We are having a fantastic run of great weather in south Louisiana. Hence, my tardiness in blogging! I've spent the last couple of days in the garden, weeding, cleaning, mulching, and even transplanting a few things. It is unheard of that we would have nighttime temps in the low 60's and daytime highs in the low to mid 80's AND low humidity here in August, but that is exactly what we've been experiencing and it is a blessing from above!
So, my gardening friends, this post will be brief so I can return to playing in the dirt! The fall garden is ready for planting, and I will post about that next week. In the meantime, I will continue to pull weeds and remulch the garden beds, as well as complete a couple of whimsical pieces for the garden that I'm working on. Will share those later! I'll leave you with this photo of a cottage garden border that is very happy!
Wishing you all a wonderful day in the garden!
Sherri
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Strange Summer
This summer has been unusual in my garden. As I've mentioned before, we've had lower than usual night time temperatures, which I think has confused my plant friends a little. For example, as I was walking through my gardens this morning, I discovered my ginger is blooming. Since I planted it, more than 4 years ago, it has always been the last plant to bloom in my garden, usually in late September. Normally, the confederate rose, golden showers tree, aster, ginger, bleeding heart, loropetulum, white camellias ("White Doves" always blooms early), and mums are blooming around the same time. This year, I have daylillies still blooming, and now ginger... It's lovely and an unexpected treat. The confederate roses and camellias have tons of visible blooms, but nothing on the golden showers tree yet.
Another plant that I wanted to mention that has been just amazing this year with continuous bloom since spring, is the cleome cultivar Senorita Rosalita. This is the first year I've used cleome in the garden and it has not disappointed at all! It was in bloom when I planted it in May and continues to profusely bloom today. The flowers are a pink, almost pale lavender and are in clusters atop approximately 24 inch stalks. It is just glorious!
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Hope you have a great day in the garden and I'll leave you with a picture of my morning surprise, which was a treat for the nose as well as the eyes - ginger in bloom!
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Another plant that I wanted to mention that has been just amazing this year with continuous bloom since spring, is the cleome cultivar Senorita Rosalita. This is the first year I've used cleome in the garden and it has not disappointed at all! It was in bloom when I planted it in May and continues to profusely bloom today. The flowers are a pink, almost pale lavender and are in clusters atop approximately 24 inch stalks. It is just glorious!
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Blooming today in my gardens: daylillies, hosta, verbena (red, white, purple), salvia (annual and perennial), vinca, yellow coneflower, crape myrtle, hibiscus, pink indigo, spiderwort, peace lilly, cannas, mexican petunia, bleeding heart, ginger, alstromeria, hydrangea, melanpodium, lantana (white, purple, rainbow), the odd old-fashioned purple azalea (that has not stopped blooming all season - still don't understand that one, either), and roses (miniatures, knockout, iceberg, and various other floribundas). I'm a happy gardener today!Hope you have a great day in the garden and I'll leave you with a picture of my morning surprise, which was a treat for the nose as well as the eyes - ginger in bloom!
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Sherri
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Rain!
We had a great soaking rain last night, so I've spent the morning pulling weeds. By far the easiest way to get rid of these pests is to pull them by hand after a good rain. Didn't get the mulch down yesterday because of rain and we are expecting more today. I will hold off on on that chore until the weekend, as they predict we should dry out a bit. Maybe I'll get the mowing done then, too!
I always love a good rain at night because all the plants look "perked up" in the morning. It also saves me trying to run around with the hose to baskets and planters that aren't on the irrigation system! Since everything is happy and watered, I will have a few extra minutes on my hands for other projects. More about that later...
A few notes today: Still have crape myrtles just starting to bloom. It is surprising how they have bloomed over such a long period this year. The first blooms appeared in May and here we are in August and they are still opening! I am really not sure why, other than they each have a slightly different level of sun exposure in their location. This summer has given us cooler nighttime temperatures (70's - 80's) and they have received a little more rain, too. In past years, the crape myrtles have all bloomed within weeks of each other. The largest I have are the white "Natchez" variety and they usually bloom first. They are followed by the fuchsia "Tonto", "Dallas Red", and last are the "Biloxi", with its delicate, pale pink flowers. The blooms on these usually last between 30 - 90 days, so there should be flowers until late fall. Awesome!!
This weekend, we will finish getting the raised beds ready for fall planting. I have tomatoes ready to transplant and all of the seeds for our fall/winter crops. I'll update on what and when we are planting, and will provide information about the yield of these late season crops as we go.
Hope you all have a wonderful day in the garden!
Sherri
Glorious blooms of the Dallas Red Crape Myrtle
I always love a good rain at night because all the plants look "perked up" in the morning. It also saves me trying to run around with the hose to baskets and planters that aren't on the irrigation system! Since everything is happy and watered, I will have a few extra minutes on my hands for other projects. More about that later...
A few notes today: Still have crape myrtles just starting to bloom. It is surprising how they have bloomed over such a long period this year. The first blooms appeared in May and here we are in August and they are still opening! I am really not sure why, other than they each have a slightly different level of sun exposure in their location. This summer has given us cooler nighttime temperatures (70's - 80's) and they have received a little more rain, too. In past years, the crape myrtles have all bloomed within weeks of each other. The largest I have are the white "Natchez" variety and they usually bloom first. They are followed by the fuchsia "Tonto", "Dallas Red", and last are the "Biloxi", with its delicate, pale pink flowers. The blooms on these usually last between 30 - 90 days, so there should be flowers until late fall. Awesome!!
This weekend, we will finish getting the raised beds ready for fall planting. I have tomatoes ready to transplant and all of the seeds for our fall/winter crops. I'll update on what and when we are planting, and will provide information about the yield of these late season crops as we go.
Hope you all have a wonderful day in the garden!
Sherri
Glorious blooms of the Dallas Red Crape Myrtle
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
August Assessment
It is a welcoming 72 degrees here this morning. Hard to believe it's August in South Louisiana, but I'll take it! A great morning for putting down that pine straw I got yesterday to freshen up my flower beds!
Now that we are truly in the dog days of summer, August is a great time to do an assessment of our gardens to see what has performed well and what has not. I don't plant a lot of annuals because I prefer taking the easy route with perennials and native plant species. However, the annuals that have by far been the best performers in my gardens are: coleus (7 different types and all beautiful), melampodium (beautiful yellow daisy-like flowers on compact upright plants, perfect for the front of borders or in planters), balloon flower, millionbells, supertunias, annual salvia, verbena, mandevillia, vinca, zinnias, and wishbone flower.
As far as perennials go, the mexican petunias are going crazy right now with their purple blooms swaying on tall stems, along with daylillies (old-fashioned orange doubles), cannas, bee balm, gladiolus, salvia, and hydrangeas. The Don Juan and Peace climbers, Mister Lincoln, knock-out and iceberg roses are loaded with blooms. I just noticed the red bleeding heart is starting to bloom. The bleeding heart always makes me happy because the "mother" plant was actually in my great-grandmother's garden over 50 years ago. A cutting went from there to my grandmother's and then another cutting went to an aunt, which is where I got mine. I always love strolling the garden and looking at all of the plants that were pass-alongs from family and friends. It never fails to make me feel close to them, especially those that have passed from this life, like my grandmothers and my momma.
The pink and red crape myrtles are blooming now, as the big Natchez Whites are just finishing up. The wisteria is sneaking in a couple of big purple clusters, with their lilac scent heavy in the early evening air. I love it, even though it's a pain to keep under control! Today's chore list includes trimming off runners.
Another plant that's been a great surprise is a pink indigo I got from a friend in Lafayette a couple of years ago. She just pulled out a piece and we stuck it in wet newspaper for the ride home. This thing has gone crazy this year in a part-shade bed next to a shed. It has bloomed continuously all season. It grew into a sprawling plant last year and died back to the ground over the winter, but returned just beautifully this year. I had heard that it was difficult to get a cutting to root, so I amended the garden soil with a lot of sand and potting soil, which seems to have worked. If you haven't tried this one, and you like pink flowers, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try! As you can see from the photo, it has open, airy foliage and the blooms sway in clusters. It has overtaken a variegated ginger that was there first!
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Remember, la vie est belle, so don't miss a moment! Enjoy your day in the garden!
Sherri
Now that we are truly in the dog days of summer, August is a great time to do an assessment of our gardens to see what has performed well and what has not. I don't plant a lot of annuals because I prefer taking the easy route with perennials and native plant species. However, the annuals that have by far been the best performers in my gardens are: coleus (7 different types and all beautiful), melampodium (beautiful yellow daisy-like flowers on compact upright plants, perfect for the front of borders or in planters), balloon flower, millionbells, supertunias, annual salvia, verbena, mandevillia, vinca, zinnias, and wishbone flower.
As far as perennials go, the mexican petunias are going crazy right now with their purple blooms swaying on tall stems, along with daylillies (old-fashioned orange doubles), cannas, bee balm, gladiolus, salvia, and hydrangeas. The Don Juan and Peace climbers, Mister Lincoln, knock-out and iceberg roses are loaded with blooms. I just noticed the red bleeding heart is starting to bloom. The bleeding heart always makes me happy because the "mother" plant was actually in my great-grandmother's garden over 50 years ago. A cutting went from there to my grandmother's and then another cutting went to an aunt, which is where I got mine. I always love strolling the garden and looking at all of the plants that were pass-alongs from family and friends. It never fails to make me feel close to them, especially those that have passed from this life, like my grandmothers and my momma.
The pink and red crape myrtles are blooming now, as the big Natchez Whites are just finishing up. The wisteria is sneaking in a couple of big purple clusters, with their lilac scent heavy in the early evening air. I love it, even though it's a pain to keep under control! Today's chore list includes trimming off runners.
Another plant that's been a great surprise is a pink indigo I got from a friend in Lafayette a couple of years ago. She just pulled out a piece and we stuck it in wet newspaper for the ride home. This thing has gone crazy this year in a part-shade bed next to a shed. It has bloomed continuously all season. It grew into a sprawling plant last year and died back to the ground over the winter, but returned just beautifully this year. I had heard that it was difficult to get a cutting to root, so I amended the garden soil with a lot of sand and potting soil, which seems to have worked. If you haven't tried this one, and you like pink flowers, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try! As you can see from the photo, it has open, airy foliage and the blooms sway in clusters. It has overtaken a variegated ginger that was there first!
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Remember, la vie est belle, so don't miss a moment! Enjoy your day in the garden!
Sherri
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