The Perennial Care Manual

The pace is slightly more relaxed, but the fall season can be just as busy for gardeners as the spring season.  Many of the same tasks are required, clean up, soil building, compost building, and planting.

            In the autumn, all gardeners, both novice and experienced, have another chance to launch the next attempt to improve their gardens.  For flower gardeners this means a comprehensive new guide to perennial care might be in order.

            With The Perennial Care Manual ( Storey Publishing) Nancy J. Ondra has given us A Plant by Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It. The first half gives general information that is useful across the garden, the second is devoted to advice for 125 plants in particular.

            Ondra’s own experiences in the garden are wide and deep. She has a Bachelor’s degree, not in gardening exactly, but in Agronomy and Environmental Science. This indicates the focused and scientific mind she brings to her subject; her passion and aesthetic sense are clear in the books she has written about her experience with plants including the 2008 award winner Foliage: Astonishing Color and Texture Beyond Flowers.

            The Perennial Care Manual, Ondra’s twelfth book, is stunningly illustrated with beautiful, clear and useful photographs by Rob Cardillo, who also did the photographs for Fallscaping: Extending your garden season into fall  that Ondra wrote with Stephanie Cohen.

            When I got my copy I instantly looked up epimediums in the excellent index. I have a patch of Epimedium rubrum, planted as a ground cover. In spite of my original fear that my climate was too harsh, and that I had little shade, this variety has done very well. It has needed dividing, but enough of my first fear about its tenderness and fussiness remained that I had put it off. And besides, when would I do it? It stays green all winter.

            Ondra gave advice about dividing epimedium, spring or fall.  Just like it was any other perennial!  How could I get myself so worked up about the difficulties? Ondra’s straightforward directions are very calming.

            There are many varieties of epimedium. Epimedium rubra is perhaps the hardiest and easiest to grow. I bought mine at Blue Meadow Nursery in Montague not long before they closed.  Since then, I feel that I have graduated to Zone 5 because Heath winter temperatures very rarely go below minus 20 degrees anymore.

Manuals are not usually books that you sit down and read cover to cover. Still, Ondra’s friendly style is an invitation to start the conversation at the beginning. She reminds us that we all have our own gardening style, enjoying some chores, and avoiding others which means that for a garden we will continue to enjoy we should take these into consideration when choosing a site and plants.

When a gardener wonders what to plant where, and with which companions Ondra says it all depends – on your soil, the site, and the needs and habits of each plant. In the second half of the book she gives the requirements of each plant so that you can match those up with your own site. A key to success in the garden is putting the right plant in the right spot.

            Ondra helps new gardeners to choose plants that are easy and dependable, and warns us all about problem plants, those that self sow all over the place, and even worse, invasive varieties, some of which are sold at nursery centers.  A little knowledge can provide a lot of protection.

            Bits of useful information are scattered throughout the book in sidebars and captions. I was glad to see that she warned gardeners about throwing rooted weeds into the compost pile where they might be happy and take hold.  I learned the hard way, and now I throw my weeded and rooted tansy, quack grass, and mint onto the brush pile where they will eventually be burned.

            Ondra also advises including a nursery or holding bed in the garden. This can be used for very small seedlings from nurseries or plant swaps, or for those impulse purchases.  I cannot count the times I have come home with a plant I couldn’t resist and then stuck it in the garden any old where I could fit it. Never a good idea.  I suspect this is why no one has admired my sense of garden design, and why I have more work than is strictly necessary.

            Gardeners will find useful information on every single page of this beautiful book, whether your questions are about planting, dividing, staking, pruning, mulching, composting or propagating.

            The book is organized so that you can find any specific piece of advice you need easily. The table of contents and the index quickly lead you to needed information whether it is dealing with pests, diseases and weeds, or fall and winter care for delphiniums.

            Fall is a good time for planting. We can take divisions of our own plants. We can get bargains at the nursery. If you get a nursery bargain check the roots which may be pot bound and be sure to loosen them well before planting. Ondra and I both advise that plants be kept well watered while they are settling into their new home.

            To see what Nancy Ondra does in her own garden through the seasons you can logon to her blog www.hayefieldhouse.com. 

    Between the Rows  October 5, 2009       

On the Road

It is so pleasant to run errands at this time of the year when the landscape in turning into a jewel box. But, in fact, I only have to travel down the dirt road to our mailbox to see this glory.

Worm Manure Harvest

A few of my worms

It might be more genteel to say a harvest of worm castings, but no one ever knows what I’m talking about when I use that term. Castings or manure, I took advantage of the warm day to bring my worm farm out of the basement and begin the harvest

I dumped the whole bin full of worms, bedding and manure out onto a plastic sheet, and let that rest and give the worms time to dive deep into the bedding away from the bright sun while I rinsed out the bin and put in a layer of damp shredded newspaper.

Worms always move away from the sun which means it is pretty easy to remove the top layer of bedding and castings without getting too many worms. That layer goes immediately into the wheelbarrow. Then I go through the rest of the bedding to separate out the worms, throwing them back into the bin, and throwing the bedding and castings into the wheelbarrow.  Sometimes I’d come across a whole nest of worms in the matted wet newspaper so I’d throw all that into the worm bin. Throwing some of the old bedding and castings into the new bin is fine. It is even good for the new bin. 

I was very happy to see that I have a good population of worms including tiny baby worms. If they are reproducing I must have a good system going. I moved the bin into my basement at the end of August when night time temperatures routinely went below 50 degrees which is the lowest temperature these red wigglers can stand.  The basement temperatures remain a fairly constant 50 degrees through the winter. The worms did survive their first winter, but they do not thrive at those temperatures so manure production goes down, but with luck there will be another good harvest in the early spring.

Some of my blogging friends are collecting a harvest of award nominations and all of you, not only bloggers, can go to www.Blotanical.com and vote for your favorite blog in a whole array of categories. Some of my favorite blogs have been nominated for Best U.S. Blog – namely: Faire Garden, A Garden in Progress, My Secret Garden, Garden Rant, and Hoe and Shovel.

Other favorites have been nominated at Best Educational Garden Blog – namely: May Dreams Gardens, In the Garden, Little Green Fingers and Hayefield.

Nomination season at Blotanical is an especially good time to discover  some of the best and most beautiful blogs, blogs from other countries, and blogs that might fit your own special interests.  Be sure and check them out.

Read Until Your Heart Stops!

Buckland Public Library

The sun shone, the crowd gathered and the celebration began. Ground was broken for the new Buckland Public Library addition. I was there for this joyous occasion.

For nine of the happiest years of my life I was the Buckland Librarian. The library is small, only about 900 square feet, but the Board of Directors was devoted to making it the best library possible, and the patrons were all devoted readers.  While libraries are full of information of many kinds, they are also full of pleasure. Buckland Library patrons read for pleasure of the plots, of the characters, of the setting and the pleasure of sharing these with others. “Have you read  . . .?  What did you think about . . . .?” are reliable conversation starters.

When I retired from the library 18 months ago and left it in the capable hands of Liz Jacobson-Carroll, the library was near the end of the process that would provide the funding for a 3000 square foot addition that had been in the planning, almost since I began in 1999. Along with many (many!) others I was part of that planning; Liz took the ball and kept running. Today we broke ground.

Buckland Public Library Groundbreaking

Library trustees, past and present, selectmen, the architect Chip Greenberg, the project manager, Denis Guyer our state rep, and Liz-Jacobson Carroll on one end, and me on the other, had an official photo taken.

Buckland Library Groundbreaking

But we had a job to do. This addition will be universally accessible. It will have bathrooms that don’t frighten people. It will have room for more books, more audio books, more DVDs. It will have room for browsing, but money is still being raised for chairs to make that comfortable browsing. It will have a comfortable room for children’s programs (with a washable floor) and that room will be available for community meetings. It will be perfect.  Thank you Chip Greenberg for taking all our dreams and hopes and putting it down on blueprint paper.

Buckland Library Groundbreaking

Neighborhood kids did their bit for the new addition. These are serious readers.

Ursula is the youngest regular patron. She has to use her parents’ library card until she can sign her own name, though.

Only those in the know would recognize the title of this post.  Read Until Your Heart Stops! is the Buckland Library motto, rendered in a beautiful mosaic that the notable mosaic artist Cindy Fisher (former Trustee and loyal library supporter) created with a crew of youngsters. It will be installed in the new library.

The motto makes adults nervous, but kids subconsciously know that reading can be a heart stopping thrill, as well as a joy and comfort until their last days on earth.  After all, it was a young Mikayla who put this sentiment into words.  Here is how it happened. After Reading Aloud to the Buckland Rec day campers a couple of times, I realized I needed a ritual closing.  My modest motto was “Whatever you do keep reading.” I taught the motto to the campers and each day, before I left the  group I would ask who remembered the library motto? And they would shout it out. That was sufficient for a couple of years.

Then one day when I was Reading Aloud in the elementary school I began to leave after my session. Eight year old Mikayla stopped me and said I hadn’t asked for the motto.

“Well, since you mention it, do you remember?” I asked.

Now she was on the spot, and looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Ummm   Read . . .” she said and then hesitated looking up at the ceiling.  ”Ummm Until . . .” Another hesitation.  “Your heart stops!” she finished, looking pleased.

The teacher and I burst out laughing, but agreed that I had a new motto.  And so it remains. Thank you, Mikayla.

I want you to know that you haven’t lived until you’ve heard 80 kids, 5-12, shout, and I mean SHOUT out, Read Until Your Heart Stops!  Three times. I told them I was hard of hearing.

Apples Apples Apples

Ginger Gold and Paula Red

My father never felt dinner was over until he had eaten his apple. The apple was a ritual. He loved cutting an apple in half around the equator to show us, or any available children, the star hidden in the center of the apple. And he proved the adage that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. He rarely needed the services of a doctor until his short final illness.

            With news coverage of the H1N1 flu, we are all looking for ways to stay healthy.  I haven’t heard that the beneficial properties of apples will help in this instance; frequent thorough handwashing is the main prophylactic, but keeping all systems strong and healthy is never a bad idea.

            Apples have all sorts of nutritional benefits providing antioxidants, Vitamins A and C, fiber, and boron which helps strengthen bones.  All this and only 81 calories for a medium sized apple.  It is important to remember that the apple skin is a vital part of these benefits.

            Perhaps the ancients knew of these benefits because apples have been cultivated for thousands of years.  Apples are thought to have originated in Kazakstan. Their culture spread throughout the Fertile Crescent and by 6500 B.C. archeological finds show they were grown in the Jordan Valley.

            The Greek Homer wrote of the pleasure of apples; the Romans Cicero and Pliny the Elder encouraged the growing of apples.  Right here in the United States we have our own historic apple planter, Johnny Appleseed.

            Johnny Appleseed was born as John Chapman in Leominster on September 26, 1774 which seems an appropriate month for the birth of a man who gave his life to planting apples.

            He was only 18 when he set out from Massachusetts and spent the rest of his life wandering in the Midwest, mainly Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, planting apples wherever he went.

            As Michael Pollan pointed out in his book, Botany of Desire, settlers of that day were not as interested in eating an apple a day as they were in drinking apples.  Cider, hard cider, was a way of preserving apples for use all year long.

            Cider is still an important product for apple orchardists, and for their customers. This year Cider Days are scheduled for November 7 and 8, with tours of local orchards throughout the county, and tastings of local cider and apples.  Ben Clark of Clarkdale Fruit Farm said they press cider about once a week. For Cider Days they will have a special Vintage Blend cider, made solely from Northern Spy and Baldwin apples, as well as a Russet Blend made from Roxbury Russet and Golden Russet apples.

            Johnny Appleseed might very well recognize some of the heritage apple varieties that still go into good cider, and are becoming more popular for eating out of hand. Of the 50 or so varieties grown at Clarkdale, about 15 are heritage apples like Cox’s Orange Pippin and Spitzenberg. In fact Spitzenberg is thought to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple.

            Tim Smith at Apex Orchard also grows several heritage varieties including Spitzenberg, Ashmead Kernel, Milton and Baldwin.  Instead of cider, Apex Orchard makes vinegar. Smith says that since the different varieties ripen for harvest over the fall season they use the sweetest varieties available at any given time to make their vinegar. 

            As a baker I was interested in recommendations for pie baking.  Tastes in pies differ as I found.  Clark prefers Gravenstein and Northern Spy, while Smith says his family uses Macintosh and Cortland. He added that when he bakes the pie he always adds a Mutsu.  They both agree that a combination of apples makes the best pie. That is the way I bake my apple pies as well.

            Both Clarkdale and Apex also grow the very popular Honey Crisp apple, a relatively new variety. Smith said that Honey Crisp ripens over a month starting now. One of its benefits is that it keeps so well in the orchard’s storage room where the temperature is kept at 32 or even 30 degrees.  Smith explained that the sugar in the apples keeps them from freezing.

            I asked if I could store apples in my 50 degree dirt floored basement. Smith said yes, depending.  He explained that for every degree above 32 degrees, two weeks of storage time is lost.  I guess I’ll just keep using my refrigerator crisper and restock it frequently.

            We all have our favorite apples. When I was a child I thought Red Delicious apples were a real treat. Nowadays I like Spencer apples for eating.

            Apples are available all year long in the supermarket, but I prefer to eat them during the very long local season. Apples take me through the fall and winter, right into spring when local strawberries come in. 

Davenport Apple Collection at Tower Hill

            Tower Hill Botanic Garden celebrates the fall with their Shades of Autumn: A Family Celebration of the Fall Harvest Season on Columbus Day weekend, October 10, 11 and 12.  A star of the event is the Davenport Collection of Heirloom Apples comprised of 238 trees and 119 pre-20^th century apple varieties.  Each afternoon at 2 pm they will hold an apple tasting, giving visitors a chance to taste some of their old apples, many of which have been very uncommon at the market.

 For full information about Shades of Autumn entertainments including entry fees logon to the Calendar section of their website, www.towerhillbg.org. 

Between the Rows  September 12, 2009

Climate Disruption

December 12 2008

No, we didn’t have an ice storm here yesterday, but many residents of Heath did form a Flash Mob! We were photographed on the steps of Sawyer Hall waving signs and cell phones (which don’t actually work here) and looking mad as part of the Wake Up Call we were sending our President and legislators.  We want them to Do Something in Copenhagen in December.  We were only one of about 2500 groups around the world telling our governments that Something Must Be Done.  Global Warming is not just about weather getting warmer; its about climate disruptions that mean droughts and floods – and ice storms.  You can send a Wake Up Call too.

Falling – Gently

After a chilly, even cold, week we are now enjoying a sunny warm spell.  Autumn begins tomorrow but the fall into the golden season is now a gentle one. I am looking forward to a mild week because there is a lot to do in the garden.

In spite of the chill, I did get to observe the eradication of the Mile-a-Minute vine in Greenfield, and visit some other gardens last week.

Mile-a-Minute vine

Dahlia - giant

While I was visiting the Purington family at Woodslawn Farm I got to admire  some maginificent flowers like this giant pink dahlia. It’s about 6 feet tall and the blossom is more than 8 inches across.

Balsam

I know about balsam evergreens, of course, but this balsam flower was new to me. It was just one of the many flowers in a garden that allows Barbara Purington to keep the house filled with gorgeous bouquets.

Katsura

There is always a lot to admire at Tony Palumbo and Mike Collins’ garden. The Greenfield Garden Club visited and were in high admiration mode. Tony showed us his long tall zinnia border which I loved, hibiscus, an exulting hydrangea and a secret garden with a splashing fountain.  Tony and Mike have planted  wonderful trees over the years. My favorite is the Katsura with its heart shaped leaves.

Magnolia

Of course, there was this stunning magnolia tree that looked so exotic and tropical, but Tony said it is a native variety he bought at Nasami farm.

After visiting gorgeous gardens it is time to come back to earth.

Lasagne garden

Under the warm Sunday sun it was a joy to work in the garden.  My husband mowed and cleared the tansy, goldenrod and mint filled area between two of my ‘new’ wood chip paths.  (You can see the wood chips on either side of the cardboard.)  I don’t know quite why we never got that area covered. Once Henry cleared the space I put down some unfinished compost and covered that with lots of cardboard, two and three layers deep.  Then more chips.  Last year, when I was making the Potager, I put compost on top of the cardboard, but right now I don’t have enough to cover such a large area. My plan for this year is to let chips cover the cardboard until it is spring planting time.  Then I will push aside the chips to make winter squash hills. I’ll break through the rotting cardboard, pile on some compost and rotted manure and plant the squash seed.  Over the summer the squash vines will cover the wood chips which will continue to cover this area. My theory is that this will be a weed control and in the spring of 2011 I”ll be ble to put in vegetables that need more attention.  Remember, worms love living under cardboard so they’ll be adding their castings to the soil this fall, and in the spring as soon as it begins to warm up. 

sweetpeas

Before we leave the Potager I have to show off my Zinfandel sweet peas from Renee’s Garden. Because of the poor soil in this spot, and the bad spring weather they got off to a slow start. They also had to fight the tansy that kept coming through the cardboard. In spite of all my weeding they are still fighting the tansy, but they have won.  They are climbing on the metal crib ends I found at the Transfer Station, part of my White Things strategy for keeping away the deer, and my desire to do as much Reusing before I got to Recycling.

Mile-A-Minute is too fast

Mile-a-Minute vine

Mile-a-Minute vine is the latest threat on the invasive plants front. This nasty vine has moved up from the mid-Atlantic states and is now well established in Connecticut. Massachusetts residents should be on the lookout for this fast growing vine, up to six inches a day! It has arrowhead leaves and nearly invisible but really treacherous barbs. It flowers in August and starts setting seed which begins to ripen right about now.

Mile-a-Minute seed

The seed is small and blue, just like a low bush blueberry. Though small, it has vital strength and can remain viable in the soil for 7 years.

I got to meet Bryan Connolly (L), our state botanist  who works with the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, when he came to Greenfield on Thursday, with Chris Buelow (R) , also with NHESP, to rip out a small patch of Mile-a-Minute vine. This patch was reported by an alert Greenfield resident who knows his weeds!  Bryan and Chris were joined by a crew of Conservation Volunteers (wearing good leather gloves as protection from those barbs) from the New EnglandWildflower Society; they made quick work of the task. Bryan will return in the spring  to check the site, and spray an herbicide, if necessary.

Bryan explained that Mile-a-Minute vine is an annual, but it self-seeds readily. Birds can spread the seeds, but he said most often the vine is spread unknowingly by humans who get seeds stuck in the soles of their shoes, or trucks pick up seeds and transport them on their tires.  Sometimes the vine grows into a hayfield and it spreads all over the farm.  Bryan and Chris carefully gathered all the seeds which they will burn. They are too dangerous even to put in an herbarium.  Foliage will be sent to the University of Connecticut, UMass and Harvard for their herbarium collections.

If you should come across this plant, which needs only sun and ordinary soil to thrive, email Bryan at bryan.a.connolly@state.ma.us            You will have done a good deed.  Remember, the barbs are  an important clue in identifying this plant.

Stockbridge Herbs

Stockbridge Farm basils

John and Mary Ellen Warchol cannot take a visitor on a tour of their display garden without urging smells and tastes.

            “Lemon basil makes a fabulous pesto. Taste,” John says.

            “Taste this. The smaller leaves are very flavorful,” Mary Ellen says.

“Mmmmm. Thai basil really is different. Spicy,” I agree.

I did not taste all 40 of the types of basil the Warchols grow but I gained a new appreciation for the variety of flavors that appear in just this one herb.

I was particularly taken with a purple basil, Alchemist, that is new to the Warchols this year. They explained that the dark basils have wonderful flavor but don’t look very pretty when they are cooked so they like to use them in salads. Or in herbal vinegar. Their Ruby Basil vinegar is not only savory, it is gorgeous, sparkling red, in its bottle.

For the past 25 years or so the Warchols, and Mary Ellen’s sister, Denise Lemay have operated Stockbridge Herbs, selling herbal products, giving workshops and cooking demonstrations. In fact, they will be cooking at the Greenfield Farmers Market today, September 5.

I can personally attest to their cooking skills. At the spring Master Gardeners Symposium I attended their presentation and enjoyed several garlic recipes. I was not surprised that they cooked and served roasted garlic and luscious garlic minestrone, but the garlic scape cheesecake and roasted garlic and apple spice cake were unexpected, and delicious.  Mary Ellen said her sister Denise is ‘the garlic queen’.

John and Mary Ellen live in a house built by John’s grandfather, on land he began farming in 1903. In those days tobacco and asparagus were the main crops.  John’s father added Holsteins. But when it was John’s turn to take over, the cows had to go. Dairy farming and John and Mary Ellen’s teaching schedules did not mesh.

The business began when Mary Ellen and Denise wanted to sell their counted cross stitch embroidery, but soon came to see that their sideline, herbs and herbal mixtures from John’s garden, were the way to make money. They didn’t completely give up the sewing aspects of their business, although there isn’t much in the way of embroidery. Lavender is an important part of their business in items like sachets and eye pillows as well as bridal items like a ring bearer’s pillow and a lavender filled bridal garter. 

Several years ago Stockbridge Herbs joined with Sandra Cardinal of Johnson Hill Lavender Farm and Carol Doerphalz of Glenbrook Gardens to form Herban Learning Adventures.  Once a teacher, always a teacher! On Saturday, September 19, they will be offering a workshop at Glenbrook Gardens in Greenfield devoted to making herbal culinary products.  Participants will be able to make their own Ruby Basil vinegar, as well as herbal cordials and syrups, sugars, and salts.  I use herbs in my cooking because they add such savor, but I haven’t thought much about the many ways other than drying or freezing they can be preserved and used all year long. Full information is on their website, www.stockbridgeherbs.com

Bouquet garni as gifts

John is an enthusiastic gardener, not satisfied with only herbs. He has 30 tomato plants, each one a different variety, as well as other vegetables. This year he planted a separate 8×10 foot plot with vegetables and herbs to show how very much could be grown in a tiny space: tomatoes, peppers, squash, pole beans, eggplant, beets, parsley, basil and cilantro – and then I lost track. There was only a plant or two of each item, but the experiment was persuasive.  Even a very tiny garden can supply a couple with a many meals of delicious healthful vegetables. Well seasoned, too.

Since many of us have more than a single plant or two of squash or beans, I want to remind you all that any surplus you can’t handle can be donated to local food pantries around the county like the Salvation Army on Chapman Street, the Center for Self Reliance on Osgood Street and the Survival Center on Fourth Street in Turner’s Falls and the Orange Food Pantry on Main Street in Orange. A full listing of agencies accepting produce in any amount is online: www.plantarowwmass.blogspot.com.  ###

I don’t often include recipes but Denise Lemay’s Garlic Minestrone is a perfect summer recipe when the harvest is at its height.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

4 T. fresh marjoram leaves

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic chopped

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced in ¼ inch rounds

4 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 medium red potato, cut in ½ inch pieces

2 carrots cut into ¼ inch half circles

2 large coarsely chopped ripe tomatoes (or 2 c. canned tomatoes)

1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 zucchini cut into ¼ inch quarter rounds

1 c. fresh or frozen cut green beans

¾ c. cooked Italian white beans

1 c. basil leaves, sliced into a chiffonade

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil in havy stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute til translucent, about 8 minutes. Add marjoram, fennel and carros. Cook until vegetables begin to soften (10-14 min) Stir frequently. Add stock and 1 t. salt, and pepper to taste. Add potatoes and tomatoes. Simmer 10 min. Add corn and beans. Cook til potatoes are tender. Raise heat to high and add white beans. Cook 2 more min. Remove from heat. Add zucchini and half the basil. Adjust seasoning and add a splash of lemon juice. Ladle into bowls and garnish with remaining basil. Serve with freshly grated parmesean cheese.

Denise Lemay cooked this up at the Master Gardener Symposium in March

Bloom Day September 2009

I almost forgot it  was Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!  I made a mad dash out into the garden with my camera, stopping briefly on the piazza where the Wave petunias, geraniums, Million Bells and verbena are still going strong.

I don’t have as many asters as Mr. McGregor’s Daughter, but I do love them. These are nameless.

Once heard who can forget Alma Potschke’s name?  She might be the brightest pink in the garden, but I always seem to have a lot of pink.

This nameless pink achillea is sending up fresh floriferous shoots from the middle of the plant. I wonder if this is a benefit of all the rain we’ve had.

Pink cosmos are still going strong. A few pink chelone, turtlehead, are still in bloom, but are not photo worthy.

I got this nameless pink phlox at a plant sale in May. It got off to a slow start, but should be very nice next year.

I love red zinnias. These are not artfully placed, but the ground was open here when they needed to be planted.

Dahlias are a wonderful autumn plant.  I decided to use the technique of picking one of each variety and showing them in individual containers.

I will try and name them. Back row, left to right: Purple Passion, Foxy Lady and Peggy Jean.  In the front row is Pattycake, then a dahlia I don’t even remember ordering, and finally Funny Face. I am coming to love dahlias more and more for the color they bring to the autumn garden. I even managed to winter over Funny Face, Foxy Lady and Pattycake, in the basement in peat moss. 

I was surprised at the number of rose bushes that are still putting out a blossom or two. In the first row, from left to right – Pink Grootendorst (planted this spring), The Fairy, Thomas Affleck (planted this spring) and Carefree Beauty. Behind them, Lto R – Double Red Knockout who has been a stellar performer, Applejack, and a final container with two rugosas, Blanc Double De Coubert and Apart.

In addition, my ‘old’ hydrangea is still blooming and making good bouquets, the newly planted Limelight hydrangea, but I can’t take credit for those blooms.  An annual salvia still blooms by the hen house, and wild yarrow, wild asters, Queen Anne’s Lace and goldenrod bloom along the edges of our road. Last Sunday I made a very autumnal arrangement for church that was amazingly full of color.

Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens and see what else is blooming around the country.  Thank you Carol for hosting this wonderful monthly garden party.