The garden and greenhouse have taken a backseat to other priorities through the summer. I didn’t have much time for any garden work, and what time I did have was spent trying to keep everything watered and alive in the extraordinarily dry and hot season we had.
Today, however, I made it out in the garden and got some important things crossed of my lengthy to-do list. Below are pics from the garden and greenhouse.
I haven’t done a good job of keeping the streptocarpus tidied up, but they keep blooming despite the mess! The flowers are especially cheerful as the days turn darker and colder.
These are the mail-ordered asters that got planted at the worst time of the year. And somehow, they survived and bloomed. I think they are a great choice for the Doug fir bed. With luck they will spread their autumn charm all through that bed.
Fuchsia “Cardinal” still blooming with fall foliage. This is one plant that is thrilled with the cooler, wetter weather the last few weeks! It will still be in bloom when I move it into the greenhouse next month.
Malva “Mystic Merlin” volunteer that came up in the gravel bed next to the house. Amazing flowers on a rather coarse plant. These came from sister Cate years and years ago and they pop up in surprising places every year–never weedy, though, but tough to relocate, what with their taproots.
Wonderberries (Solanum burbankii) getting ripe–and they do taste good! My biggest worry is that most of them won’t mature, since only the very earliest berries are ripe so far. They are juicy, full of seeds, but they are easy to eat. I likely will try these again next year, but start them earlier.
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides blooming near the orchard garden. I have had this plant for close to 20 years and it just keeps trying. It isn’t placed in the best spot and it doesn’t get any care because it pops up so late I ignored it until October.
Another lovely strep showing some fall color.
Acanthus spinosus–looked so sick when I planted it out after struggling for a year pot bound in the greenhouse– but look at it now! Amazing foliage and I expect it may bloom next year. Spinosus is supposed to be more bloomiferous than the more usual Acanthus mollis. And I like the leaves better, too.
I planted other things in the Doug fir bed, including four of the Clematis columbiana that I grew from seed two years ago. They had to go somewhere, and this bed seemed like the best choice.
You have to love the fall colors against a blue sky! These maples never disappoint. The best one is the coral bark. No one talks about the beautiful foliage–but the leaves far outshine the bark.
Asters from Tim’s friend, the late Bette Higgins. Brother Tim brought me a start or two 15 years ago. The poor things are surrounded by raspberries and other thugs, so they chase the sun all around the bed!
Abutilon “Bella Series” I haven’t figured out how to prune these shrubs in the greenhouse, soI have ugly plants with beautiful flowers.
Wonderberries growing well in the dry raised bed under the Doug fir. I don’t know how these aren’t more popular–they are very vigorous and taste good.
Voodoo Lily “berries”. There were a lot of them this year and I’ve thrown them all over the Doug fir bed in the hopes of seedlings next year. They are more invasive than some, but because of their season and growth habit, they don’t do any harm. Keeping them in this challenging raised bed will control too much spreading.
The garden is seriously lacking in flowers, but some of the foliage helps make up for it–an Aucuba japonica here. This shrub plays shy through the summer with showier plants taking the spotlight. But in the autumn light, no flowers can outshine these amazing leaves. And unbelievably easy and tolerant–it is in dry shade next to a 100-foot Douglas fir!
One beautiful and fragrant rose bloom. This is a French hybrid, but I forget its name! But the fragrance is unsurpassed.
My chores were focused on planting out all the seedlings I grew through the spring and summer. It didn’t look like there were many plants to go out, but when all was said and done, there were nearly 100! I planted out strawberries, hardy geraniums, Oenothera palida, all the Lathyrus mix, Dianthus, Polemoniums, Abutilon “Suntense” and more. I put them mostly in the orchard bed around the shrubs and brambles. We’ll see how they do next spring–should add some interest and color to that space to go with the excellent fruits and berries.
My favorite surprise last week was seeing flowers on the Habranthus robusta in the greenhouse. Grown from seed sevreral years ago, these bloomed sooner than expected are a delicate pink picoted cream. Very lovely! One more of them has a spike. I’ll work to get better flowers for next post.
Not plant related–I am a huge crow fan and ran into a murder near Green Lake on Friday. I never did see what they were mobbing, but I have heard there are Great Horned Owls in the woods nearby. Here is a video of the crow-cophony.