Fall is coming.

Last year I had one pineapple sage plant. I took cuttings and rooted them throughout the winter. By spring, I had 15. Ten plants survived to be transplanted into the bed I made at the end of the driveway. They've bloomed sporadically all summer, but the real show is just starting. In a few more weeks, they'll be covered with red flowers that draw hummingbirds like moths to a flame.



I was planning to make this a post about Hilda. She's an older lady that works at the store with me. She brings me things from time to time. I've given her brug cuttings, rooted hibiscus plants, and several other odds and ends. This past week she brought me upright elephant ears. I don't know the name, but Wendy's has some in their drive-thru bed. At least that's what she told me. I don't eat at Wendy's that often. She also brought me two voodoo lily bulbs earlier in the year. They're doing fine in a small pot at the end of the driveway. She gave me the cuttings for my 10 hydrangea plants. Still doing well, they need to be planted soon.



I really miss my morning coffee in the yard. Think I'll take my second cup out to the front steps this morning.



It's 66 degrees and sunny. We got a little rain last night, but barely enough to measure in the rain gauge. At the store, it rain for about 15 minutes, a hard steady downpour. Two miles away here at the house, not even half that. More rain in the forecast Sunday through Tuesday. Hope it comes. High today should reach into the upper 80s. We'll start cooling off later in the week. I couldn't live at AmLo farms where they've been in the triple digits for weeks. Or in AZ with Daisy where it was 113 a couple days ago.

Overall, it's been a pleasant summer. Our highest temperature was 97. We've only had a week or two where we were in the upper 90s. If we had gotten a little more rain, I would have been happier. But I have no control over that.

Unrelated, I've given up on Kongmansia. The first cuttings I received last winter died from a spider mite infestation. The one I purchased in April has been treated several times and still has spider mites. The foliage is dying. New growth turns brown in a matter of days. I will not see blooms on this plant this year. If it bothers to come back from the root next spring, good on it. If not, oh well. I'm done trying to force things to grow in my yard that need that much attention and chemicals. Other brugs do well with little to no extra care.

It's a dry heat.

No, we have humidity. The soil in most parts of my yard are very dry. In the backyard, the upper left side is the moon garden. Nothing is doing well here except the castor beans. It's too hot. The soil holds no moisture even with several inches of leaf mulch. Things wilt as soon as the sun touches them.

In the center, the potager is suffering too. The sunflowers have long been gone. A few cosmos have sprouted from seed dropped before the storm. I pulled all those plants. Hopefully the new ones will bloom, but it's dry there. Very dry.

At the back, the dead oak tree has given me a new set of issues. The soil here has always been hard packed. It was a dry shade. Now, the ground is baked for much of the day. Things will need to be moved this fall.

To the right, the gully stays a little moist. There are two storm water drains on the street that funnel all the rain from the road and other yards into my gully. During a heavy rain, there can be several inches of water here. It's a great place for a rain garden, but I'm thinking veggies. I just need to decide if fighting the critters for tomatoes is worth it.

There's a lot of work to do back here. There's too much stuff, too jumbled, no cohesive design. That's okay. I have all winter to work on that. When it's cooler, of course.

Blooming today, Miss Huff lantana, again.



A new rudbeckia has appeared. I like.



Verbena bonariensis - from Carrie.



A wintersown hardy hibiscus has a bud. It's white. I hope it's the same as the parent plant. There was no red center, just a solid white bloom.



Kongmansia has new leaves. I'd like to see just one bloom this year. I'm doubtful.



Finally, the datura seed pods are starting to crack. I need to collect lots of these. Several people have asked that I share them. I will be glad to. As the season progresses, there should be lots of seeds in the other pods. They're larger, at least.







It's 89 and mostly sunny. It's hot. It's humid. It's August.
___________

5:41pm - 88 and still sunny. I potted three Turn of the Century hibiscus cuttings from the cloner. One vitex was also ready. No idea what I'm going to do with 4 vitex cuttings, but I'm thinking I can trade them for something this fall. One of the TotC hibiscus cuttings will be traded for red daylilies. I'm not sure of the variety just yet. Other cuttings are still doing well. The other vitex have developed huge calluses, but no roots yet.

Helpful gardeners.

The goldfinches are dispersing seed all over my perennial bed. Their favorites seem to be the zinnias, hyssop, and salvias. They've got a helper from the chipmunk that lives near the "orange" rose bush. For the past few weeks I've noticed sprigs of grass and other items popping up as if planted in a clump. This morning, I saw the culprit. The chipmunk is raiding the birdfeeder, "hiding" the stash under the soil, and is probably unaware that the grass is germinating. Someone's gonna be hungry this winter. Bye bye crocuses.



The goldfinches have found the black eyed susans too.



I spent a couple hours this morning doing a few chores. The new Golden Showers climbing rose was planted next to the arbor. The one I purchased in the spring turned out to be a red rootstock.



I planted out two Calycanthus florida seedlings that were wintersown. They went into the shrub island I built last month. Four more butterfly bushes were installed too.



I collected more seed this morning from the Golden Jubilee. The brown in the right side of the container are the seeds that fell out while snipping the flowers off the plant. I expect lots of reseeds next spring.



Other happenings:

The white hyacinth bean has reached the top of the wire trellis on the back of the house. The moonvine hasn't even reached the bottom rung yet.



Rudbeckia fulgida is looking great with purple petunias.



Gaillardia has three blooms. More buds are forming.



Coreopsis "Full Moon" is awakening.



Squash and/or cucumbers are doing well. We need rain.



This is my petunia seed store for next year. I like the variation in colors.



Seems I've already missed a couple seed pods.



The Kongmansia I moved earlier in the week is putting out new leaves.



The brugs in the perennial bed have buds. They will be yellow or orange. All have at least one bud, one has 8.



The spirea in the shrub island is putting out new growth. I chopped it back when I moved it to reduce stress. It should reach 6-8' at maturity.



A gardenia cutting that was rooted last fall is growing nicely under the dining room window. I moved three others to bed opposite the front steps earlier in the week.



I'm starting to like this combination of color.



Finally, I have a new visitor.



It's muggy and 75 degrees. 50% chance of afternoon rain in the forecast with more on Friday and Sunday. I've got my fingers crossed.

Kongmansia

It's a brugmansia that has extra large flowers. Here's a picture taken by the guy who grows them in Winston-Salem.



I bought mine from their website. World of Brugmansia

It's done nothing for me where I had it planted. It was too dry, too hot in the afternoon, and always under attack by something. So I moved it this morning on my lunch break. I set the hose on a slow trickle and the timer for 15 minutes. I hope it survives.



When looking at the other brugs, you can see a difference in growth and habit. Even those that aren't blooming yet are well over 4' tall.







I moved it so I can pay better attention to it. Let's hope I remember.

Organized.

Late Wednesday evening, I finally got my plants organized. I dumped many containers with no germination or dead seedlings. I put everything at the end of the driveway. They'll get morning sun here, but be protected next week when the temperatures reach into the upper 80s. Welcome to summer, folks.

Wintersown pot ghetto


Picked over annuals


Organized and arranged


There are only 3-5 wintersown containers I plan to keep. There are dogwoods and cherry laurels growing on in individual cups. There are a few seedlings and cuttings I plan to put in the ground at some point. The rest just need to go.

In the garden, I planted the Kongmansia and 4 squash cups.





carrots, strawberries, peas, and borage


Cabbage and lettuce


I also planted out lots more annuals like zinnia and a few morning glories. I'm trying to get my purples in the bed by the front door. This summer, I'll take cuttings from my rose bushes and propagate some reds to mix into this bed. At some point, the Japanese Maple will need to find a new home as the area transitions into a rose garden mixed with purple salvias and lavender. Coreopsis "Moonbeam" will be added here along the edge in the fall when I divide the two I have growing in the perennial bed.

On one of my daily walks through the yard, I started pinching plants. The agastache, petunias, pineapple sage, butterfly bushes, and lots more got pinched. I'm hoping to inspire more growth and bushier plants. It may mean losing some early blooms, but it should be worth it in the end. Another week or so and I can pinch the zinnias and other tender annuals.

I spent some time sitting on the front steps trying to figure out what I want from the entry. I've decided that since I already have lots of broken concrete in the gully, I'll rip out my old walkway, break the pieces into irregular chunks and lay them in a curving pattern. The bricks of the steps will become my firepit in the backyard. I'll tackle the steps from the driveway to the front yard at some point this summer. They're in really bad shape and just need to be rebuilt from scratch.

Today is a work day. I'll be off again on Friday. Depending on circumstances, I might get another load of leaf mulch from the landfill. I want to extend the white bed in the rear corner along the wall marking the property line. I've got the stones already for the edge, I just need to work some organic stuff into the clay and rock back there. I'd like to plant castor beans along the wall and let the moonvines grow through them. We'll see how I feel on Friday.

Tuesday Mornings

Got up around 5, put a load of laundry in the dryer from last night's wash. Went back to bed until 6:30. Shower, coffee, email. It's 43 degrees and clear. Thunderstorms possible again this evening around sunset.

I cleaned the aerochamber last night. I potted up a lanatana cutting and added three red verbena cuttings to the chamber. I also stuck a cutting from a nearly white/silver climbing rose in soil and put it in the shade outside. Tonight, I plan to clean the house and basement preparing for the work I intend to get done Wednesday in the yard.

I've got lots more plants that need to get their feet in dirt. I've got zinnias and morning glories. I have moonvines with their first leaves. I have beans, corn, cukes, and squash seeds to plant on Friday. I'm going to try to finish everything on my list and rearrange those two days off to tidy everything up just a bit.

Still trying to root cuttings of zonal geraniums. They're being very stubborn. I expected roots within a couple weeks at least. Nothing on the two that were stuck more than two weeks ago. Started a new one last night in water allowing the stem to dry out for a few hours first.

Off to work now. Plant sale this weekend. Seems I overestimated the perennials and annuals and underestimated the shrubs, roses, and azalea sales. In my defense, we had never sold 800+ 1 gallon azaleas in 6 days before. Nor had we sold 300+ knockout roses in that same amount of time. I'm hoping by Friday, we can get rid of some of the extra annuals and perennials and the shrubs will have arrived to replace the missing items.

It's all a learning experience. If you don't do anything, you never make a mistake. If you do something, eventually, you're going to screw something up. I hope I learn something from this mistake. I'm still a little confused about how to estimate the public's buying plans using last year's data that is completely different from this year's thanks to the recession.

12:21pm - 64 and sunny. Thunderstorms moving in this evening again.

Checked the mail, got my replacement KONGmansia. If you haven't done so, check out World of Brugmansia. They have a great selection. Eddie is a great guy and I have bought from him a couple times now. He's in Winston-Salem NC just an hour+ up the road from here.

Mine came well packaged and wrapped. It's well over the 8" tall that was claimed. I'd say it's closer to 2 feet. I plan to strip a few of the larger leaves and get it planted this evening even if it rains.