If Alma Potchke is blooming it must be September Bloom Day. I thank Carol at May Dreams Gardens for thinking of this wonderful way to keep a bloom record of my own garden, and to see what else is in bloom over this land.
This beautiful achillea has bloomed beautifully all summer. It is at the end of the lettuce bed in the new Front Garden which means it has gotten watered along with the lettuce, including the second planting, but the other achilleas, pink and plum, in the garden have done quite well in spite of the heat and drought.
Barbara Purington at Woodslawn Farm gave me an annual balsam seedling this spring, remembering how I had admired a whole row of this beautiful flower last fall. This was a totally new plant for me. It is just beginning to bloom, from the bottom up, and if you squint you can probably see the buds. The balsam also benefits from the lettuce watering.
A row of nastursiums is the transition planting between the broccoli and the Daylily Bank. Like the achillea and balsam it has benefited from the watering that the vegetables get. I guess I could also mention the blooming broccoli at this point. We did eat most of it, or get it frozen, including second side sprouts.
The Artemesia lactiflora with its dark green foliage and tiny white flowers does not photograph well for me, but I love this perennial because it is so sturdy, and because the stems and flowers are so good in flower arrangements. I planted cosmos, white, pink and deep pink where I had holes in the planting scheme. They have not minded the drought and bloom for months.
I saw gomphrena last year and thought it would be good for the cutting garden. A couple of seedlings ended up in this pot, along with cosmos that fell over. I also have a purple gomphrena in the cutting garden.
I didn’t give the annuals in the cutting garden breathing space, which is one of the important benefits of a cutting garden, but the zinnias, cornflowers, purple gomphrena, and ornamental amaranth ‘Hot Biscuits’ have done well and provided plenty of bloom for flower arrangements.
I have fields of goldenrod – which I have found very useful in autumnal bouquets. Tansy, too, actually.
My castor bean did not grow into the seven foot wonder I envisioned, but I love the fuzzy red things that I am going to call flowers on this Bloom Day. Even in its dwarf form, it is a stunning plant.
Some containers are still blooming like this enthusiastic geranium, verbena, Million Bells, blue lobelia, double white petunias, and pink diascia as well as my abutilon which cannot live on the piazza much longer.
When Layanee of Ledge and Gardens visited last week she strolled down the nearly nude Rose Walk, but Queen Elizabeth is looking very fresh this morning. There are just a few other scattered roses, Double Red Knockout, Champlain, Apart and the Meideland landscape roses.
The rugosa Pink Grootendorst is still blooming (what a trouper) on the new Rose Bank, along with Double Red Knockout. Hawkeye Belle, planted this spring, still has buds.
The Antique Rose Emporium where I bought this rose suggested planting it near the doorway because of its fragrance. It hasn’t proved fragrant for me, which might be because of my soil in that spot which is oddly fine and dry, especially this year. However, this year, its second year, it has bloomed non-stop with almost no watering. There is a little mildew on the foliage, but I never pay attention to that.
I do have morning glories that bring joy to my breakfast every morning, but this photo is of a pot of Heavenly Blue Morning Glories climbing the support of a telephone pole here in town. Unfortunately my system doesn’t seem to like vertical photographs so I cannot give you a sense of the exuberant vine climbing 15 feet or more in the air.
What do you have blooming today?
The asters are my favorite, I like the pink color very much, I have the blues. The gomphrena in a pot is great, I will have remember that for next year. Also the roses, I love roses.
Donna – That Alma Potchke is a stunner. I have blues, too, but they are not quite blooming.
Beautiful September Blooms! I love the variegated nasturtiums!
Pat, I am envious of your fields of goldenrod! I haven’t a field or the sun, so i appreciate it all the more when it blooms here and there. Alma is a delightful aster~and she should soon be blooming here! Trading off non-stop bloom for fragrance seems a fair deal with your rose! gail
You certainly have a lot going on this month…how nice to have such a variety!
What gorgeous flowers! I, too, am envious of your fields of golden rod. I wish it was more prolific in my gardens, such a lovely sign of autumn. Oh and that castor bean – very cool! Happy bloom day!
Linda – amazingly I’ve never grown nastursiums before.
Gail – I wish we could share out the sun and shade. I have no complaints about Thomas at all!
Leslie – I do like the variety, lots of pink, and lots of hot zinnias.
Kate – I have great plans fro a bigger castor bean. Next year.
I’m starting to get a little downhearted, seeing Asters in bloom everywhere but here. Alma is a flashy lady, perfect for bright September days. The castor bean is way cool. Even if it didn’t bloom, it’s a stunning plant.
I tried a cutting garden this year, with little success. The cosmos took over, now I will have cosmos to transplant in other areas of the yard. Lovely roses, which I envy.
MMD – Alma is flashy and so is the castor bean. I’m determined to get one to 6 feet next year.
I can’t believe your yarrow is still going strong! Mine has been done for about two months.