Last Look at the 2015 Garden

Mum looking worse for wear


Clematis is done; I cut back the Oregano


Rose decided to have a big flourish of bloom.












I cut the Agastache to the ground. Guess that's what it wanted.


I cut this sage to the ground too, and it came back.

Fall Garden - Halloween

It is very strange to me that with the cold winter, cool spring, and mild summer, that we are having such a warm fall. I usually like to have a dying garden be a part of the Halloween decorations, but this year we have new Clematis and Zinnia blooms to go with the spider webs and rotting corpses.

Pots in Fall

After the spring annual pots started to look scraggly, I went to the nursery and got some plants that like the heat. Little did I know that they would also like fall! The pots are all amazing, and I want to capture this moment so that I can go and get these same things next year!











and a top view of the concrete urns on the step.
I love the soft clover, that has been growing all season.


This ivy in the side bed urn is NUTS! I need to get better control, I think.

First Fall Cleanup

I took out some of the really dead plants last week, and the garden looks much "cleaner".
I rearranged the porch pots so that they will all get the fall rains.

I am hesitant to cut down the zinnia as I want them to self-seed for next year!
Also waiting for the buddleia to stop growing new shoots.
I think I've missed the window for fall transplanting - it went from 80 to 50 overnight; so I will move the liatris and agastache in the spring.

Mom, please note that the Mums came back!





Clematis is doing fine; Medusa is gone.


LOVE my kitchen-garden-herb-bed!!
(thanks Mom)

Putting the garden to sleep

I like to keep the garden all disheveled for Halloween; add an unkempt flavor to the decorations. Right after Halloween, we had a frost, and all the tender plants died. It was time to cut everything back for the winter.

Here are the front beds trimmed down.






I looked online for tips on how to trim the buddleia and hibiscus.
Everything said that they were happy to take a hard pruning. Given that they had grown from nothing to huge over the summer, I figured down low was the best strategy.
We will see next year how that played out.

The other two things that I pruned down low with uncertainty were the society garlic (I think is what it is) and the Del Oro lilly.

Those garlics are driving me NUTS! they make tiny seeds, and last year I let them go to seed, so we have zillions of little garlics like unwanted hair all over the beds. I contemplate taking the poison to them. See the mess on the wood edging? that's garlic.

Anyway... this is probably the end of 2012 gardening.

Next year I hope that we have a more predictable season.

My new addition plans include:
Hollyhocks
Lavendar
and maybe a Jasmine

we will see...

Fall additions to the garden

I planted the bed in the back yard. Here is what we get to monitor:

Hosta - City Lights

in the front, middle, and side: Liriope "Monroe White"
- 12-15" tall, blooms summer

to the left: Helleborus Brandywine "Lenten Rose"
- 18" tall, blooms early spring

in the back left and right: Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' Solomon's Seal;
- 24-30" tall, blooms mid to late spring



The Clematis went in next to the light pole.


I cleaned up the pumpkin vine which died once the pumpkins started turning orange. Now we have two great pumpkins we grew ourselves!


Here are some pics of the beds in September.

Planning for Fall - continued...

First series of Fall purchases are here.

To encourage the hummingbirds, I just bought these two Agastaches.

I'm going to plant Desert Sunrise next to the rose, just behind the downspout.

Pstessene Coronado Red will go in front of the kitchen window next to the Buddleia.

I want to put some Hollyhocks behind the Rudbeckia. I just need to figure out how to do it...
buy small plants?
start seeds in peat pots in the spring?
sow seeds now?

some research is in order.

Garden - end of August

Wow, I can't believe a month has gone by since I took photos!
Things have not been popping up as often as they did through the spring and early summer. In fact, some things look the same.
I am happy to find that they hibiscus has bloomed for a month! yay!

Here are some photos of the front in its overgrown, weird self seeds kinda way.

Garden - Planning for Fall

6/7/2012
Thanks to my Mom's gift of a certificate for White Flower Farm, I have purchased two of my wish list items. Since they ship at the right time for planting, I don't have to pretend I know :-)
















This pink foxglove will go here:

















This echinacea will go between the yellows:


6/12/2012
Edited to add...
Just bought this Clematis.
I'm going to put it on the lamp post.
It blooms from May to September!!
Now I have to make a bed and figure out what to use for a support to get it going.

Garden - 2010 Aug

Garden 2010 Aug, a set on Flickr.

...and then we cut down the bushes.

We didn't know what would go there, so it was kinda bear for a LONG time!