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pixie_lou

show us your gardens - August 2013 part II

pixie_lou
10 years ago

My we have become quite the picture posting bunch!

This is a place to post photos, and to discuss, what is in your garden. This is the second thread for August 2013. All garden photos are welcome. As we enter summer, the emphasis will be on blossoms. However, all landscape and garden photos are welcome. If it is a photo taken in your garden or your yard, it is fair game to post it here.

Here is the link forthe first August thread.

Here is the link for the August 2012thread.

For previous 2013 threads:

July 2013 part 2

July 2013 part 1

June 2013 part 2

June 2013 part 1

May 2013

April 2013 part 1

April 2013 Part 2

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

To see all of the 2012 threads, please click on the December 2012 link. The first post will have links to all previous months.

I am (still) in process of moving all the 2011 threads over to the
photo gallery
. I need to look up who I�m supposed to e-mail. Plus I have to make the list.

Comments (65)

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Claire for the info about the Indian pipes. I had remembered that there was something very unique about them, and now I'm guessing that that thing was their status as a plant without chlorophyll.

    Interesting about going with your dad to pick mushrooms, Bill. I have friends who pick wild mushrooms for eating but I'd be too afraid of picking the wrong species and poisoning our dinner. Large colonies of mushrooms sprang up around the stump of our old quaking aspen when we had to have it taken down. I imagine they were breaking down the dead roots, as those in your mulch pile were doing to the organic material within. Less of them now so I imagine they've made headway on the roots.

    Franeli, your agastache and zinnias make a lovely pairing. Tall zinnias were among the first flowers I planted in what are now my perennial beds. They were impressively colorful the first year, but when I saved the seeds and planted again the second year they reverted back to plants with stubby little anemic-looking flowers. I never did search for non-hybrid seeds, and I no longer have room for the tall zinnias, but perhaps next year I'll look for some open-pollinating seeds for the little Thumbelina zinnias. I grew those long ago.

  • Persimmons
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    spedigrees: They are thriving in that spot. I double dug the entire section this year in order to determine how deep the foundation was buried under the soil. Must've helped.

    tina: Hopefully yours bloom! Two of mine did this past weekend.

    prairiemoon2: The nasturtiums are very brave to attempt a lawn traverse. And the cucumber is a run-of-the-mill burpee's variety, nothing heirloom or special about it, but I also just ripped them down because they succumbed to powdery mildew. There was so much moisture this year that I'm afraid they died. Smack dab in the middle of the A frame is an heirloom tomato- Eva, i think I've seen people call them Pink Evas, but they truly are pink tomatoes. They're delicious to both look at and eat!

    Molie: I love the Alaska variety which is in the pic. I wish I bought more of them to plant around the tomatoes like I did this year with the royal jewel varieties.

    __I planted bunches of beans this weekend just in case they'll grow up enough to get a crop. I've never grown beans and I'm curious to know how late they'll live until.

    Any tips?

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Persimmons, I am never happy about my tomato cages, I am interested in whether you find that A Frame support system works better for you? Yes, I just pulled a summer squash plant with some mildew on it's leaves, probably is the moisture and the humidity. I also wonder when a plant gets it, if I am providing enough room for air circulation.

  • Persimmons
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm in the same boat about tomato cages-- The circular ones. I had them this year, and when my plants began to grow to be about 3 feet taller than the cages we had a violent rain storm. The wind blew down all of the vertical stems/ vines and snapped them/bent them around the cages. Since, the plants have all grown up back threw the cages (completely tangles them amongst tomato vines). Ripping all the dead vines from the cages will be on the to-do list this fall. You can see in the pic I attached of Big Boy variety and some type of Cherry variety all growing together (they fell onto each other).

    For me, all of the tomatoes are growing best as trailing vines up this string cage that I've "constructed" amongst the tomatoes. you can see how the plants completely toppled in the wind and I've since had to construct a sort of twine "wall" to prevent them from collapsing onto the walk. Next year I'm going to try building a string table or chain link table to stand over all of the tomato plants so that when they grow, I can lay their vines horizontally and let them trail their way about the garden row instead of in a giant mess of confusion.

    This whole, vertical cone-shaped tomato plant tradition is just not working out with the crazy weather in southern New England, it seems. Don't let me get started about what a pain it is to pick the tomatoes now that it's one giant super plant. (I'm on my back at points).

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Persimmons, I only staked mine and they grew so much less foliage this year it wasn’t as much of a problem. But later two of them grew out of bounds of their bed and instead of trying to redirect them or tie them in to the stake, I took a large metal tomato cage and stuck it in the path between the beds and just tied the meandering branches into that cage. It actually worked out ok that way, kept the tomatoes off the ground and the dog from breaking the branches off in the pathway. Looked dumb though. (g) I keep saying I am going to build my own cage, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

    I had that happen one year that the tomato plant was so large and heavy, that in a storm the whole thing, cage and all was lying on it’s side the next day. Very frustrating after growing them all season.

    That’s an interesting idea about building some support to allow the tomatoes to grow horizontally. I don’t have enough room to do that. Most of my beds are 4x4x12 raised beds. I can see the string in your photo, is that tied to the light on the house? I can see the Aframe in the background, I thought you were tying a tomato to that frame instead of a cage. You have a lot more tomato foliage than I do this year. My plants are about 1/4 of their usual size.

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm new to this forum (discovered it a couple of days ago). I'm trying to establish several perennial beds that had originally been professionally done but have fallen on hard times. So I'll be looking for ideas here.

    I took a stroll in the garden and here are a few of the things in bloom. I start with a hydrangea (grandiflora?)

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Next, a late blooming lacecap hydrangea, my favorite flower in the garden.

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Third, a hardy hibiscus (I presume Lord Baltimore). The bloom in the foreground is over 9 inches in diameter. Just realized this has been blooming for a month now (I took some photos of full blooms on July 24), so I plan to plant a couple more, maybe a Kopper King and a Lady Baltimore.

    This post was edited by PankajT on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 13:03

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fourth, a plant I managed to finally identify yesterday thanks to the "Name that plant" forum on this website: a clematis heracleifolia. I love this because it attracts hummingbirds.

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fifth, I couldn't resist posting these wonderful Cranesbill geraniums paired with Baby's breath ... they've been blooming all summer!

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Finally, the sedum are getting ready to burst!

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Panka, I really like that first photo of your Hydrangea grandiflora? It’s not one of the hybrids, right? Something about the quality of the bloom is very attractive. It just looks feather light and so delicate and the way the petals overlap and are so white. Very pretty!

    I have a Kopper King Hibiscus and it has been finished blooming for about a week. I noticed this year, that it really only has about a 2 week bloom period, which is pretty short. I didn’t measure the diameter of the blooms, but they are very large and the buds are large, so maybe it just can’t fit too many buds per stem to keep the bloom going. It also flops a lot because of the weight of the blooms and buds, but if you are willing to provide support, I think it is very manageable.

  • bill_ri_z6b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PankajT,
    Welcome to the New England Gardening forum! Those are very nice photos. I do think that your hardy hibiscus is "Lord Baltimore", especially from looking at the flower and leaf form and your description of a 9" flower. But it seems a bit off on the color. Maybe a camera setting or something, but here's a photo of my "Lord Baltimore" which shows the really intense red, which is closer to what the real thing looks like. The leaves in your photo also look a little bluish-green, rather than the color in my photo. Hope to see more posts! And again, welcome!

    {{gwi:5901}}

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bill, thanks for the welcome. You're quite right ... the colors on that photo don't look true, perhaps because that photo was taken on an overcast day. Here's the photo I had actually meant to upload. The red here seems pretty much the same as yours.

    Prairiemoon, yes, I do need to stake this. I put four bamboo stakes to create a kind of framework around the plant and then have two rows of garden string to hold those floppy stems in some sort of place.

    I tried to look through my old records to see if I could identify that hydrangea pee gee any better but wasn't able to. I agree ... it's a most beautiful clear white, I love the blossoms.

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks to the photos posted earlier by spedigrees, I noticed this little fella poking his way into the world under an evergreen bush. I might not have taken a second look had it not been for the stuff I read on this page :-)

  • bill_ri_z6b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Much better colors. If you shot the other one on an overcast day, then I would say the the camera's white balance setting was off. I will usually set it myself to overcast, sun, etc. although "Auto" can do a pretty good job. I noticed that on your Canon Powershot G12, both were taken with the WB on "AUTO", but the first one was ISO 800, while the last one was ISO 80. That shouldn't normally affect color though. But anyway, I like what you're growing. Keep posting!

    {{gwi:5901}}

  • Persimmons
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Awesome flowers from your garden stroll, especially the hibiscus (to both of you).

    Prairiemoon: My heirloom tomato at the back of the house is inside the A-Frame (at the right of the picture). It's about ~6 feet tall, isn't entirely in the picture, but is average sized. It seems like the A Frame has actually prevented any horizontal growth in the direction of the frame; rather than vine out and along the A Frame, the plant seems to think it's a wall that it must instead grow around. There's a lot of growth in and out of the frame but not through the caged part.

    In the background of the image you can see the back side of the tomato bushes that are tied up to the light on the house. So far the tomatoes have vined about half way up the string to the vertical stake you can see, and don't show any signs of stopping. I swore to my parents that if the tomatoes climb the entire string before summer's over I owe them ice cream. My technique to train them tomatoes up the string is to simply braid the fresh growth under and over the string as it continues to shoot out. The plant takes care of the rest, and has actually created a canopy (if you will) of tomato vines on that side of the garden.

    All I have to do to pick tomatoes is crawl underneath--they all dangle down from the strings they vine up--and the vines themselves stay off the ground this way. Unlike the A Frame tomato, the 'string vine' tomatoes are more three dimensionally productive and are FAR easier to pick.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PM2 - What a wonderful difference in the after photo! A good lesson for me to clean things up.

    My garden is fairly quiet by now. At DH's shop, there are hydrangeas and a few clematis still blooming.

    Here's H. paniculata Pinky Winky, just starting to color.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    and Quick Fire nicely echoing the foliage of the Coppertina Ninebark.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think that this clematis is Durandii, and there's still one reddish blossom on C. Walenburg.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This Clematis pitcheri hybrid has been pushing out its little pink bells since early July. It's a loose rambling plant, starting up a 3 1/2 foot tomato cage and then onto both this spruce and a winterberry holly. It's not so dense that I worry it will damage the evergreen, and I like the seedheads as well as the flowers. This is one of the longest blooming plants in my garden.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Persimmons, so I guess I’ll table the idea of an AFrame for tomato support. I’ve started thinking about renovating my entire vegetable area next spring. Adding more raised beds, with some sort of season extending covers and I think I’ll plan some kind of structure for the tomatoes, once and for all. That will keep me busy this winter. You have a LOT more tomato foliage then I did this year in my 6hrs of sun. I hope we have a warm Fall so you can get a great tomato harvest.

    Babs, thanks, it was a lesson to me as well, as I don’t usually do much clean up at this point, but I thought, I have all of September and October to enjoy what's here, so it might as well look good. That's two whole months. My garden is quiet now too. I’m waiting for mums and aster, one Clethra that blooms in September and that’s about it. I can get to doing some projects or clean up for spring as soon as the weather cools off a little more. That Pinky Winky is so full! That is a nice combo with the Coppertina.

    That clematis is still blooming the end of August? Nice! And is that an Allium Christophii in the foreground?

    This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Fri, Aug 23, 13 at 12:01

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PM2: Thanks for the compliment - my garden is indeed very loved, warts and all.

    I'm enjoying all of the clematis and hydrangeas, PankajT and nhbabs - I'm still waiting for my sole clematis, Sweet Autumn, to bloom. My hydrangeas are long gone by.

    It's really late summer now, hard as it is to believe.

    One sign is that my Royal Standard Hostas are blooming at the foot of my porch steps.

    And the Panicum virgatum 'Rotstrahlbusch' AKA Red Switchgrass has put out its cloud of tiny red seedheads. The tips of the leaves are just beginning to redden too.

    The sedums are getting pinker and the bees are now taking notice. Must be nectar in those little bitty florets.

    But there's one throwback to spring - the white foxglove is suddenly blooming again. This was a volunteer this spring and I'm hoping to keep it going. I don't know if the seedlings will be white but I'll try spreading them around.

    Claire

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PM2 love that border transformation. I've thought about trying that carex but I wasn't sure about my zone.

    Franeli, I really like the color echoes you have in that photo. It really is a beautiful shot.

    PankajT, that is a very interesting clematis. I'll have to check into that one.

    Babs, the garden looks great! It has really filled out.

    Claire, do you have to stake your grasses? I love grasses in my garden but they pretty much all flop so I have to do some serious staking. You seem so much further ahead than me up here.

    The cottage garden is blooming away, especially with all the zinnias I planted. I've never had them get to 5' but some are even taller than I am now.

    I really like this 'My Monet' lobelia. It has been blooming for such a long time. So have the 'Irish Eyes' which I start from seed to keep adding to other parts of the garden. I really like how long this plant blooms and in its first year.

    This gentian has been blooming for quite some time and doesn't appear as if it's going to stop any time soon.

    This is the veiw out my bedroom window. The vine is sweet autumn clematis which is smothering the fence and even a couple shrubs. Should be blooming very shortly. Can't wait!! The zinnias have engulfed the obelisk in the cottage area.

    The fairy roses are all starting to bloom again.

    The ironweed is about to get going. I planted 2 at the same time and the one on the right always blooms about 2 weeks later than the one on the left.

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Such a lush cottage garden, T2D! I really like that gentian.

    You said "The fairy roses are all starting to bloom again." My roses also always take a break during the hottest weather and perk up when it gets cooler.

    Some of my grasses don't need staking - Miscanthus 'Cosmopolitan' so far has stayed upright even though it's getting really big and the Panicums mostly are good. The rest of the grasses, though, get floppy as they mature. I have to stake more and more of them, and I noticed today that Malepartus is beginning to flop for the first time.

    I keep trying new staking methods but I'd love to find a way to "prune" the clumps to keep them under control. Probably a wild-eyed dream.

    Claire

    edit note: Miscanthus 'Gracillimus' doesn't need staking and I've had it for a number of years.

    This post was edited by claire on Sun, Aug 25, 13 at 10:07

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thyme2dig, your gardens are drop dead gorgeous all year round! Your zinnias are especially lovely.

    Usually my phlox are spectacular in August, but this year they haven't done as well as usual. I think the odd rainy weather we had earlier has set everything back. My cosmos are coming into their own now that the Japanese beetles are gone though.

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My gardens are pretty much in a state of neglect right now. (I had to buy a new string trimmer after my old one died, and I haven't tried it out yet.) My cut flowers look better right now that those growing outdoors. I love my gladioli especially.

  • chardie
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My fairy roses, likewise, have burst into bloom this past week. What's not to love about those tiny, bunched blooms? The rest of my garden basically stinks at this point, especially my containers. Too hot, too cold, too dry, too rainy. What a season!


    Now if I could only get my Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea to stop slouching!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Those cut flowers are lovely in the window, spedigrees. The colors are great together.

    The slouching hydrangea is very funny, chardie, but its flowers look like cotton candy. Very heavy cotton candy. It's all very pretty so long as you don't insist that all plants be upright just because hydrangeas usually are.

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Tue, Aug 27, 13 at 19:48

  • greenhavenrdgarden
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've never posted in this thread before although I read it religiously. I think u finally have some pics worth showing. This area is my front "rock garden" area. It was built in a ledge after I took down an 80ft pine and built up the area with lots of truck loads of soil. It would have looked better if I remembered to spray my rise buds BEFORE the deer got to them. Anyways, here goes:









  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very pretty late summer garden, GreenHavenGarden! I like the play of pinks and purples and chartreuse with a dash of red and yellow. And white and green, of course. It all looks so neat, too, unlike the common jungle at this time (my garden is jungly now).

    Claire

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thyme2dig, thanks, that carex is ‘Toffee Twist’ and it is not hardy here. I have had Carex buchananii in the past, that was hardy and looks very similar to this one. Your garden is looking very lush. The fairy rose in photo #5, is that tall? I thought fairy roses were ground hugging? My ‘Julia Child’ rose is also full of buds that are just starting to open again.

    Spedigrees, I am crazy about those cut flowers on your window sill. The saturated violet and orange look great together.

    Chardie, that fairy rose is a deeper pink than I’m used to seeing and I like it a lot. I thought they were all pale pink. I agree with Claire, that last photo of Vanilla and Strawberry does look like cotton candy! That fairy rose is going to look stunning with that Hydrangea when the Hydrangea matures.

    GHGarden, great garden! You have a lot of space there and I love your palette of plants. I see a Japanese Maple in the background, is that a Coral Bark Maple? And what is the name of that red rose? I like the Butterfly Bush with the Hydrangea. And is that a Royal Purple Smoke Bush in the last photo? Glad you decided to post and I hope you will keep posting!

  • greenhavenrdgarden
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Claire and PM2 for the kind words. My garden is very new. This is my 2nd summer planting. 3 summers ago I removed the pine and several other trees and started making beds/removing grass. At first I was going to do just a small sedum garden but since then I have expanded greatly. I have over 100 hydrangeas, 72 Japanese maples and around 100 clematis. Not to mention a few other shrubs like viburnum and smokebush and small trees like kousa dogwoods. The area in the pics is the only area where I have full sun. It's also very shallow but it has turned out better than expected. I'm OBSESSED w/all things garden now and have learned so much through gardenweb and google. I've also purchased every garden magazine that's been printed in the last 3 years. I'm obsessed. Lol

    There are several JM's in the pics. The main trees I see are AP Tiger Rose, AP Fireglow, and APseudoplatanus North Wind. The North Wind isn't doing well though. I planted it while it was in its spring color (orange) and it never turned to its summer green. Recently the leaves started to dry up. I think I purchased a sick tree. It's the only Acer I've lost so far. The smokebush is Royal Purple. I expect it to get much bigger although I plan on coppicing it every year. There is also a smokebush Ancot in the pics. The rose is Darcy Bussell.

    Everything is newly planted and I look forward to watching my garden mature. Thank God my husband supports my "hobby". I traded shoes and jewelry for plants. That's a great trade in my book ;)

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    GHGarden, the Japanese Maple I was asking about is in photo #2 behind the pink Hibiscus. Which variety is that one? It reminds me of a Coral Bark that I bought in the spring.

    That is a LOT of hydrangea and Japanese Maples…lol. OH…and 100 clematis! you definitely have the garden bug. :-) I can see that you've been having quite a lot of fun and it will be even more fun watching it all mature. This is great, I hope we can all look forward to many more photos of your garden. :-)

  • greenhavenrdgarden
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In photo 2 it's A Palmatum Tiger Rose :)

  • defrost49
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    All I can say is Wow and hang my head in shame. Not much is blooming right now and if it is, the weeds hide some of it. One perennial bed is in dire need of thinning out. Two plant swap perennials are taking over.

    Love all the hydrangea photos. I didn't think I liked hydrangeas but this seems to be a perfect year for them and I have enjoyed seeing the variety here and there. NHbabs, I esp like the color of your Quick Fire even better than the Pinky Winkies I have been admiring. Your garden looks great.
    Thyme2garden, love your cottage garden esp the purple towers.
    Persimmons, your veggies looks great. Here in NH (near Concord), we get a light frost around Sept 18 that kills beans. My husband built a portable (sort of, needs 2 people) low tunnel covered with Agribon fabric that provides just enough protection to see the crop through. Usually there's still a few weeks of warm weather before we get a killing frost. Last winter was my first winter with a high tunnel, plastic covered so we had spinach all winter. Hoping to have more variety of cold hardy veggies this winter but I'm running out of time. Right now I have several tomato plants taking up space but surprisingly the high tunnel (with sides rolled up) kept these plants protected from rain and they are very big and healthy unlike the pitiful specimens in the outside beds. At the farmers market this week one of the market gardeners commented that they had poor luck with eggplants this year because of the rain but the ones under cover did fine. It gets' just as cold inside at night (with sides rolled down) but during the day it can get over 100 during spring and summer even with the sides rolled up all the time.

    Enjoyed seeing the Autumn Joy sedum coloring up. I think I need one to add to my new perennial bed if it ever gets built.

    thanks for sharing photos and letting me "visit" your gardens.

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    GreenHavenGarden, your garden is lovely! Welcome to the forum! Gardening can be a very healthy obsession, both mentally and physically.

    Chardie, I just love your fairy roses! So pretty! The color and the compact blooms are so pleasing!

  • pixie_lou
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The sunflowers are finally blooming. At least Evening Sun Mix. I'm still awaiting Mammoth blossoms.

    The castor bean is also in bloom. This is the first time I've grown it from seed, and I am quite happy with the plant.

    Hydrangea Paniculata Tardiva is starting to get the pink tinge on the blossoms.

    Canterbury Bells are sending out a second set of blossoms.

    I finally have some morning glory blossoms. Miles and miles of vines. 2 blossoms!

    Thai hot chili peppers are almost ready for picking. I'm amazed at how well these plants do in containers, from seed.

    Lastly - a patch of jewel weed down by the stream.

  • bill_ri_z6b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    GreenHavenGardener,
    Welcome to the forum! Very nice photos.
    I think I saw a prickly pear cactus in the lower right hand corner of your wide shot of the rock garden. I've grown them for years, and most people are surprised to see them growing in New England, and even more surprised to see the beautiful flowers.

    {{gwi:5901}}

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really like that castor bean flower, pixie_lou. Is that a wasp on the stem at the bottom of the photo?

    And jewelweed - streamside is a good place for it. When I saw the first jewelweed in my garden I thought it was really pretty and a desirable native. The small orange flowers added a welcome non-pink accent. The next year there were maybe ten jewelweeds and they were still pretty, but when they got into the hundreds I started pulling them out. Now I go "oh no another jewelweed - pull it before it goes to seed!" Luckily they're very easy to pull out but I always miss a few and they seed around.

    It's supposed to be a great medicinal plant for poison ivy and other skin irritations.

    Claire

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Greenhaven, I'm so glad you posted pictures. Welcome! You've really done a tremendous job in a short period of time. How lucky to have all that ledge and the way you've incorporated the gardens is really great. It all looks quite natural.

    PL, Love those sunflowers! I've tried them from seed before a handful of times, but as soon as I get them planted the chipmunks come along and dig them up while mocking me. Jewel weed brings me back to nature walks with my mom. Used to use it on poison ivy. I always thought it was a great cure, but as I got older I realized I'm not allergic to poison ivy, so I'm not sure if my "tests" as a child were valid! It looks great in such a mass like that.

    I guess I made it just in the nick of time to post for August. Hard to believe tomorrow is September.

    I know there was some talk in another thread about the smaller butterfly bushes. They're kind of hard to photograph, but I have three in a row forming a bit of a hedge and I really like the way they bloom later.

    There was also a discussion about heptacodium on another thread where everyone said it would break and most were unhappy with it. That really changed the way I'm treating this shrub/tree. I was planning on limbing it up into a tree, but after reading everyone's experiences I've decided to leave it more as a very large shrub, or at least a non-limbed up tree.

    The hibiscus are in bloom now on the other side of the fence. Those will stay when we get our new fence later this fall. I've never done annual asters before, but this middle bed of the veggie garden starts as lettuce and once the crop is done I let the nasturtium take over. I threw in some annual asters and I have to say I really like them a lot.

    One of the back beds with zinnias still going.
    {{gwi:693142}}

    Another bed back there.
    {{gwi:693139}}

    Holy cow! The bees are insane with the turtlehead and anemone blooming. Interestingly, the bees swarm to the barely open anemone flowers with 5 or 6 of them all huddled and fighting for space. The open flowers are not touched.

    The lespedeeza is starting its show. I do wish the clethra would bloom just a tad later so the white would be blooming with the pink.
    {{gwi:269674}}

    Here's a closer shot of one of the back beds.

    There's a carpet rose blooming in the bed behind the butterfly bushes. I like the peach and blue combo with the physocarpos mixed in for good measure.

    Love the fairy rose that comes back strong while so many other plants are withering in the heat!
    {{gwi:693138}}

    The front slope is filled in with all the colorful shrubs.
    {{gwi:693136}}

    Lobelia and caryopteris. I put them together because the caryopteris can hold up the lobelia when it flops.

    Cottage garden gone wild!

    I really, really, really love amsonia hubrichtii. I'll post this picture again when the amsonia and the climbing hydrangea both turn glowing yellow.
    {{gwi:211267}}

    Ironweed is great this time of year.

    Okay, okay, I'll stop! LOL! I get carried away. There is so much going on in the garden now and so much more to come. Such a great time of year.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, thyme, my lespedeza NEVER looked that good! I finally just gave it away at a swap this past spring. Maybe I should have given it another chance, lol.

    Really liking that ironweed. Just saw a great photo of it on the Perennials forum. Just might have to get me some....

    Dee

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    GHG, t2d, your gardens are wonderful and a great inspiration to a beginner like me. I have to look into butterfly bushes. So many other super ideas ... It's great when you identify the plants in the photos, as otherwise people like me would be at quite a loss.

    Now if only my wife would give up jewelry and shoes ;-) ... just kidding!

    Pankaj

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dee, I must admit I have to stake it, but it's worth it. When it is smaller I put a peony ring around it. When it gets taller I add tall stakes and just wrap twine around it trying to make sure it keeps its fountain shape. Believe it or not this one is in A LOT of shade and still blooms profusely. But I think that's why it's a bit floppy.
    The smaller iron weeds are really nice. I very much like 'iron butterfly' which is shorter with a needle-like foliage. You can see it in the first and fifth picture.

    Pankaj, I gave up all other material objects years and years ago! This garden costs me a fortune, but I wouldn't have it any other way. When I have a slow year purchasing plant material it seems there's some other big project like painting the house, or this year a new picket fence which isn't chump change. It has been hard to control my plant purchases this year! Fortunately, I'm a bit out of room until I expand to other parts of the property.

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Things have quieted down a bit on this forum, so I decided to post a couple of photos. The Sweet Autumn clematis is running riot finally! I noticed that it attracts a lot more honey bees than bumble bees, in contrast to a lot of the earlier flowers such as the monarda and the clematis heraclefolia. I had never paid attention before.

    Thyme, what is the variety of lespedeza that you have? I'm thinking of trying to get one of those, it was beautiful.

    GreenHaven, what was the plant with the burgundy-ish leaves next to the lime green sedum (I assume) in your third pic?

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One more photo ... the fuchsia bush is blooming too.

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pankajt, it is a lespedeeza thunbergii 'Gibraltar'. I think they're fairly readily available.

    Do you know the Latin name for your fuschia shrub? I'm very interested in it and I don't recognize it??

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    thyme, thanks for the lespedeza identification. Sorry I can't reciprocate with the fuchsia reference. I looked through my records and couldn't find the original Latin name for it.
    PT

  • PankajT
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Before the leaves turn, the "strawberries" form on the kousa dogwoods ... always a pretty sight!

    PankajT

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PankajT: Those are really pretty fruits on the kousa dogwoods. It would be better though, to post the pic on Show us your gardens - a photo thread - September 2013. Then people would know that this sight happens in late September, not in August.

    With pixie-lou's threads organized by the month, people can follow the links to past Septembers and find out what was blooming or fruiting or otherwise memorable in those months.

    We're always happy to see nice photos wherever they're posted.

    Claire