Sunday, September 11, 2016

Back to the Garden

It's hard to see in this photo, but these zinnias are covered with butterflies flitting about in the sunshine. :-)


It's been ages since I posted anything about my gardens. I've been so preoccupied about my sunroom project (it can be seen behind the zinnias in the photo above), plus it's been so hot, the weeds had taken over, and several areas need major changes. For all those reasons, I haven't posted any garden photos since June....

But now that the weather has been cooling off a bit, I've been able to resume battling the weeds and tackling a few projects outside, as well as to enjoy being outside among the many pretty annual flowers that I have planted this year. This is truly the time for annuals to shine in the garden.

Here are a few photos from the past few weeks:

Our East Patio, with humongous coleus in front. I had no idea they got so big, as it's the first time I've ever planted these. They were such baby things in their six-packs in May, but now the bigger ones are crowding out the ones that didn't grow as quickly. I like the colors in this mix, and I think I''ll use these in other garden areas in the future (those limey-yellow ones would look great in my Yellow Garden...).

Another annual I had never planted before were these Star Gladiolus. I found the corms at
Lowe's this spring and I'll definitely be digging and saving these over winter. They have a lovely
scent and a delicate habit unlike the more common kind of gladiolus (which I also have
grown with success for magnificent cutting flowers this summer ).

Here's the cutting garden in mid-summer, with the bed I made for growing the normal sort of gladiolus for cutting. I wired a piece of hog panel to some stakes to keep them from flopping over like they did last year and it worked quite well. I think I'll plant even more of these next year, perhaps a whole other bed of them, as they were truly magnificent inside the house.


The Yellow Garden gets more gold as summer progresses. Earlier in the year the yellows tend to be a bit lighter in color. I think I'm going to make a few changes in this garden area next spring.

The North Border, with Zinnias, cosmos and phlox, plus some short dahlias
that I started from seed this spring (which I had never done before). 

Water lilies in the pond. They've bloomed quite a bit this summer.

It's been a good year for impatiens, unlike some years lately with the impatiens blight going around. These seem pretty happy in the window box on my garage.

Another annual that I tried for the first time this year were these Gomphrena, which I started from seed. I love their little ball-shaped heads. I think I'll use more of these next year. 

And one more new annual for me this year were these Balsam, which are related to impatiens, but much taller (you can't tell in this photo, but they are about three feet tall). Apparently these used to be very popular in Victorian times, but fell out of favor during the 20th century. I like them and will certainly save seeds to plant them again next year.

One resolution for this year was to try more annuals that I hadn't planted before, especially ones that are less common. I'm so glad that I did -- many of them have been wonderful flowers. Next year I think I'll try growing even more new annuals. I'm sure there are so many I'll never run out of new kinds to try!

Hope your own gardens are still flowering strongly as we go into autumn. Thanks for reading! -Beth

17 comments:

  1. Hi Beth,
    your garden is so beautiful ! It was a good idea to try more annuals, they bloom so rich at this time. This year I didn't start so many annuals as I wanted - too many house project. But perhaps next year.

    I wish you a good start into a new week!

    Greetings from Birgit

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    1. Thanks, Birgit. I hope you get to try some more annuals next year, after all your construction is finished. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  2. So lush and beautiful Beth. That border of different Coleus is wonderful. Annuals and bulbs really can lift our gardens to a higher level.
    Have a nice new week!
    Janneke

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    1. I agree, Janneke -- annuals and bulbs really add a lot to our gardens. Thanks for stopping by! -Beth

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  3. It's all looking great Beth.... I especially like your use of the coleus! Wonderful color! We are heading into cooler weather but with all the rain, weeds are happily doing their thing here! Larry

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    1. Thanks, Larry -- I'm glad you like the coleus! Hope your rain will keep everything green into autumn for you. Thanks for reading! Take care, -Beth

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  4. Beth, the garden is so beautiful! I am an annual-nut and can never have enough of them in the garden. You have an amazing collection of annuals and the colors are stunning.

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    1. Thanks so much, Karen -- I'm so glad you like annuals too. They add so much to our gardens, especially at this time when just about everything else has fizzled out. Thanks for visiting! -Beth

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  5. Hi Beth, Your balsam look fantastic! I have been growing them for a few years but the area they are in is part sun and I really think they'll do better if I plant them in full sun next year. The zinnias look great and so does your pond. I love the coleus too, and your glads - both kinds. You have lovely gardens and aren't you so happy for the cooler weather?!!
    Blessings, Beth

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    1. Hi Beth, Thanks so much for your nice comment! And thanks again for the verbena that you gave me -- it can be seen in the North Border photo among all the zinnias, cosmos, phlox and dahlias. I'll definitely try to save seeds from it, and I hope it will reseed on it's own too. Hope you are enjoying the cooler weather too! -Beth

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  6. Balsam is new to me, Beth. I must try it. Seems it would be great in a cottage garden. Your September blooms are amazing. P. x

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    1. Thanks, Pam -- I'm so glad you like the Balsam and will try it. Thanks for stopping by! -Beth

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  7. Just beautiful...love the coleus border and all your lovely flowers!

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  8. Wow, you have so much lovely late colour with all your annuals. Whatever do you feed them on? Everything is so healthy and I have never seen coleus like that before.

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  9. Hello, I am not familiar with the geography of Iowa. But I am concerned about you. How are you doing in the face of floods in Cedar Rapids? You appear to be somewhat south but on or near a river. Although your house looks like it is on a rise. I hope everything is OK.

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    1. Hi Jane, Yes, no flooding near where I live or the town in which my business is. Cedar Rapids is about half an hour north of us. Iowa City did get a big flood back in 2008 from a different river, but I don't see any flood warnings for my area. And yes, our house is indeed on a big hill in the country, so even when Iowa City floods, we're perfectly fine. Thanks so much for your concern! I hope the weather in California is OK for you -- no drought or floods from too much rain...? Best Regards, -Beth

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  10. Hi Beth! I loved seeing all the beautiful flowers in your garden. Really pretty! I'm glad you enjoyed growing all the different annuals this year. I have really enjoyed trying different ones too. Your zinnias and gomphrena are so pretty. I was interested to see that you had grown the star gladiolus too. I tried it for the first time this year and was really happy with it so I will get some more bulbs for next spring. We can leave them in the ground here but I am never sure if they will flower again as often bulbs need a period of cold and I am not sure about these ones. Lovely to see your garden in full flower - thanks for sharing!
    - Kate x

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