Here are three plants that are blooming for the first time in my garden.

Purple dragon

Pinellia tripartita ‘Atropurpurea’ aka Purple Dragon

Yugoslavian mallow

Can you see the mallow resemblance?

Kitaibelia vitifolia is big.

Mountain fleeceflower

Persicaria amplexicaulis aka Mountain fleeceflower

The leaves of this fleeceflower look rather weedy.

‘Sweet Summer Love’ clematis

Given a bigger support, this clematis could go higher and wider.

‘Sweet Summer Love’ doesn’t have an especially large flower, but unlike the big-flowered types, it’s fragrant

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in Mr. Linky and the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

I am happy to report that our area is no longer “abnormally dry.” It is however, abnormally hot and humid. I have been moving plants in the cooler part of the day and keeping busy in the house the rest of the time. I’d thought I’d show you some highlights from August.

Love my yellow daylilies, single or double.

The roadside border is in its second year, and it’s starting to hint at the effect I’m hoping to achieve.

I thought these Tropicanna Gold cannas would add some height to the border, but they still haven’t grown higher than the daylily foliage.

A couple of new plants

I got this phlox as a teeny, single stem division from the rock garden club plant sale last August.

Speaking of small, check out this Purple Pillar rose of Sharon.

This is my first year growing ‘Lacy Blue’ didiscus (Trachymene coerulea). The blue is more of a light lavender to my eye.

I decided to pair ‘Butterfly Kisses’ echinacea with the taller, straight-species coneflower.

…and this is what you see, now looking up the slope. I’m still not sure those daylilies “go” with the rest of the planting. What do you think?

My grandma wrote “Pink Trumpet Lilies” on the seed envelope, but I’m pretty sure this is Lilium regale, the Chinese trumpet lily.

Blooming in previous Augusts

My 14th anniversary of blogging is coming up later this month, so just for fun I’d thought I’d link to my other August Bloom Day posts. Apparently the first year I participated was 2008.
August 2008
August 2009
August 2010
August 2011
August 2012
August 2013–skipped, in Quebec City
August 2014
August 2015

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in Mr. Linky and the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

Autumn blooms come in three categories: fall-only bloomers, “summer” annuals, and rebloomers. Because of this, September usually has more blooming plants than August.

Cyclamen purpurascens only blooms in the fall. It is considered one of the cold-hardiest cyclamens for the garden.

Japanese anemones also only bloom in autumn. This one is ‘Honorine Jobert’.

Fire Light® Hydrangea (H. paniculata ‘SMHPFL’), which Proven Winners sent to me to trial, blooms in August but doesn’t color up until September.

‘Lemon Queen’ helianthus opens a few flowers in late August, but doesn’t hit her stride until September.

‘Lemon Queen’ is big, and needs big companions, like these Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ in the Slope Garden.

Harumph. My hardy hibiscus are supposed to be summer bloomers, but they are just opening their first buds this week. This one is ‘Cherry Cheesecake’, a sample plant from Proven Winners.I thought it was plenty hot this summer, but perhaps our cooler-than-typical spring slowed them down.

I am used to heat-loving annuals, such as this Rose Bon Bon cosmos from Renee’s Garden, taking their sweet time to bloom. If I start them indoors, they don’t bloom until late July. And if I sow them in the ground where they are to grow, as I did with this particular plant, they don’t bloom until August, and are at their peak in September, shortly before frost cuts them down.

The cool evening temperatures stimulate a second flush of bloom on roses, such as Flower Carpet® Amber…

…Darcey Bussell, a David Austin rose,…

…Flower Carpet® Pink Supreme…

…and ‘Sophy’s Rose’, also from David Austin.

Left to right: ‘Disraeli/Beaconsfield’ colchicums, Knautia macedonica ‘Thunder and Lightning’, Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’, Salvia transsylvanica, pink Phlox paniculata (second flush), ‘Sophy’s Rose’, Lychnis coronaria ‘Alba’, Cosmos ‘Rose Bon Bon’, Salvia forskaohlei (Click photo to enlarge)

Can’t find the knautia in the photo above? It’s at the bottom near the left corner of the bed, a little bit to the right of the tent stake. It’s not blooming heavily now, nor did it bloom heavily all summer, but the foliage makes it a keeper.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

Frost is not the end, just the beginning of the end

We had our first frost on Monday, 26F (~-3C). And another frost this morning, 27F (also ~-3C). We often seem to skip the light frosts altogether and go straight for the hard stuff. Buh-bye, dahlias, cannas, and cosmos. But there are plenty of plants still blooming.

A good gardening friend gave me a piece of Salvia koyamae this fall. This salvia from Japan prefers shade.

Here’s a close-up of the flowers. It’s hardy to USDA zone 4.

Heterotheca villosa ‘Ruth Baumgardner’ grows to 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5m) in my garden and is blooming its head off right now, frost or no frost.

1.’Rosy Dawn’ 2. ‘The Giant’ 3. ‘Lilac Wonder’ 4. ‘Nancy Lindsay’ 5. ‘Poseidon’ 6. C. giganteum 7. C. speciosum 8. ‘Waterlily’ 9. ‘Zephyr’ 10. ‘Harlekijn’ 11. C. cilicicum 12. C. autumnale ‘Album’ 13. C. autumnale 14. ‘Glory of Heemstede’ 15. C. x byzantinum 16. C. x byzantinum ‘Album’ 17. C. x agrippinum 18. C. autumnale ‘Alboplenum’ 19. ‘Spartacus’ all blooming October 7, 2016.

This is the first bloom of my patch of Sheffield mums. They will bloom into November, depending on how cold the nights get.

This phlox was a deeper pink when it bloomed the first time in July and August.

All of my roses are blooming again. This is Flower Carpet Pink Supreme, which has more of a orange cast to its flowers with the cooler temps. It was a lot pinker earlier in the season.

And I have to put in a good word for the At Last™ rose from Proven Winners.

Some foxgloves are putting out a few new spires.

Actually, these forget-me-nots are blooming for the first time. I started them as seedlings and planted them out quite late–in July, I think. They somehow think they’ve been through winter and have started blooming. Are they in for a surprise!

And the cool weather annuals are making a comeback. I particularly like this combination of golden feverfew (somewhat perennial) and sweet alyssum.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

What’s missing from this picture are the autumn crocuses. They should be blooming now. No, I don’t mean colchicums–they’re done. (And they’re not crocuses!!) I mean bona-fide crocuses that bloom in the fall. Crocus speciosus, to be precise. I planted more than one hundred of them four years ago, and for the last three years they have bloomed faithfully and generously, saving me from a flower-less November.But not this year.

Look how nicely my fall crocus were blooming last November!

When I planted them, I placed the crocus corms on top of grit, and then covered them with grit, before replacing the soil on top.

I consult the experts

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that there’s a Facebook group devoted to Crocus and Colchicum. I asked the many knowledgeable members what could have happened to my crocuses. One member suggested that it was too dry for them to form flowers. We didn’t have the extremely dry conditions that caused parts of my state to be declared in drought this summer, but we had an almost snowless winter, and it was dry enough to make this gardener worry about her garden. It hadn’t occurred to me that this could have an impact on the crocuses. I had thought most crocuses actually liked it rather dry, but I suppose in their native clime there is a wet season when they form their flowers.

I even peeked underneath: no crocuses, but plenty of baby hellebores!

Blooming or faking it

From a distance, it may look like I still have flowers blooming. A closer inspection reveals that the last of them just freeze-dried on the plant. Roses, especially, are good at that.

They look kind of shabby up close, but from the warmth of the kitchen window, the Flower Carpet® roses by the mailbox provide a spot of color.

The alyssum looks sugar-coated.

Aster tartaricus ‘Jindai’ glows in the morning light.

The phlox really does look like it’s given up, but still provides enough color to catch your eye.

And I do still have a colchicum blooming after all, a lone ‘Alboplenum’ sheltered by forget-me-not foliage.

First to bloom in spring, last to give up in autumn–that’s a viola for you.

And my ‘Thanksgiving bloom’ hellebore is waiting in the wings, but may be buried by the snow predicted for this weekend.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

It’s January, and here in the northern reaches of North America we don’t expect to find flowers blooming. And yet one plant in my garden is trying to do just that: Helleborus niger, commonly called the Christmas rose. It blooms at Christmas for gardeners in Great Britain. They were the ones who named it.

My Christmas rose starts budding up in November.

This is a particularly early-blooming form of Helleborus niger called ‘Thanksgiving Bloom’.

I think the buds are a little more open, but a little more prostrate.

The nursery that sold me ‘Thanksgiving Bloom’ is no longer in business, so I can’t point you to a source. In general this hellebore species blooms either very late fall or very early spring–what would be equivalent to December in Great Britain, weather-wise. Even hybrids that have H. niger in their parentage will bloom much earlier, so they are worth seeking out as well. It is hardy to USDA Zone 3 and likes well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. It is more slow growing than many spring-blooming hellebore hybrids, so be patient. Mine was transplanted from the old house in 2012. I almost lost it, and it has finally regained its former health.

The Christmas rose probably won’t bloom for you at Christmas, but it will bloom earlier than any other plant in your garden, except maybe snowdrops.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

It’s the most exciting time of year! It’s like Christmas, except instead of tumbling downstairs to see what “Santa” left me under the tree, I’m dashing out the door every day to see what’s blooming in each garden bed. Believe me, I know where to look, and I usually spot each emerging plant when its tip first pierces the surface. Yes, it’s spring! But you know, as the day wears on and I calm down a little, I realize that the display is rather…spotty.

I can see this bed from my kitchen door. I’m loving the colors, but everything’s dotted here and there.

What if I interplanted this glory-of-the-snow…

…among these earliest-blooming daffodils?

I’ve already tried to do that with the ‘Blue Mound’ chionodoxa and the ‘Heart of Gold’ columbine. It needs a bit of tweaking, but it’s getting there.

And what if I moved this Primula vulgaris ssp. sibthorpii–the earliest blooming primrose I have–

–right in front of these early, miniature daffodils?

Even in the spring garden, there is always a way to make things better.

Sometimes to make things better you just need more of what you’ve already got.

A patch of this Puschkinia scilloides ‘Sky Vision’ would be spectacular. So far I only have one. I could buy more, or divide this one as it makes offsets.

I’m not sure if a big patch of the pinkish form of bloodroot would be an improvement. It just might be better appreciated in isolation.

It is not only flushed pink, but has more petals than the “regular” bloodroot.

Updates on previous blog posts

Two and a half years ago I planted a bunch of traffic-stopping daffodils.

Just like last year, they’re getting ready to stop traffic once again.

They weren’t totally ruined. ‘Kingston Cardinal’ looks the best, but all of them are flowering. There’s just not as many flowers.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

The Secret Garden has many plants native to our area, but it doesn’t have some spring ephemerals that grew at our old house, and it’s even lacking some that grow in a wild area further down the street from where we live now. This year, inspired by a sale, I decided to start rectifying that and placed an order with Amanda’s Garden. The plants arrived in beautiful condition and I planted them last Friday.

My goal for the Secret Garden is that it look natural. Of course, as soon as it became a garden, it was no longer 100% natural. I created paths and continue to maintain them by pruning branches and digging up choice plants (trilliums and Jacks-in-the-pulpit) that sprout in the path. That seems natural to visitors because they’re not expecting branches to slap them in the face anyway. They don’t realize that me pruning the pathway is what makes it easy to walk. I’m slowly but surely removing invasive shrubs and plants. I’ve also added benches to view the waterfall and a bird-watching frog because he amuses me and causes visitors to look twice.

Imagine rounding the curve of a woodland path and suddenly coming upon a 3-foot bird watching frog!

Large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) from Amanda’s Garden

This bellwort growing wild at our former home has a much paler flower.

Next I planted Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) on the lower path.

Growing in natural conditions, the flower stalk of squirrel corn is shorter than the nursery grown one.

Next I planted rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) on the opposite side of the same path, next to a Virginia bluebells.

I thought I had seen rue anemone growing at the old house, but I think it was actually wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia). What do you think?

Further up the path, on a slope, I planted five hepaticas (Hepatica acutiloba).

White

Lavender

Pinkish

and not quite blue.

On a side path that connects the main path with the lawn, I planted a shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia).

Finally, I walked over the the southern end of the property and planted Turk’s-cap lily (Lilium superbum) near a swampy area that’s not quite a pond.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our virtual stroll. The time when these woodland beauties bloom is quite fleeting and not everyone gets a chance to see them.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Two and a half years ago I acquired a couple of peonies through a members-only sale of my local chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS). You may not realize this, but most rock gardeners get interested in alpine plants after years of gardening experience. They are all plant geeks and expert (or at least, better than average) at starting plants from seed, because the best alpine plants aren’t offered by the local garden center and NARGS has an awesome seed exchange. So even if you aren’t a rock gardener (and I’m not), you will find great plants at their plant sales.

So these peonies weren’t run-of-the-mill peonies. The member donating them to the plant sale was also a volunteer at Cornell Botanic Gardens (formerly called Cornell Plantations) and was on hand when they were digging up their entire peony collection and moving it to a different location. As you might imagine, there were pieces left over, and whether they were expressly offered to the volunteers, or the staff looked the other way when the compost pile was picked over, I don’t know.

All I know for certain is that at the August 2014 members-only sale, ‘White Innocence’ was offered and I was willing to pay the price (much lower than retail) and got my name on the list before they were all spoken for. When it came time for digging later in the fall, I was also offered a second peony of uncertain identity, which I gladly accepted. This is the first year they are blooming.

‘White Innocence’ was bred by A.P. Saunders, who lived about an hour away from where I live. It is tall for a peony, attaining 4 feet and even taller. The flowers are pure white.

‘Early Daybreak’, ‘Early Sunrise’, ‘Mermaid’, and ‘Early Dawn’ are all names suggested by the donor of this peony.

That leaves ‘Early Daybreak’ as a possible name.

Problem #1: the color. I would describe the peony I have as pink with just a suggestion of coral. But I noticed the longer it was in bloom, the paler it got.

Perhaps in a climate warmer than mine, it bleaches out and appears even paler, “ivory flushed with rose.” Another charming attribute of this peony is that it folded up its petals every evening and opened them up again in the morning–even in a vase.

Cornell’s own image of ‘Early Daybreak’ shows much paler petals, and the number and texture of them seem quite different, too.

Of course, I still enjoy this peony even if I don’t know its name. But since it will be years before it will bulk up enough that I would consider dividing and sharing it, I would like to know its true name so I can tell my admiring friends what to search for. Next winter I will go through Tom Fischer’s article on Saunders’ peonies and look up all the peonies in his pink list at the bottom of the article. That’s assuming my peony was bred by Saunders, which it may not have been. (Did you notice ‘Early Daybreak’ is listed in the white section?)

In the topmost image, the first peony is ‘Bev’, one that I’ve had for quite a while, then ‘Early Daybreak’ (presumed), then ‘White Innocence’.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

There is a comfort in seeing plants bloom when you expect them to bloom. You sense the rhythm of the seasons that is one of the pleasures of gardening. But if the garden were totally predictable it would get a little boring. That’s why even though my garden is supposedly full, I continue to add new plants, even if it means taking out others. (If you subscribe to my newsletter, you know there are at least seven different ways to make room for new plants.) So here are some plants that are either new to me this year or just hitting their stride.

Arisaema consanguineum–my third try.

In my previous attempts I had started with a pretty small seedling from a garden club sale, but last year I abandoned my frugality and sprung for a larger plant. I’d like to think the fact that it was more mature did the trick, but we also had a pretty mild winter (see below). So hey, it’s not technically blooming, but it is alive–which I consider a major victory.

Let’s Dance® Diva! is strutting her stuff.

Let’s Dance® Diva! (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘SMHMLDD’) has so far put out seven flowers after having a year to get settled. I really love the large sterile florets and the two-tone flower clusters. In my acid soil they’re not quite blue. If you have alkaline soil this type of hydrangea will bloom pink. I am crossing my fingers that this mophead will be the one that fulfills the promise of loads of blooms–even for Zone 5 gardens–because it’s really pretty!

Each leaf of Tricyrtis formosana ‘Gilt Edge’ is edged in gold.

Toad lily flowers are unusual, but on the small side and not that showy from a distance.

I really thought ‘Gold Bar’ miscanthus would be taller by now.

‘Blue Paradise’ phlox does look blue sometimes.

I saw Knautia macedonica ‘Thunder and Lightning’ in a botanical garden and I had to have it.

If I could only have one rose in my garden, ‘At Last’ would be it.

How I know it was a mild winter

My husband’s gladiolas wintered over.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

In my mind there are two kinds of fall: “Good” Fall and “Bad” Fall. Good Fall is what we have now. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn color, temperatures have moderated so that you want to work in the garden again, the colchicums have started blooming and the many native autumn-blooming plants (goldenrods and asters) are at their peak, summer annuals are still going strong and some perennials are having a second flush of bloom. (Bad Fall is after the leaves drop and it’s cold enough that they’d call it winter down South.)

The best that autumn has to offer

Instead of individual flower photos, I’d like to share some vignettes that illustrate the best autumn has to offer.

This spot is on the north side of our deck. In the back, left to right, ‘Black Negligee’ bugbane and Angelica gigas. In front of them, ‘Amber Moon’ astilbe foliage, an unknown heuchera, Let’s Dance Diva! hydrangea, ‘Hot Lips’ turtlehead and ‘Zephyr’ colchicum scattered throughout.

The Angelica gigas is visible from the deck and just covered with pollinators. Fascinating to watch.

I’ve been really happy with Let’s Dance® Diva! (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘SMHMLDD’). The flowers are huge and very pretty. And for a macrophylla, there were a lot of them.

The ‘Zephyr’ colchicums and the ‘Hot Lips’ turtlehead really complement each other.

Here’s the far end of the uphill edge of the slope. In the back, I’ve got coneflower and a dwarf coneflower called ‘Butterfly Kisses’. Sandwiched between them are the spent flower stalks of Liatris spicata. The grass was here when we moved in, and I believe it’s ‘Morning Light’ miscanthus. Next to that is Phlox paniculata and ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea. In front of them is Spirea ‘Crispa’ reblooming a bit. Below them all are Colchcium x byzantinum and a pink flowering lamium.

Colchicum x byzantinum isn’t the most intensely colored colchicum, but it’s not as pale as it seems in the previous photo. This is more accurate.

Still at the top of the slope, but closer to the house, Japanese blood grass, ‘Cheyenne Sky’ switch grass to its right, and then Penstemon calycosus. The blood grass is “interplanted” with a “self-sown” aster. Behind the blood grass and to the right of the aster is upland ironweed (Vernonia glauca) and Culver’s root behind it. Ornamental onion seedheads scattered throughout.

New fall bloomer

I’m not going to show you again all the flowers I showed you last year blooming at this time, but I do want to point out one fall bloomer that I didn’t have last year.

Meet ‘Ruby Mound’ chrysanthemum. Ruby is just getting started, and I look forward to having it in my garden for many autumns to come.

Don’t forget these two exciting events!

(Well, they excite me!) Open Garden to view colchicums: My garden will be open to the public on September 30th so you can see a whole bunch of colchicums at one time, all labeled for easy identification. Details here. And I’m speaking at the Great Plants Symposium on October 6th along with three other fabulous speakers, including Kerry Mendez. Sign up here!

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

What’s that plant?

Visitors asked about two plants at my Open Garden. The first one is readily available at garden centers or online.

Fire Light® (Hydrangea paniculata ‘SMHPFL’) is a much more colorful version of ‘Pee Gee’ hydrangea. It’s hardy to Zone 3.

Angelica gigas is a biennial. The first year it just grows leaves. The second year (third year, for me) it sends up an amazing umbel of deep purple flowers that are covered with pollinators.

Plants that start blooming in autumn

We haven’t had a frost yet. I thought this might be a record for my garden, but looking over previous posts in October, I see we didn’t have a frost until this date in 2015–and yes, frost is expected tonight. As I mentioned last year, frost is not the end of the garden. Yet many of the open garden visitors expressed surprise at how much I did have blooming on the last day of September. They just don’t know my special plants and secret techiniques.

False golden aster (Heterotheca villosa ‘Ruth Baumgardner’) doesn’t even start blooming until mid-September.

‘Jindai’ tatarian aster (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’) is a “dwarf” form at 4 to 5 feet. I’m sure the regular giant plant would never bloom for me, because ‘Jindai’ barely manages to get started before we get frost.

‘Ruby Mound’ chrysanthemum started blooming in mid-September and is still growing strong. What an amazing color!

Japanese anemones also start blooming in fall. This beauty is ‘Honorine Jobert’.

Oh, look! My ‘Pink Frost’ hellebore (Helleborus x ballardiae ‘COSEH 710’) is blooming! It’s supposed to bloom from February to April, but I won’t tell if you don’t! I got this as an Easter plant at my grocery store.

Plants that bloom again in fall

The secret to having lots of flowers in fall is to deadhead in summer. I’m not a tidy gardener. And since neglecting to deadhead doesn’t kill a plant, if I’m short on time, I’d rather weed or plant a new acquisition. But I’ve learned that deadheading certain plants means more flowers in the fall.

Romanian sage (Salvia transylvanica) starts blooming in June and will bloom again in the fall if deadheaded.

Foxgloves are another plant that will send up new bloom stalks if deadheaded. Make sure you let them seed around before cutting them down.

Flower Carpet roses look spectacular in July. They take a rest and then bloom again in the fall. This is Flower Carpet ‘Pink Supreme’.

I’m pretty sure this little sweetheart never did stop blooming–and I didn’t deadhead her at all! Meet Oso Easy® Petit Pink (Rosa x ‘ZLEMarianneYoshida’)

Annuals that keep on blooming

Let’s face it: a lot of so-called summer annuals don’t really look like much here until September.

Cosmos is one of those. Yes, we get blooms in August, but it doesn’t really come into its own until September.

‘Mingus Toni’ dahlia gets humongous. It’s one of the earliest blooming dahlias I’ve tried and once it gets going it doesn’t stop until frost blackens it.

Fall foliage–it’s what defines the season

Every year I talk about colorful foliage in the garden, and you probably have your favorites, too–tell me about them in the comments. I just want to mention a few you might not have considered.

Knautia macedonica ‘Thunder and Lightning’ is no longer blooming, (hmm, maybe I should have been deadheading it?) but its foliage still looks very attractive.

Buttonbush (top of photo) is known for its interesting flowers and seedheads. My Sugar Shack® (Cephalanthus occidentalis ‘SMCOSS’) which I got as a sample from Proven Winners hasn’t bloomed (yet), but I love the fall color. Let’s Dance® Rave® (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘SMNHMSIGMA’) is blooming below it.

Want more?

More great ideas for fall color from previous October posts:
Frost Is Not The End
Hello, Frost; Goodbye Plants
Frost Tolerant Flowers
Not Dead Yet
Freeze Aftermath

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

November started out marvelously with highs in the 50s(F) and one day even hit 66°(19C). The second week the switch flipped and the real November showed up with a vengeance. Most nights have been in the teens, but we also got two nights that dipped into single digits (9F=-13C)–that’s unseasonably low for November and was the death knell for many perennials that had been looking presentable up until that point.

‘Pink Frost’ hellebore, however, looks more than presentable.

Helleborus x ballardiae ‘HGC Pink Frost’

‘Pink Frost’ opened its first flower in October. This is flower #2 with a third on the way.

I have other hellebores that normally bloom in November but I don’t even see buds on them. However, Helleborus x sahinii ‘Winterbells’ has been blooming since–well, actually I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t in bloom, which is pretty amazing for a hellebore.

Yes, it’s a mostly green flower, but hey–it’s a flower and it’s November.

The shorter new growth is nicely upright, but the older stems flop over while they continue to bloom.

The pansies and violas are making a heroic effort, but those two 9-degree nights just about did them in.

These pansies have been blooming since a neighbor left them on the door step for May Day.

I bought this container in mid-October knowing it would only last a month. I just couldn’t resist 75% off! If I have time before deep snow and consistently bitter cold arrive, I’ll plant the heuchera and combine the violas with the pansies.

By the way, finding a dandelion blooming in November is a very cheering thing.

It’s now on the fourth and last bloom.

You might also like . . .

• Five Surprising November Blooms
• 8 Plants That Look Good After Bitter Cold
• Garden Color in Dreary November
• How To Fight The Winter Blues: Pot Up Some Amaryllis
• How to Pull Your Potted Plants Through the Winter

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Move over, hyacinths. Stand back, amaryllis. It’s time for lily-of-the-valley to take center stage. Yes, lily-of-the-valley!After my hyacinths bulbs rotted last winter and my amaryllis were clearly not going to bloom on my schedule, I was feeling a bit gun-shy about forcing bulbs. In fact, I had made up my mind I wasn’t going to force any.

And then suddenly in December I got it in my head to force lily-of-the-valley. I had always been discouraged from doing this by the price. So the first thing I did after the notion took hold was do some online price comparisons. There was a wide range of prices on Amazon, but I noticed all the inexpensive sources had a number of bad reviews. The one firm that seemed reliable was more expensive than White Flower Farm, which was the source that always seemed expensive in the past (go figure). Maybe because I didn’t have any other bulbs to force, I felt entitled. Or maybe–given the bitter temperatures–I just felt desperate.

I ordered two bunches.

I’d never forced lily-of-the-valley before, so follow along as I give it a whirl.

The roots were well wrapped to keep them moist during shipping and hopefully protected from cold.

Here’s what they look like unwrapped.

Lily-of-the-valley has a creeping rootstock with growth points called pips. The pips are what will grow into leaves and flowers.

Here’s a tip: you don’t need to put broken crockery in the bottom of your pot. A coffee filter is sufficient to keep the soil from leaching out.

White Flower Farm recommended an eight-inch pot, and that was just big enough. If you have a deeper pot, that’s even better. And cold climate gardeners–if you store your potting soil in an unheated shed or garage, bring the bag into the house the day before, so the potting soil can thaw. And your potting soil needs to be moist, of course.

You can trim the roots a bit if you’re having trouble cramming them into the pot.

It’s awkward getting the potting soil down in between all the roots. I was glad for the video White Flower Farm provided (see below) as it looked awkward for the presenter, too.

All done.

You can see the pips peeking out of the soil.

Now, the hard part: waiting.

For the first two weeks, they did nothing. Nothing that I could see, at least. I started to wonder if they had frozen in their box on the porch. Maybe they would never bloom.

After three weeks, I was starting to see some action.

Exactly a month after I potted them up, the first little bells started to open.

They bloomed just in time for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Here they are, pictured with all my other January bloomers.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

A January thaw I expect. A thaw in February–however pleasant–makes me nervous. Last year we had a mild February–and three feet of snow in March. I would much rather have my seasons in chronological order–first winter, then spring–than to be ping-ponging back and forth between the two. But whether or not I approve, it appears we are having a thaw. In February.

Today the temperature rose to 59°F (15°C). The average high for this time of year is 32°F (0°C). According to the ten-day forecast, every one of those ten days will be warmer than the average.

These are the very first snowdrop sprouts of 2018.

When I sit at my desk and look to the right, this is what I see.

My mom gave me this clivia when she moved out of her apartment.

I know I’m not fooling anybody. I will be thrilled if I have blooming snowdrops–or eranthis–in February. I will enjoy each mild day as it arrives, and if winter comes back to bite me and my garden–well, we’ll deal with that when it happens.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Who doesn’t love a bargain? You can save a lot of money acquiring plants by growing them from seed or obtaining them as seedlings. Sometimes it’s the only way you can even get the plant, as it’s not common enough to be sold in garden centers. The tradeoff? Those plants will take some time to reach blooming size. Most of the plants I’m about to show you have been growing in my garden for a couple of years, but they’re only now starting to look like something. But all of them are a bit unusual, so if you want to branch out from asters and black-eyed Susans, one of these plants might be just what you’re looking for.

I got Persicaria amplexicaulis as a seedling three years ago at a rock garden society plant sale.

Also in the Slope Garden are several plants of Sanguisorba tenuifolia ex ‘Purpurea’

I bought two seedlings of Verbascum roripifolium from Odyssey Perennials this year, but only this one bloomed.

This is an ironweed, but–which one?

Or, it could be the much more common New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis). I’m having trouble figuring this out, because not too many sites show pictures of the leaves, and the flower color varies depending on how long that particular inflorescence has been in bloom. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen New York ironweed “in person.” New York ironweed is supposed to be taller; broad-leaved ironweed presumably has broader leaves. But I have nothing in my experience to compare it to.

Take a look at these leaves: Do they look like New York ironweed or upland ironweed leaves?

Yellow wax bells came from another gardener.

…but it’s well worth peeking inside.

Snakeroot sounds rather threatening, so they gave it the sexy name of ‘Black Negligee’.

Another sexy-name plant: Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’

Daylilies aren’t unusual, but Hemerocallis ‘Steeple Jackie’ is unusual for a daylily.

I hope you learned of at least one new plant to bring a little variety to your fall garden. And if you already grow some (or all) of these, tell me what you like about them.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Where do people get this silly idea that hardly anything blooms in autumn? I gave my colchicum presentation this week and one attendee remarked that I inspired her to have color in her fall garden. There’s plenty of color in my fall garden, without even looking at the trees. Here’s just a sampling of what I see as I stroll around.

‘Ruby Mound’ chrysanthemum (Dendranthema hybrid) is a true, rich red.

Fire Light® hydrangea, a sample plant from Proven Winners, is almost as red as ‘Ruby Mound’–almost.

This is blooming, but the flowers aren’t the main point of ‘Kingswood Gold’ jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum).

New to me this year–monkshood.

This mum is called Sheffield Pink, but it looks more apricot to me.

‘Jindai’ Tatarian aster has gotten ruined by frost in past years.

Once you build up your supply of colchicums, you can really make a statement.

More inspiration for a great autumn garden

These are some of my posts from previous autumns. They feature other great plants for fall.

• The Last of the Hardiest
• Good Fall is Here
• October’s Bounty
• Frost is not the End
• Autumn Blooms
• Unusual Plants for the Autumn Garden
• Garden Color in Dreary November

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

I‘ve been growing houseplants since high school, but I never stop learning new things about them. Take zygocacti (Schlumbergera)–popularly known as Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus. The standard advice is to put them in a dark place for 12-14 hours a night in order to get them to bloom. In high school I avoided growing Christmas cactus because I knew I would never remember to do that night after night.

My mother-in-law didn’t follow that advice. She put hers in the basement family room until they set buds, and then brought them upstairs to enjoy the blooms. I don’t think she used that family room very often, so maybe they got the darkness they needed that way as well. Who knows?

But it inspired me to give them a try, especially since she was kind enough to root a piece for me. In my previous home they started blooming right on schedule after spending time in a (not dark) upstairs bedroom. But in this house bloom had been sporadic–until I followed the advice of my readers. Many of you told me in the comments that you took them outside for the summer and left them outside until they were in danger of getting frosted. (Which is not necessarily at the time of the first frost, because if the first frost is light and they are stationed on the porch or hanging from a tree, the frost may not touch them.)

Now they bloom abundantly, but not at Thanksgiving or Christmas. No, they have buds on them within days of coming inside, and are blooming abundantly right now!

This is my most prolific Christmas Thanksgiving cactus, a hand-me-down from my mother.

This is another “Thanksgiving” cactus, blooming well before Thanksgiving, but not as soon as the one from my mom.

One of my friends told me that she doesn’t concern herself with light or temperature. To get her zygocactus to bloom, she withholds water for about a month, and then starts watering again. Matt Mattus of Growing With Plants says withholding water to induce bloom is a myth. But it works for my friend! Providing a sharp change in temperature by leaving the plants outside in early fall worked for me.

Lesson learned: There are a lot of variables involved in getting these plants to bloom. And it also varies from plant to plant. If one method doesn’t work for you, try a different method–or try a combination of methods.

This is a paperwhite narcissus called ‘Wintersun’.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Let’s start with the successes.

The Christmas cactus is blooming better than it has in years.

The poinsettia my friend gave me is thriving.

My clivia is blooming!

My ‘Wintersun’ paperwhites got off to a great start.

The first flower was pretty and softly fragrant. I could see swollen buds with the promise of many blooms to come.

But instead of blooming, the buds blasted.

So what went wrong?

Short answer: I don’t know. Here’s some things I’m considering.

Could it be the variety? If I had realized I had grown ‘Wintersun’ before, I would have chosen a different variety.

I used the alcohol and water method to help reduce their height, which I hadn’t done last time. But lots of other people do that, and their buds don’t blast.

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs say that if the paperwhites are too warm, the buds will blast. My kitchen does get warm, but the bulbs were sitting right up against a single pane, old-fashioned window, so I thought they would be cooler than the rest of the room.

I skipped forcing paperwhites for two years because I was so discouraged about this bud-blasting. But I missed growing them, and bought two dozen for this winter. The plan was to start some in time for Thanksgiving–they blasted.

I planted my second batch of bulbs–hopefully to bloom around Christmas–individually in these humorous mugs.

Waaaaaaah.

Maybe I’m no good at estimating how much water these bulbs in non-draining containers need. Perhaps I’m putting in too much water or not enough–or alternating between both those things.

I still have some bulbs left, and I’m going to pot these up in potting soil, in a container that drains. The only problem being this container is round, and thus more difficult to place where it will get enough light. I will have to figure out a good location. You can be sure I will let you know if I succeed and these paperwhites bloom. And you’ll probably hear about it if I get bud blast again, because I like sympathy.

Wishing all my readers a joyous holiday season.

Posted for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.

Last month I told you about my failures forcing paperwhites. The first batch, packed into a narrow container that fit on the windowsill, blasted almost all their buds. My hopes were then pinned on the second batch, which I thought would bloom in time for Christmas. But they didn’t.

These paperwhites are taller than their last picture, but aren’t close to blooming. Why?

If at first you don’t succeed . . .

On December 16th, I potted up my final batch of paperwhites, this time in potting soil. Lacking any more window space, I put them down in the 50°F(10°C) basement, under my seed starting lights and on the heat mat.

I raised the lights several inches above the bulbs, but on January 4th I noticed they had grown right up into the lights. Imagine my surprise when I raised the lights and discovered they had been blooming right up against the fluorescent bulbs.

The short blooming flower stalks were pressed up against the lights. The taller ones grew up and around the reflector shield.

Hallelujah! This is what I’ve been waiting for!

…the hyacinths that it’s time to force.

Pay someone else to grow them

If I hadn’t remembered to order hyacinths bulbs, or if they had all gone moldy in the refrigerator, I would not have hesitated to purchase some at Aldi’s or any other place I could find them. Winter is a battle to keep your sanity and you should avail yourself of every (legal) means available to win the fight. Certainly you should not limit yourself to forced bulbs!

My husband was kind enough to gift me this sweet pot of primroses from the grocery store.

Meanwhile, in the Cabin Fever Bed…

One Helleborus niger is attempting to bloom. This was November 10th.

Some elongation of the stem by December 21st

Be still my heart! Has that bud actually opened a bit? January 2nd. And methinks I see two other buds!

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens. Check it out at May Dreams Gardens.