Last of the Bloomers

I think it's almost "lights out" for the flowers in the Garden of Aaron this year.

Temperatures are forecast to drop in the coming days (40s for high on Sunday, lows in the 20s), but up to this point, unusually warm autumn weather to date has allowed some brave bloomers to strut their stuff right into Thanksgiving territory.

Mexican sage, Salvia leucantha, has bloomed for months from summer to late autumn. In recent weeks, it became a magnet for bees and other pollinators.

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), also a long bloomer, very popular with mini pollinators (hoverflies, etc.)

Most of the hardy geraniums stopped blooming long ago, but 'Rozanne' hybrid geranium carries on with a few last flowers. Unfortunately, Rozanne doesn't have the same winter presence as some of my other favorite cranesbill geraniums. Where Geranium sanguineum and Geranium cantabrigiense seem more or less evergreen here in zone 6/7, 'Rozanne' has acted behaved like a true herbaceous perennial, dying back to the ground each year. 

This unknown Camellia sasanqua has had a great year. As you can see, if you pick a camellia with open, single flowers, you'll give the bees a banquet!

A few of the flowers on this group of reblooming azaleas have been blasted by frost, but the shrubs are still putting on a magnificent show!

OK, no flowers here, but the fall foliage on this Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) certainly shines on its own.

No flowers here, but I love the pop of the red chokeberries (Aronia arbutifolia) against the variegated aucuba (Aucuba japonica) in the background.

Thanks for reading and commenting this past year.

I'll continue to post in the weeks and months ahead, though most likely at a more lugubrious pace than during the growing months, but I do look forward to sharing information with you on plants I've added to the garden this fall, seeds I'll be winter-sowing and so forth.

Best wishes to you all (in the Northern hemisphere) for a warm and cozy winter season. And to you in the Southern hemisphere... Happy Spring :)

Feeling Like an April Fool...

Gaura lindheimeri "Siskiyou Pink" having a bad hair day. 

So I have to confess that today was somewhat of a low-point in the garden for me.

It was just yesterday that I was jazzed about the good results in the seed-starting experiment.

Eager to maintain forward momentum in the garden, I decided to prune back two of the Gaura Siskiyou Pinks, a task that I had been avoiding for far too long.

Some sources recommend pruning back gauras in early winter, but others suggest leaving the task until early spring. I probably should have done it at least a month ago, but spring here has been so cold and wet that I didn't really feel like it.

The same gaura after a trim. Not much prettier. You can see what looks like a little bit of fresh green growth. That's actually better than the other neighboring gaura I cut back where nearly the whole plant looks dead.

So I went out after an early dinner all bundled up in my winter coat, temps in the high 40s F (~9 C) and a light rain falling.

And here's what got my goat:

1. The gaura looked dreadful. Sure, I had tried to fool myself for the last few months that the curled and frizzed gaura stems gave the garden 'winter interest'. But really, they just looked dead. And when I cut away the old stems (never quite sure how far down to prune the gaura), I found barely any new growth on one of the gauras and only a moderate amount of new growth on the other. Now gauras are supposed to be long-lived in light soils with good drainage, but I'm thinking that a winter with above average rainfall in our heavy clay soil may have done them in. It's frustrating because it wasn't long ago that I was singing the praises of gaura, and now I feel like this is another plant that I have to re-evaluate as to whether I really want in the garden. Sure it looks pretty while it flowers in the spring, and perhaps it gives a brief rebloom in the autumn, but once hot temperatures kick in, gaura stops flowering, it looks fairly awful in winter if not trimmed back (could perhaps solve that last bit by trimming it in late autumn) and it may not survive more than 2-3 years in our climate and soil.

No leaves on the Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) yet...

2. Here we are in early April and many of the plants are still leafless and bare. I guess I was spoiled by last year's early spring, but the unseasonably (10-20 degrees below average) cold temperatures this year have me yearning for some greenery. And it doesn't help that a number of my plants - Chase Tree (Vitex agnus-castus), crape myrtle, Rose of Sharon - are living up to their reputation as being slow to leaf out. Actually, I knew that crape myrtle would be slow to leaf out. When we bought our house two years ago, the crape myrtles were totally bare and we actually contemplate cutting them down because we didn't like the look of the bare branches. Then the summer flowers came and I was so glad we had decided to keep them. I hope I'll be singing a different tune later this month or certainly by May, but right now I sort of wish that I had added more plants to my landscape like the Beauty Bush which started leafing out last month and now looks fairly decently clothed in leaves.

Why couldn't I have planted more deciduous plants that leaf out relatively early - like this Beauty Bush?

3. Evergreens or semi-evergreens make me happy. Again, this is something I've just realized this winter. And I don't have a lot of evergreens. I'm not talking about conifers - at least not necessarily - but plants like Lonicera sempervivens (native coral honeysuckle) or even the oak leaf hydrangea and sweet woodruff, which look tattered and ragged, but kept a lot of their leaves over the winter and are already sprouting plenty of new growth. I'm also loving the new growth on the three little Aronia plants, but there's nary a bud or leaf in sight on the tiny Calycanthus floridus. I'm wondering if it even survived the winter after a rough first year last year. If I don't see any sign of life in a week or two, I may rip it out and replace it with something that's more than 3-inches tall. Same deal with the Sarcococca confusa. I planted two Sarcococcas last year - one died and the other hung on, but it's not looking good (some leaves yellow, others damaged) and doesn't seem to have any new growth. Perhaps I should cut my losses with that one too rather than doting over a damaged and stunted plant for the next year or two?

One of the few cheery sights in my garden - Veronica "Georgia Blue". Loving the blue flowers. And the foliage stays evergreen! I recognize these are early days - and I have a solid track record of recanting early opinions about plants (see gaura) and mulch (see pine straw), but I have a good feeling about Georgia Blue. I haven't seen how it takes a Tennessee summer yet...

4. Still kicking myself about the pine straw. I've found that I much prefer the pine bark nuggets, but right now I have a mix of areas mulched with straw, areas mulched with nuggets and unmulched areas. Not happy at all with how that looks. Plus there are plenty of weeds in the straw, since they're difficult to pull there. (Some weeds in the nuggets too, but I find I have a much easier time getting those out.) In some cases I've laid the nuggets on top of the pine straw, but mainly I'm trying to move the straw and replace with nuggets. But it's getting hard to find places to put the straw. I hate feeling like I made work for myself unnecessarily, but that's exactly what I did twice over - first when I laid the straw and now when I've had to pull it up and move it. Double sigh.

I'm not crazy about this ajuga genevensis (somewhat swamped by pine straw) but at least it's got green foliage and some small blue flowers, which makes it more attractive than about 90% of my garden right now. Not sure what all the tiny little seedlings are in the bottom right of the photo. I'm thinking/hoping maybe they're sweet alyssum...

Anyway, don't mean to complain, just feeling a little down on myself for making what feels like stupid gardening mistakes.

Have to keep reminding myself that gardening (like anything else) has a learning curve and I'm still on the steep part of that slope. I also know that it's OK to make mistakes - hopefully I just won't make the same mistake twice (or more often than that).

And I know that there are also plenty of hopeful signs - the rapidly spreading and thriving Sweet Woodruff, all the plants that are leafing out nicely, the David garden phlox that is springing up and seems to have multiplied, Stargazer lilies starting to poke through the soil. And there are the happy surprises, plants that I had given up for dead that are coming back to life - a clematis, a Lonicera Serotina honeysuckle, the ballon flower (Platycodon) and a variegated Anise Hyssop. I'm sure there will be many other joyful moments in the 2013 gardening season, but today was a tough one.

Do you ever have days when you beat yourself up over gardening decisions? And what do you do to pull yourself out of that funk?

Meanwhile, here are some more photos...

Russian Sage did great its first year (2011), but performed much weaker last year (2012) with branches losing their leaves and flowers early. Like with the gaura, I think that drainage could be a big part of the problem here. Russian Sage supposedly likes excellent drainage, while we've got heavy clay and lots of winter rain. The plants lost a few branches this winter, but I can't tell if that's because they're dying or if they just got buffeted by the winds. Per instructions, I trimmed the sage back last year, but thinking about leaving it untrimmed this year to see how it responds. If they turn in another weak growing season this year, I may shovel prune all three of them. Too drastic? (Note the weeds growing right through the pine straw. They're a pain to pull through the straw, so I will most likely rake away all the straw, try to find somewhere else to deposit it and replace with pine bark nuggets.)

I think this is a tiny self-sown gaura seedling that I found near one of the Siskiyou Pinks. Species gauras are supposed to self-sow quite a bit, but I've only found this and maybe one other seedling in two years. I had thought that cultivars like Siskiyou Pink were sterile, but it seems like they may be able to self-sow a little. (Alternatively, this could just be a runner from the mama plant...I haven't tried digging around it to find out.)

I'll close on a happy note. This plant looked so awful last year that I contemplated tearing it out. I thought our extreme summer temperatures last year had killed it, but apparently it is tougher than it looked. You're looking at Lonicera periclymenum, a type of  honeysuckle also known as Woodbine. This is a variety called "Serotina" that is supposed to have fragrant flowers and red berries. I'm digging the foliage, which I would call purplish, but Missouri Botanical Garden calls dark green above and bluish green below. I probably should have given it more shade than it has in its current spot. (Mobot says it can take full sun to partial shade, but prefers partial shade.) Supposedly it can grow to 10-20 feet long and may attract hummingbirds. Hope springs eternal!!

Plans and Dreams #2 - Looking Ahead to 2013!

Yes, I know it is only November 12th, but as my father says, "Dates on the calendar are closer than they appear."

So what do you think of these selections that I'm planning to plant in 2013?

1) Lobularia maritima, Sweet Alyssum - Planning to heavily wintersow actually by buying seeds in bulk.

Sweet Alyssum, photo by Anita363

2) Cosmos bipinnatus, Sensation mix from Southern Exposure

Cosmos 'Sensation', photo by Yoko Nekonomania

3) Helianthus debilis Cucumerifolius, Cucumber-Leaf Sunflower - I love growing sunflowers for their cheery late-summer blooms. Last year's Autumn Beauty sunflowers not only looked great, they also did a wonderful job of attracting bees, birds and squirrels. This year, the puffy Tiger's Eye sunflowers were attractive, but the birds, bees and squirrels all ignored them. Since I prefer plants with wildlife value, I'll be trying a new variety next year - the wild Cucumber-Leaf Sunflower from Southern Exposure. The flowers on this variety of sunflower are supposed to be much smaller, but it looks like there are a lot of them and the seeds are supposed to be very attractive to birds. I can't find a Creative Commons-licensed photo online, but you can get a good look of a spectacular specimen at the Dave's Garden site. Southern Exposure also has good general advice on the benefits and the nuts-and-bolts of growing sunflowers. (Helianthus debilis is actually a perennial sunflower, but is only hardy through zone 8, so I'll be growing it as an annual. Floridata notes that there is a prostrate form as well as the erect Cucumber-Leaf variety. Since this is native to sandy Florida beaches, I'm a little worried about how it will do in clay soil, but I'm going to give it a shot. If it fails to grow, my backup plan is to grow the Lemon Queen version of Helianthus annuus from Seed Savers.)

4) Zinnia elegans, "State Fair" variety from Southern Exposure. (Note - I don't have any commercial relationship with Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, I just think they carry a great variety of seeds!)

Geranium sanguineum, "Max Frei", photo by Michael Kappel

5) Geraniums - I'm probably going to go a little overboard with the perennial geraniums next year. I've enjoyed having Rozanne in my garden for two years now and I'm eager to experiment with some other varieties -- hopefully ones that will spread into groundcovers. Rozanne bloomed beautifully in full sun during the springtime, but it quickly faded and baked during the summer, so I moved it to the front foundation bed where it will get afternoon shade. That's where I plan to put the others - Karmina (G. cantabrigiense) and Max Frei (G. sanguineum) from Romence Gardens; Biokovo (another G. cantabrigiense), Bevan's Variety (G. macrorrhizum) and Claridge Druce (G. oxonianum) from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek.

6) Hibiscus syriacus "Diana" - I ordered the blue Rose of Sharon ("Blue Bird") from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek last month. I had wanted to get Diana too, but they were sold out until next spring. Like Blue Bird, Diana is supposed to be a sterile cultivar without the excessive self-sowing issues that can reportedly be a problem with some Hibiscus syriacus varieties.

"Diana" Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), photo courtesy of Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek. (I had another white hibiscus with a red center previously pictured here that I had found labeled as "Diana" on Flickr, but Dottie at Gardens in the Wood was kind enough to let me know that Diana is a pure white hibiscus and to let me display the photo from her website in this blog post.

7) Aquilegia, Columbine - Yes, I just wrote that I was "on the fence" about aquilegia (or at least the "Winky" ones I've got, which I believe may be sterile). Part of the fun of Aquilegia, it seems to me, is that it should self sow! So I think I'll try the Aquilegia canadensis and vulgaris from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek next year and then hope for lots of volunteers the year after that!

8) Amorpha fruticosa, False Indigo, Indigo Bush - Supposed to be a tough sun-loving native that fixes its own nitrogen and can tolerate windy sites. Sign me up! Oh and did I mention it is supposed to attract butterflies too? This will be my first attempt at bare root planting, via Prairie Moon Nursery.

Amorpha fruticosa, False Indigo, photo by Dendroica cerulea

9) Forestiera neomexicana, Desert Olive - Reportedly tolerates drought, heat and clay soil while growing anywhere from 6 to 18-feet tall and 12-feet wide. As a bonus, it is also supposed to have nice fall color. I'm planning to get mine from Woodlanders. (I have to admit I'm a little concerned about whether the soil drainage here is good enough for this plant, since it's really native to SW deserts, but I'll probably give it a shot regardless. High Country Gardens seems to think it can handle clay.) There are sources on the Internet that suggest the berries - which you need both male and female plants to produce - may be edible to people, but not very palatable.

10) Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop - Supposed to attract bees and butterflies, supposed to self-sow too. I didn't have any luck growing this from seed this past spring, so I eventually bought a golden anise hyssop cultivar at a local nursery and planted it in partial sun a couple of months ago. But I think anise hyssop really needs full sun. Maybe I'll try transplanting the golden one and then buying a new species plant from Almost Eden. Again, I'm a little worried about drainage with this plant, but I think I'll give it a shot. Even if it does not overwinter, hopefully I'll get lots of volunteers!

Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop, photo by mmwm

11) Borago officinalis, Borage - This annual flower is supposed to be very attractive to bees. Other selling points - drought tolerance and an ability to repel some pest insects. I plan on buying my seeds from Seed Savers.

12) Chrysogonum virginianum, Allen Bush, Golden Star, Green and Gold - I continue to look for groundcovers that are vigorous, but not exotic invasives. Allen Bush is supposedly a good ground cover for shady spots in the South. I plan to buy a couple specimens from a local nursery or Almost Eden.

Chrysogonum virginianum, Allen Bush, photo by Chris Kreussling

13) Helianthus microcephalus, Small-headed Sunflower - Yes, it's another sunflower! This one is a perennial that is hardy to zone TK, and thus should survive in my Middle TN garden. Should make a statement if it reaches its projected size (5 to 8-feet tall by 3-feet wide). I plan to buy the "Lemon Queen" variety from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek. Should hopefully attract bees and butterflies!

Helianthus microcephalus, Small-headed Sunflower, "Lemon Queen" (next to a very thorny rosa rugosa), photo by KiG

14) Kniphofia uvaria, Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily - Highly recommended by an accomplished gardener in Tennessee, I'm looking forward to trying my hand at growing Torch Lily. I'm a little worried about drainage issues here too, but I'll try amending the hole at planting time and hope for the best. I'm planning to order an "Earliest of All" Kniphofia from Edelweiss Perennials in the spring.

Kniphofia 'Amsterdam', photo collage by Manuel Martin Vicente

15) Muhlenbergia capillaris, Pink Muhley Grass - I've seen some of these around in the neighborhood and I like the floating-pink-cloud look and the fluffy texture. My plan is to order 2 or 4 of the "Lenca" variety from a local nursery and use them to frame the entrance from our back to patio to the yard.

Muhlenbergia capillaris, Pink Muhley Grass, photo by Jenny Evans / SCCF Nursery

16) Ratibida pinnata, Grey-Headed Coneflower - Another North American native that supposedly tolerates heat and drought, self sows, and attracts butterflies, bees and birds! Once again, drainage could be an issue here, but I'll try amending the soil at planting time and hoping for the best. I anticipate purchasing Ratibida from Romence Gardens. 

17) Vernonia noveboracensis, Ironweed - Yep, the name says 'weed', but I still think it's beautiful. Supposed to tolerate drought, heat and humidity, while attracting butterflies. I plan to purchase this plant from Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek.

Vernonia noveboracensis, Ironweed, photo by dogtooth77

So...what do y'all think of my (incredibly overambitious) plans?? :)

UPDATE 11/13 - Thanks to Casa Mariposa's comment below, I have added Malva sylvestris "Zebrina" to my 2013 planting plans! I anticipate ordering this from Romence Gardens. Supposedly, this plant tolerates heat and drought while attracting butterflies. And it self sows!! Some reviewers at Dave's Garden say that it self sows too much, but I'm willing to take that risk for such a beautiful plant :)

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Shots in the Garden! (June 21, 2012)

Sorry for the posting hiatus. I was traveling on business for about a week and the blog (and garden) were neglected while I was away. Fortunately, my wife was kind enough to do a bit of watering in my absence, plus we apparently had a couple of storms that may have helped keep the garden in bloom.

Without further ado, here are a few shots from my garden on the day of the summer equinox, 2012:


I have mixed feelings on Calendula officinalis (English Marigold). On the one hand, they attract bees and butterflies...

On the other hand, they tend to look kind of ratty, especially now that the summertime heat has kicked in. The flowers don't last long and they go through various stages of post-flower decrepitude so that there are typically many more obviously and visibly dead flowers on a plant than live blooming ones. And these post-flowering seedheads aren't attractive (like coneflowers) or inconspicuous (like cosmos) and they don't even seem to attract birds (like cosmos does). The overall effect is not shall we say aesthetically pleasing...

And yet, there are the interesting butterflies (or moths?)...

I planted an awful lot of Calendula officinalis this year, so deadheading is an arduous and unwelcome task. (I don't mind various gardening chores, but I'm not into deadheading.) Despite its ability to cover a lot of ground and provide weeks of flowering, I'm not planning on sowing English Marigolds again next year, for the reasons cited above. But in the future, I could see growing a small patch of them for the bees and butterflies.

Now on to the Sweet Alyssum. We planted a lot of it this year, both from seed and nursery starts. Most of it has languished or died, but some of the white ones have really taken off, growing big and bushy. Exhibit A:

Some of the alyssum is planted near the native trumpet honeysuckle. One of those honeysuckles (Alabama Crimson) is growing well, but has not flowered at all yet. The other plant (Blanche Sandman) is smaller, but already flowered weeks ago and has now grown and begun opening a second flush of flowers. Exciting!! Haven't seen any hummingbirds yet, but I'm hoping that as the honeysuckles get bigger, the birds will discover them. Here Blanche is ready for her close-up:

Finally, here's a close-up look at the 'David' variety of Phlox paniculata, a.k.a. garden phlox. Remember the buds from a couple of weeks ago? Well, many of those have burst in bloom now! According to Missouri Botanical Garden, this plant likes full sun, is hardy from zones 3-8 and can bloom from July to September. Garden phloxes have a reputation for being susceptible to powdery mildew, but David is apparently relatively resistant. The flowers have a light, sweet fragrance, but you have to practically bury your nose in the petals to smell it. Still, I don't mind getting up close to this...

But let's take a step back to give you an idea of the strong, upright form that the plant takes. We started with three Phlox plants last year. All three came back, but this one actually multiplied into four individual plants, or at least four stalks. According to the University of Minnesota Extension service, Phlox paniculata needs to be divided every two to four years if it is growing well. Being a relative newcomer to gardening, I've actually never tried dividing any plant before, but I'll probably give it a shot with the phlox next spring...

Shots in the Garden! (May 13-19, 2012)

Blue Star Creeper (Laurentia fluviatilis), groundcover

Garden Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), also known as Mexican Aster, self-sowing and self-cleaning annual, thrives in heat and full sun

Cosmos again, looking down at a 3-foot tall plant that self-sowed into raised garden bed. Cosmos attracts bees and butterflies for its pollen, as well as gold finches for its seed.

Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink', see May 7th video for more information

Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), grown from seed, the flowers look more lavender in real life, should bloom spring until frost (with a mid-summer shearing) and attracts butterflies and many small beneficial insects

Rozanne Perennial Geranium, 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year, easy care, forms a spreading mat of attractive foliage topped with stunning purple-blue flowers. Each flower is short-lived, but the plant is self-cleaning and new flowers bloom continuously over a long season.

Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'FireWitch', just planted a couple of weeks ago, has flourished so far in windy and warm conditions that wreaked havoc on other plants. Self-cleaning flowers are supposed to be fragrant on hot, sunny days, but I confess I have not yet gotten down on my hands and knees to sniff and find out!

Viola tricolor, Johnny Jump-Up, also known as Wild Pansy and Heartsease. I have read that the flowers and leaves are edible (which is why I sprinkled the seeds in the vegetable garden among the lettuce), but I'm not sure how to prepare it so I haven't tried any yet. Still, it is a very cheerful little flower that brightens up the veggie garden.

Lonicera sempervivens 'Blanche Sandman'. Also known as Trumpet Honeysuckle, this native vine is supposed to attract hummingbirds. As the flowers unfurl, they remind me of a Dr. Seuss drawing!