Tag: GBBD

By mid-October, my Maine garden is going into dormancy. Leaves are withering, flowers are going to seed, and maple leaves are falling into the flower beds.

But, despite several nights below freezing, my garden has still not been hit by frost; and a closer look reveals a surprising number of blooms scattered throughout the garden (like these mauve blossoms on Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pinky Winky’).

Along the Lavender Walk  and the front of the Fragrant Garden, lavender (Lavandula augustifolia) is still blooming.

In the Blue and Yellow Border, the last flowers of Rudbeckia x ‘Herbstsonne’ are struggling to open. (I have stopped deadheading these so that they can make seeds for the birds.)

Most of the asters have finished blooming, but there are still a flew tattered flowers on smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) ‘Bluebird’

Some flowers are meant to bloom in the autumn, like this sedum ‘Autumn Joy,’ which has achieved the deep wine color that comes just before its flower heads turn to seed heads, and the fringy flowers of witch hazel (Hammamelis virginiana), which have just begun to open.

Other flowers have been confused by our weirdly warm weather in September and early October. There are a few flowers on spring-blooming bluets (Houstonia caerulea) and sweet white violets (Viola blanda); one hosta is also blooming out of season.

Many of my flower beds have finished blooming for this year. Others have one or two plants still finishing up. But my biggest source of October blooms is the Side Slope planting (completed last year). The beautiful Spirea x bumalda ‘Neon Flash’ has surprised me by putting out a whole new flush of flowers. (It will be interesting to see if it does this every year, or if this is a response to this year’s fall warmth.) Although the three species of Liatris that bloomed in succession from late July through the end of September are done for this year, there are still flowers – and even a few new buds – on Platycodon grandiflorus. Even more impressive are the flowers of Geranium x oxonianum, and Tradescantia virginiana, which have been blooming continuously here since mid-June.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Visit her blog to see what other gardeners (especially those in milder climates) have blooming in October.

Filed under: GBBD, Photo essays, seasons Tagged: aster, geranium, Hamamelis virginiana, hydrangea, Lavandula augustifolia, lavender, platycodon, rudbeckia, sedum, spirea, tradescantia, witch hazel

In Maine, the leaves have begun to turn and there is no mistaking the transition from summer to autumn in the garden. Although I love fall, I’m not quite ready to see summer go.

The daylilies that filled the garden with color in July are mostly gone, with just an occasional bloom on one of the late-blooming or re-blooming varieties like Lily Muster, Final Touch, Rosy Returns or Sandra Elizabeth.

Lavender also continues to bloom, but much more sparsely than it did in July. In most of the garden, Tradescantia virginiana has died back, but on the side slope it continues to put up new growth and make new flowers.

Other summer flowers are making a better show in September. The beautiful clear pink flowers of Geranium x oxonianum, which loves Maine’s cool climate, have been blooming continuously since June.

Spirea x bumalda ‘Neon Flash,’ added to the garden last year at the top of the side slope planting, has turned out to be a star, putting out a flush of new blooms just as most of the flowers growing around it are fading.

 

Most of the summer phlox varieties that graced the garden in August are still hanging on, but their flowers look faded and blowsy.

Over the years, I have added fall-blooming flowers to the garden. The latest addition is the Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pinky Winky’ planted in the new rain garden. Although it is still quite small, I am enjoying its elegant flowers (which deserve a more dignified name). September is the time when the sedums come into their own. The groundcover sedum ‘John Creech’ has been blooming for more than a month, but the taller sedums have just begun to flower. As their flowers mature they will first become more intense and then darker in hue. By October, most will be the color of wine.

The real stars of the fall garden, however, are all the varied members of the large Asteraceae (composite) family. Some of these have been planted in my garden; others are wildflower volunteers growing around the edges of the garden.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’ continues to bloom along the Lavender Walk, but the big show in September is provided by two varieties of Liatris blooming on the side slope. Liatris novae-angliae is on the left below and Liatris aspera is on the right, below. (A third species, L. spicata, bloomed in August  here and elsewhere in my garden.)

Outside the boundaries of the garden, this is the season for goldenrods and asters. I confess that I don’t always have the patience to key out and properly identify the many species of these plants growing on my property. I’m not sure which one this is, although I’m reasonably certain it is a Solidago. The more easily identified species below are Solidago bicolor (silverrod) on the left and Solidago squarrosa, with its characteristic narrow, upright inflorescence, on the right.

I find the myriad asters even more confusing than the goldenrods. The easiest to identify is the stiff, flax-leaved aster (Ionactis linarifolia) which grows enthusiastically and blooms profusely in my sandy soil. This has lovely lavender flowers, which the camera has had trouble capturing. I am hoping to establish some of this in unamended soil at the bottom of the front slope planting that is next year’s big garden project.

Several other aster species grow at the edge of the woods along the side of the driveway.

The wild New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) in my neighborhood have not yet begun to bloom. But in the garden, the popular cultivar ‘Alma Potschke’ is just beginning to open her buds.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month (although some of us are habitually late to the party!) by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Visit her blog to see September blooms from far and near.

Filed under: GBBD, Photo essays, seasons, wildflowers Tagged: aster, daylilies, goldenrod, hardy geranium, Hemerocallis, hydrangea, lavender, Liatris, phlox, sedum, Solidago, Spirea 'Magic Carpet', tradescantia

Our garden season in Maine is short; but as you can see from the above view down the side slope from the patio border to the driveway, there’s still quite a lot happening in the garden in mid-August.

If July is daylily season, the stars of the August garden are the summer phlox (Phlox paniculata). I have been taking advantage of my new front garden project to add more of these. Two varieties, ‘Blue Paradise’ and ‘David’ are old friends that have been growing in the back garden for years. ‘Blue Paradise,’ the earliest blooming of my summer phlox varieties,  has already been flowering for weeks and is beginning to look a little tired. ‘David’ is just beginning to open its flowers in the fence border.

As I add more phlox to the garden, I’ve been taking advantage of the amazing selection offered by Rachel Kane at Perennial Pleasures in Vermont, a nursery that specializes in growing and propagating old-fashioned garden varieties. The pink phloxes below include ‘Robert Poore’ (the photo doesn’t really do justice to its intense color), a variety that Kane has named ‘Old Cellarhole’ (because that’s where she discovered it growing), ‘Bright Eyes,’ and ‘Miss Pepper.’

Although the daylilies are past their peak in mid-August, there are still more than a dozen varieties in bloom, including these which had flowers open today.

The Casa Blanca lilies are adding beauty (and their glorious fragrance) to the August garden.

While the lilies have just begun to bloom in August, the flowers of Geranium x oxonianum are garden stalwarts that have been blooming since early June. I occasionally think about cutting back their long floriferous arms, especially now that they are putting up new blooms from fresh new mounds of foliage at the centers of the plants – but I love the way they weave their clear pink flowers among other plants, as here with the blue balloon flowers (Platycodon grandiflorus).

Composite flowers (now in the family Asteraceae) also come into their own in August. These include the flowers of Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’ blooming their hearts out along the Lavender Walk.

But also the flowers of Liatris, here Liatris spicata ‘Floristan Violet’ blooming with daylily ‘Late Summer Breeze’ and L. spicata ‘Floristan White’ blooming with ‘Orange Bounty.’

In the back garden, the lemon yellow composite flowers of the tall rudbeckia ‘Autumn Sun’ (or ‘Herbstsonne’) light up the back of the blue and yellow border.

And around the edges of the garden, the native goldenrods (Solidago) have begun to bloom.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the creation of Carol at May Dreams Gardens and is hosted by her in the 15th of every month. Visit her blog to see what other gardeners have in bloom this August.

Filed under: GBBD, Photo essays, seasons Tagged: Casa Blanca lily, daylilies, Echinacea purpurea, flower beds, goldenrod, hardy geranium, Hemerocallis, Liatris, native plants, phlox, platycodon, rudbeckia, Solidago

Yesterday, a friend came to visit. We toured the garden and he took some photographs. As we were sitting on my screened porch, looking out over the new front garden and eating lunch, he said, “This is a really sweet spot you’ve got here.”

I love my rural house nestled in the woods in all seasons, but the experience of living here is sweetest in summer. And that is especially true in July, when the garden reaches its peak. In many ways, mid-July is the sweet spot in the garden season. In mid-July, there is so much going on in the garden that almost every garden area looks good (even the temporary holding area for plants, shown below). But there is so much more yet to come! In mid-July, I can drink in the current beauty while also enjoying the delicious taste of anticipation.

The entrance to the back garden features a lush display of goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus), astilbe, and spirea flowers spilling over the retaining wall.

In the Circular Bed at the turn into my driveway, the pastel hues of June are giving way to the strong contrasts of July. The gold color of these daylilies contrast with the blue-violet flowers of Geranium x ‘Johnson’s Blue’ (below left). This color scheme is repeated on the other side of the circle in the blooms of daylily ‘Margaret Seawright’ and geranium ‘Brookside’ (below right).

I continue to be amazed by how mature the Porch Border planting looks in it’s second year. In July, the front-of-the-border planting of Heuchera ‘Raspberry Regal,’ Geranium x oxonianum, and Tradescantia virginiana ‘Pink Chablis’ that continue to flower all summer long are being joined by the tall spires of Astilbe x ‘Moerheim’s Glory’ and the first daylily blooms.

The Lavender Walk is also a source of delight in mid-July.

And it’s hard to believe that the Side Slope is only in its first year when I look down from the deck on the lush display of flowers spilling down the hillside.

The planting for the Fragrant Garden was completed only a few weeks ago, and it does look raw and new. Even here, though, there are beautiful flowers to enjoy, including sweet peas growing up the side of the deck, the first phlox flowers of the season, a few flowers on rose ‘Therese Bugnet,’ and several varieties of daylilies.

My favorite part of the July garden is the beginning of daylily season. At this point in mid-July, about 20 percent of the varieties I grow have begun to bloom and two or three more are opening their first flowers each day. I leave you with this montage of some of my favorite early season daylilies.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is graciously hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Visit her blog to see what garden bloggers from many climates have happening in their July gardens.

Filed under: GBBD, Photo essays, seasons Tagged: Aruncus dioicus, astilbe, daylilies, flower beds, hardy geranium, Hemerocallis, heuchera, phlox, spirea, Spirea 'Magic Carpet', tradescantia