Now for the blooms...mum's the word around here today! This one is my favorite...
....kinda scrawny considering it's about 6 years old, but I only got smart about amending the soil with horse manure in the past couple years. I'm glad it hung in there!
This one was bought with annuals this year, and I was disappointed that it didn't bloom all summer. (No idea what I thought it would do, but it was in bloom when I bought it, so I guessed it was some other kind of mum...duh.) But it looks nice now, so I'll transplant it later to a permanent spot.
This was also bought in spring with annuals, and "rested" til' now...I may leave this in the enamelware pot and see if it winters over...what the hey.
Asters are really nice! This volunteer was potted up last year and is doing great...who says you can't tame wildflowers?
Sedums are still at it, though some cultivars are done already-psycho weather this year!
Annual basket still going...didn't get as lush as I'd hoped, but I blame the dry weather and my long work hours. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! ;-)
Nicotania still blooming it's butt off, although a few succumbed to a previous frost...I think the tree canopy protected this one.
Crown of thorns enjoying "summer camp" in the screen house, despite two episodes of frost. I'm glad that the temps alone didn't cause harm, even though this is under a roof. (Of course even desert temps dip pretty low sometimes.)
Lamium blooming right along...this has been extra happy since the trees overhead were trimmed. This gets listed as a shade plant a lot of times, but it grows better in more sun for me. (Long winter/short summer likely makes the difference.)
Some of the annuals in the Coke planter are still going, and some got frosted already.
Zinnia with bonus crab spider trying to blend in....sneaky.
This one was bought with annuals this year, and I was disappointed that it didn't bloom all summer. (No idea what I thought it would do, but it was in bloom when I bought it, so I guessed it was some other kind of mum...duh.) But it looks nice now, so I'll transplant it later to a permanent spot.This was also bought in spring with annuals, and "rested" til' now...I may leave this in the enamelware pot and see if it winters over...what the hey.Asters are really nice! This volunteer was potted up last year and is doing great...who says you can't tame wildflowers?
Sedums are still at it, though some cultivars are done already-psycho weather this year!
Annual basket still going...didn't get as lush as I'd hoped, but I blame the dry weather and my long work hours. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! ;-)
Nicotania still blooming it's butt off, although a few succumbed to a previous frost...I think the tree canopy protected this one.
Crown of thorns enjoying "summer camp" in the screen house, despite two episodes of frost. I'm glad that the temps alone didn't cause harm, even though this is under a roof. (Of course even desert temps dip pretty low sometimes.)
Lamium blooming right along...this has been extra happy since the trees overhead were trimmed. This gets listed as a shade plant a lot of times, but it grows better in more sun for me. (Long winter/short summer likely makes the difference.)
Some of the annuals in the Coke planter are still going, and some got frosted already.
Zinnia with bonus crab spider trying to blend in....sneaky.
Mushrooms are "blooming" everywhere, like this destroying angel...I always thought that would be a good CB handle. (Yes, I said CB handle...I am that old! My dad had one...very amusing.)
Look at this cute little volunteer marigold that just showed up the other day...I like these kinds of surprises!
Lone hydrangea bloom fading out nicely...
...another nice aster, "calico aster", I think.
More cool mushrooms...I love wild mushrooms, but only trust my ID skills with morelles. (Hey, I'm not that hungry!)
Fall-blooming crocus...the foliage looks a lot like grass in the spring, I have to be careful not to pull it. (Good thing I'm not a weeding neat-freak!)
My new "coconut lime" coneflower blooming in situ....man I like this thing!
Michaelmas daisy (I'm pretty sure)...it came with the house and kind of barely survives most years, blooming only sometimes. This area will be amended with manure this fall for sure!
Morning glory, somehow getting through two frosts, while my other one died right back. Funny how frost can seem almost selective. Well, that's bloom/action day! Bulb mania is next...yeeehaaa!
15 comments:
You're giving me ideas about bringing in some wildflowers from the alley. I have some eupatorium, pokeweed, and--asters? fleabane?--back there.
That hanging basket is BEAUTIFUL! I would be doing somersaults if I had a hanging basket looking that elegant and sensuous.
So what are the ingredients? Helichrysum...? And what are the purple flowers? I am literally going to copy this next year. Helichrysum does really well in my garden. Too well. I didn't use it at all this year because the year before that plant grew so well it seemed like that's all I could make grow.
Your crown of thorns is super, super lush. Mine is always much thornier.
I never realized that lamium flowered. That's a common filler plant out here. I don't even notice it anymore.
We had a CB *in the van* (carpeted wall-to-wall, that is, the walls were carpeted) he drove in the mid-1970s. He was listening to a lot of country music back then. Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, the good stuff.
I love all the asters and mushrooms.
Wouldn't it be cool to have a mushroom garden?
"He" being my dad.
Nice combination post, Lisa - if all that had been blooming in most mid-Octobers back in Illinois, I'd have been thrilled!
I don't have to guess on the hanging basket -it's Dichondra argentea, AKA Silver Ponyfoot, which I also have and love. It's pretty xeric, Lisa, so if you watered enough to make the flowers lush, you might have rotted the ponyfoot.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I see we had the same idea about combining the GBBD and the BAD into one. Your take on compost making is both amusing and reasuring (sp?). ;-)
Love that cute little Marigold surprise!
EAL-Heck yea, why not? After all, the plants showed up on their own, you're just relocating them to suit your needs.
Chuck-Heh...glad to hear somebody else out there has some CB nostalgia, breaker 19! Wall to wall carpet in the van? My high school BF had a van like that...heh...ok I'm back! ;-) My basket is the helichrysum, wave petunias, purple and white lantana, and purple pansies. The lantana and pansies were spotty bloomers, but the rest has carried on pretty well all summer. My crown of thorns doesn't get full sun, and I'm surprised that it's this happy about it. Mushroom garden sounds great, and with all the rain we've had lately, that's exactly what my yard is becoming!
Annie-Is dichondra the same as helichrysum? I do have great luck with this in my windowboxes and hanging baskets, so I buy it every year. Come to think of it, this hangs more limp than helichrysum usually does...I bet my ID is shaky. Ah well...you'll have that.
Yolanda-Thanks! I'd been feeling rather guilty about my composter until I was reminded yesterday that I really DON'T have to do anything to it if I don't care to. Big sigh of relief!
Well, I am old enough to remember CB radios, but I wouldn't say I'm nostalgic for them! :0
You do indeed have quite a bit still going on, way up there in Wisconsin, this has been an unusual fall.
Thanks for posting again for GBBD!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Morning glory flowers are so spectacular they seem to glow with an inner light. I should plant some but I hate dealing with the vines. I saw some chamomile growing wild, at least I thought it was chamomile but I didn't dig it up. Maybe I should be more adventurous like you are.
Carol-My pleasure! Thank you for getting the ball rolling!
Ki-I say as long as it's not an endangered wildflower and it's on your own property, then why not? There are instances where a person can get in trouble for digging wildflowers elsewhere, so I'd check with local ordinances. (Even if you do what you want, it's good to know what kind of trouble you may get into if you get caught ;-)
Lisa, I expanded your photo and I'm still pretty sure - there's a photo at the Missouri Botanical Garden site:
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?Code=C899
and a closeup at the Wildflower center site:
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=DIAR2
Here's a helichrysum
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Asteraceae/Helichrysum_petiolatum.html
I think the helichrysum is fuzzier and bulkier - silver ponyfoot is kind of 'thready'.
Then again - I'm pretty old and I'm looking at a photo on a screen!
Annie
Great post, Lisa! I am drooling over your crown of thorns... they have some of those at the local garden center and I am always surprised that they are a euphorbia for some reason. But seeing the bracts on yours makes it more obvious.
Annie-Thank you so much for setting me straight...it bugs me when my ID's are wrong. Thank you for the links, too.
Kim-Heh, yea crown of thorns is a spurge from hell, I guess! Ha, or pit bull spurge! Good point that the bracts give it away...I never knew they were related at all. Must be like 5th cousins or something! ;-)
Hey Lisa,
Thanks for adding yourself to the list on my blog of Gardeners that participated in Blog Action Day.
Great post. I'm really envious of the green Echinacea.
I'm been posting about mushrooms too. Your marigoild reminds me of the time I went to our family cabin and a big old sunflower was growing (and blooming) in the rain gutter. It was awesome! It must have come from the neighbor's birdfeeder.
Mr. Brownthumb-Thanks! Funny that you've got "green envy" for a green flower! ;-)
Gardener of La Mancha-Thanks for stopping by! I've seen things grow in rain gutters, but not bloom! That would be cool.
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