Performers.

It's been a hard season for the garden. A few weeks ago, deep in the middle of the hottest June on record, I stopped obsessing about the flowers. The tomatoes had not produced much. The squash were wilting at the first sign of direct sunlight. Even the agastache in the backyard was dropping leaves during the hottest part of the day. With a little rain since then, I'm more determined than ever to keep good records of the best performing plants this year. I'll use those plants to remake the perennial bed beside the driveway.

Echinacea has given one of the best performances this year. It blooms tirelessly through drought, excessive rain, and even holds itself tall when the wind threatens to level the surrounding plants. I give this one a 10/10. White Swan is the other variety I've grown all season. I'll be dividing those plants this fall to fill the voids from those that have succumbed to the ravages of a NC summer.



Rudbeckia fulgida is another keeper. Its stoic blooms remain tall and firm. The plants range from compact to sprawling, yet they rarely wilt once established. This one was divided from the first one I purchased more than 2 years ago. I'll be relying heavily on these for mid and late summer blooms. It gets 9/10. It does sometimes wilt and turn crispy if there's no rain. A quick shower brings it back to life.



Agastache. This variety is Golden Jubilee. Although the hot sun did fade the lime green foliage a bit, I still give it an 8/10. It's drought tolerant, easily pinched to create lush, full plants, and it attracts Goldfinches like nothing else. They've picked nearly all my plants of their seed. Self-sown specimens have popped up here and there over the couple of years I've grown it. I hope to add more varieties through wintersowing again this year. Pink Pop is still small and hasn't bloomed. The orange varieties are no longer with us.



Coreopsis. Specifically, the Full Moon variety has performed the best. I bought a plant several years ago when I picked up the Rudbeckia. Full Moon grows to over 30" tall and is covered in lemon buttery blooms. It's a great filler plant between the coneflowers and rudbeckia. I give this one a 10/10 even though it has suffered a bit during the hottest, driest part of the summer. A little rain or water from the hose brings it back to life almost immediately. Divisions are easy and each plant provides quite a few. It's normal for me to take 10 or more plants from each clump in the fall or early spring. I really like this one. I have never seen a self-sown plant.



Rudbeckia triloba. That's the tall one in the back. In front, R. fulgida is flopping where it can, but R. triloba stands tall. The flowers are smaller than most Black Eyed Susans. The centers are more brown than black. It does reseed heavily. I give this one a 6/10. It tends to look weedy if it's not cut back in early spring. It also reseeds heavily, but can be controlled by pulling out the tiny seedlings after a rain.



Black & Blue Salvia. Sold as an annual, it returned this year after one of the harshest winters I can remember. The key to survival is to let it die down naturally. Cutting the dead growth can cause rot to the crown. The bees and hummingbirds love the blue flowers that emerge from the nearly black bracts. I like it too. I give it an 8/10. It can look somewhat scrawny unless it's pinched as the new growth emerges in spring. I'm planning to take a few cuttings of this today. It should root easily.



Melampodium. These are one of my favorite annuals. They self sow freely, are easily moved when young, and bloom non stop until the frost takes them out. I give them a 9/10. I won't bother with collecting seeds this year. They're reliable without any help from me.



Amaranthus. Love this plant. Perilla is overly ambitious when it comes to reseeding. The tall red amaranthus here is not. Spent plants were pulled out last fall and shaken around the beds. Only a few came up in those areas, unlike the perilla. They transplant easily as seedlings. They have hardly wilted at all even on the hottest days. I give them a 10/10. The bold color against the yellow/orange blossoms that are so prevalent in my garden in summer is provided by the foliage. The goldfinches love these too.



With so much yellow, a few red hibisbus, amaranthus, and other annuals like tithonia are interspersed with dramatic effect. Yvonne's salvia hasn't done well this year, but I'll still plant it here and there. Salvia subrotunda reseeds, so I don't need to worry about that one. Cosmos...I think we all know how they are. I'll be doing this again next year.



I thought this was Inula. I was wrong. I'm hoping as the summer goes, a nice show comes.



Sunflowers have been disappointing this year. Partly I blame the lack of rain. The true culprit is the squirrel. My mammoth sunflowers have been taken down just as soon as the seeds begin to form. They are gnawed away about 6" from the soil. This one may survive since it's in a more protected spot, but I doubt it. I'll still plant these again next year.



Finally, for Darla, here's the fragrant bed with the datura that were blooming last night. I'd guess this bed has at least 30-40 plants. Some are tall and spindly, others stout and branched. The effect is pleasing. The fragrance is subtle.



It's cloudy and 77 degrees. Rain is in the forecast for the next three days, storms could be heavy at times. One visitor is gone. The other is packing her bags. It was a good week.

More thoughts on editing.

As I stroll around with the third cup of coffee of the day, taking a break from cleaning the mess in the basement, I'm making notes of plants I really like and want to keep. Daylilies, mostly brown and crispy now, will remain. Of course, the large clumps of stargazers will still be there next year. I may divide some this summer once the blooms fade. The fragrance is heady and thick today.



I watered a bit on Monday, and noticed the first buds of the Zuni crape myrtle. This one is supposed to be a small tree, about 12' tall when mature.



Helenium mixes well with my favorites. Instead of flopping like the Black Eyed Susans do, they've remained upright and proud. I'll divide these and move them around to add more color to rather blah areas.



I want more coneflowers too. Lots more coneflowers. And a few more coneflowers.



Agastache comes in several varieties already in my garden. I'd like to actually see some of the new ones that I wintersowed, but they're still tiny. Some haven't grown at all since I planted them out months ago.



At least it rained last night and this morning. The weatherguy says we got about 1/4", but I know there was more that fell in my yard. It's actually drizzling now. This afternoon and during the evening, we've got more chances for storms. Bring it on. The naked rain dance worked.

It's 77 degrees. The high today might reach the mid-80s. What a relief.

A to Z and things in between.

In my garden,

Agastache



Buddleia
Coreopsis
Datura
Echinacea
Foxglove
Guara
Helenium
Inula Grandiflora
Joe Pye Weed
Knifonia
Lirope
Monarda
Nasturtiums
Orlaya
Penstemon
Queen Anne's Lace
Rudbeckia
Salvia
Tradescantia
Ulmus
Veronica
Weigela
Xanthosoma (I cheated, it's actually Alocasia)
Yarrow
Zinnia



Yesterday afternoon, I was walking out the front door when I spotted something across the street. There's a huge pile of leaves out back of the rental house that's now empty. Poking up out of the pile, I saw huge leaves. I had to get a closer inspection. Are they bananas? They've got to be cold hardy. They still had red clay around their roots.



The fragrant bed is coming along nicely. The datura and four o'clocks open just as dusk begins to fall. The fragrance comes along shortly after.



Pink and yellow have joined the white. Zinnias are also planted here.



It's 77 degrees. The high today will reach the upper 90s. This weekend will be hot. I'm heading out of town. I need a break from the housework.

Turning Corners

Another heat advisory has been issued for today. I'm off from work. The plan is to stay inside and finish the trim in the kitchen and get another project underway, painting the hallway. A few hours work and it will all be done except for the countertops. Robert is coming Tuesday to help build the forms. This morning, I picked 4 squash from the potager.

Laying in bed, looking out the window, I noticed how full the Rose Garden in the backyard had gotten. Agastache, Four O'clocks, Coreopsis Full Moon, and other plants have really filled in this year. The miscanthus will be moved this fall to the meadow garden. I have a grass plan.



Near the street, the Monarda citriodora is huge again. I've got several of these plants scattered along the driveway. The bees love them. Their flowers remind me of henbit, if henbit grew to 4' tall.





I plant close. I pack the plants in when they're small. They compete for space and light. Some flop, others stand tall. I like when the combinations work. My goal is to have blooms. I think I succeeded.



Daisy flavored blooms with pink and purple bee balm.



Echinacea grows into the agastache.



It's 77 degrees. The high today will be in the upper 90s. No rain in the forecast.

Testing.

In the fridge, I have four 8" cuttings of Marseilles fig sent to me by a GardenWeb member. Shortly after receiving them, I washed them with antibacterial dish soap, dipped them in a 10% bleach solution, and allowed them to air dry. Then I wrapped them in damp newspaper and placed them in a ziplock bag. I tried rooting this fig last year, but lost all 6 of my cuttings to mold and rot shortly after the first roots formed. I'm doing a couple of tests to determine the best method for rooting them this year.

In a ziplock bag, I have Black Mission cuttings from Carla. They were cleaned in the same manner and wrapped in moist paper. From what I've read, it should take 2-6 weeks to see the first roots develop. Nothing so far, not even a bump. It's only been a few days though.



I also stuck a cutting in the cloner. I've never had success rooting dormant, hardwood cuttings with this thing. So I'm hoping that figs will be the first successful attempt. If it works, I'll use the baggie method on two of the Marseilles and stick the other two is a very clean cloner. I've been told they will also root in water. That's something else I've never had luck with. The one cutting has developed a single white initial root. I'm waiting to see if it creates others before I call it a success.



I also have cuttings in soil in the hoophouse. I doubt I will use that method for the Marseilles. Too many things can go wrong and I tend not to pay a lot of attention to the innards of the hoophouse for days on end.

I picked up a few new seeds yesterday from the store. The Four O'clocks will be planted on the north side of the house where they can reseed with abandon. The others, I'm not sure about. I love the Pink Pop agastache. I wonder if Cameron has grown this one.



This morning, it's 25 degrees. The wind died down overnight so a heavy frost settled on everything. It should be a sunny day with a mid 50s high. I'm off tomorrow, so the new coffee maker will get a work out. I've got firewood to cut and split and a few other things to get done from my weekly to-do list. I'd like to get enough stone to finish the edging around the shrub border. I just have to uncover it and move it.

Anise Hyssop

I loved this plant this year. Even the white ones with purple blooms. I especially enjoyed the "Golden Jubilee". I sheared it back last week, so I'm hoping it puts out another flush before frost. From start to finish.









I'm ready for next year.

August 16th. Two thousand and nine.

This morning I spent a couple hours in the perennial bed. It is Sunday after all. I pulled all but the largest cosmos. I'm sick of them. I collected lots of seed and tossed the plants into the gully. I'm sure there will be some volunteers next year and I will weed them out of the perennial bed. In place of the cosmos, I dug the agastache from the white bed. There were 6 large clumps. I cut it way back and watered it well.



The Golden Jubilee was deadheaded too. I scattered the seeds all over the area.



I moved a rose campion to the perennial bed too. Lamb's ear got moved to the front bed along the top of the wall. In between, I'll plant dianthus to spill over the wall.

Nicotiana from the white bed also got moved. These are from seeds I've tossed out this summer, I assume. They're tiny and haven't bloomed yet. I pulled the sunflowers near the trellis. Too much rain, too much drought, and the goldfinches have really made a mess of them. Next year I plan to only sow seeds from black oil sunflowers found in bird seed mixes. The goldfinches love them and I like that they have more than 1 flower on each plant.

I watered all the things I've planted this week, the daylilies, the black and blue salvia, all the plants I shoveled into place this morning, and a few odds and ends that looked thirsty. I collected more seeds, pulled some weeds, and shovel pruned other things that have passed their prime. I can't remember now all that I did, but that's no problem.

When I was done, I took my camera with an empty memory card, and walked the entire length of the perennial bed making notes in my head, snapping an image every couple of feet. The images, necessary in late February when I get itchy to be in the garden again, will come in handy as I move things around and plant this year's wintersown seedlings. It's my way of record keeping. Not all of the pictures are pretty. Not all of them are in focus or have great composition. It's utilitarian in purpose and will be viewed over and over again during the winter.

Sunday's picture.



For those interested in the details, here's the August 16, 2009 slideshow. It's 77 degrees with 83% humidity. Cloudy and overcast, they say we've got a 40% chance of afternoon showers. Same forecast for the next 3 days. Off to work.