves is just crazy!! I Called my neighbor last fall, who knows I garden, and asked her if they'd mind I steal about ten bags of mower stuff, lawn trimmings mixed with chopped leaves... I could hardly decide whether to compost it or marry it LOLOL
Hi bluespiral~~~Hey, I know that area! It is really neat. The church is really amazing tucked back there and I guess I read the history on Patapsco website. So interesting. And I wish I had one of those proerties abutting the park. Except I might 'fear the deer'
Hey folks- I'll be gone for a week too, tomorrow. Family going to San Antonio.
Hi Blue: Good to see you posting here. Like your Daylily that looks a lot like "Catherine Woodbury".
Sally: Have a safe and wonderful trip to San Antonio.
I will be gone too.............
Leaving this Saturday for a trip oversees to N. Europe to visit my land of Birth--Latvia. My sisters are going also. I haven't been there since 1994.
Anyhow--I will be shutting off my computer this Saturday and i won't be back until July 22nd. So--don't worry if you do not see me posting!
Man!!! I sure will miss you all!!!!
Gita
Have a wonderful time. Of course, you can squeeze a few minutes in an internet cafe to let us know how things are going! We are hoping for lots of photos and commentary!
Hmmmm, Gita....me thinks I'll be headed over to my old office mgrs house this fall to ummmm, "help' her get rid of leaves....I'll just plop those bags right under my deck...matter a fact may add some of that shredded newspaper everyone raves about to the mix!!! Definite on my "to do" list.
Oh BTW: Orange Jasmine this morning...what a scent!!!
Anyone who "needs" mulched leaves is welcome to come to my yard this Fall. I have large trees out back and more leaves than I could ever make use of. And my neighbor has a yard full of bradford pear leaves that I'm sure he would allow someone to have.
In fact, I still have leaves from last year out back.
Gita, Have a wonderful trip. How nice to spend time at home with family.
Sally, You also have a great trip. It's been years since Ric and I were out West and we would love to go back again.
Chantell, I moved my Jasmine outside to the gazebo it hasn't bloomed in years maybe an outside vacation will help.
Gita, how exciting to get to go back to Latvia and with your sisters too. I'll bet you all are going to have some fun.
Sally, you have fun in Texas too. You'll have to keep an eye out for drought tolerant plants while you're there.
Gita: Have a wonderful trip to Latvia!
Everyone, Your pictures are so beautiful!!! Chantell, We are so jealous of Jasmine up here!
Finally, A daylily! This was labled Gertrude somebody or other. My Daylily expert friend, says this is not Gertrude, so she is a mystery.
This azalea is not blooming, but I actually think that the bush is prettier than the blooms.
Gorgeous stormyla, but actually it's a Daphne and a HEALTHY one and beautiful :)
Second round of blooms for this one - Julia Child rose
Daylilies are starting! I'm pretty sure this one is 'Texas Sunlight'
And here's the privet that we chopped down today. It was 12' by 10', a leftover from the 60's
Pretty peach color - can't remember which one.
That's funny RCN. The varigated Azalea is the one on the other side of the bed. Never let DSO rake the fall leaves. The markers all end up in a pile.
Astilbe 'Vision in Red' still hanging in there.
LOL, I don't have to worry about DH with the rake, it's the loppers and pruners I have to keep away from him!
Even though it was still pretty hot outside at 5 PM, loved how the late afternoon sun made the Bottlebrush Buckeye "sparkle" in the shade.
The bees, moths and butterflies were mesmerized with it as well - buzzing all around it like they couldn't get enough of it! The little guy on the lower left sat still long enough for the picture but he wouldn't open his wings for me.
Here's Lysmachia Vulgaris, Garden Loosestrife that I'll be ripping out tomorrow. It's not on Pa.'s invasive list yet, but will probably be soon. It's growing in deep shade.
And these little guys were everywhere! I kept circling the bush trying to find one who would stop long enough for a picture and it was hard to hold the camera still!
I love that Buckeye, been thinking of getting one. Julia is a heartbreaker!!
Hart, This Marguerite, Lemon Delight is growing right under the Black Walnut
My goodness, but the 4am contingent is strong today!
Shirley, On Lazy S'S Farm Nursery website, under "Inquiring Minds" they have a whole list of plants for dry shade. I'm still trying to learn how to post a link here.