Autumn is Taking Hold

Well, the temperature is finally such that we can overseed our eco-grass. It performed well, staying dark green right through the heat of July and August without any extra watering whatsoever. We will wait until spring, though, to try it in other areas.

So what does autumn mean for the rest of the garden? Some plants really like the cooler weather. In the planters my zonal geraniums have started blooming again, but the coleus and a few other sensitive plants have not survived the cold nights. In the garden some late-blooming plants have done okay. I just didn't get out and photograph them while they were at their best. You'll have to trust me that this sunflower looked fine while its head still pointed upwards.

Not-Too-Sunny Sunflower



My precious single stalk of Postman's Pride sedum is blooming nicely, as are the turtleheads I planted from another person's garden last year.

Postman's Pride Sedum



Turtleheads



As I predicted, I can count on 'Rozanne' hardy geranium to bloom from July to October, so it is still doing quite nicely.

Rozanne Hardy Geranium



And, in spite of looking pretty rough in the high heat, enough ruffled pansies survived that I still have some blooms in the pot I planted them in.

Spring Pansy Survivors



Oh, and if anybody out there was wondering how my seedlings have been doing, I took this photo to show that enough of the strong ones survived to give me a nice healthy crop next year. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with them all. I should probably plant them out into separate plastic pots to overwinter them. I will transplant the largest ones directly into the ground, and put some of them in the cold frame for the winter. The rest I'm not sure what I will do, because if I bring them inside the cat will eat them for sure!

Daylily Seedlings



Last but not least I must thank quu for alerting to me to Hosta Virus X. As she warned, it seems at least some of my new purchases may be harbouring the virus. Here is a leaf of 'August Moon' that seems to be showing symptoms.

'August Moon' Has Hosta Virus X?


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

I'm not certain, but here is what I'm thinking. 'August Moon' is a light-coloured hosta, but this plant has darker "inkbleed" markings following the veins. If you read up on the virus, lighter plants with the virus will show dark markings (dark plants will show light markings). Inkbleed distribution of markings is also a classic symptom.

I will certainly destroy this hosta just to be on the safe side, but the conservative measures state that any hostas in the same batch as one showing infection should be assumed to have the infection too. I don't know if I want to go as far as destroying the whole set of hostas I just bought at the end of August. (Then again, the list of hostas that were on sale at the nursery was suspiciously similar to the list of hostas most susceptible to Hosta Virus X. Coincidence? Maybe. Would you be suspicious? This nursery specializes in hostas. The only place I know of that sells more varieties than they do is Floral and Hardy Gardens, Betty and Marv's mail order nursery specializing in daylilies, hosta, and heuchera.)

What would you do? Destroy an entire batch of new purchases, or "wait and see"?

Planting, Mostly Hostas

I’ve done a lot of planting in the last 48 hours. Mostly hostas:

• August Moon (x2)
• So Sweet
• Paradise Power
• Night Before Christmas
• Bitsy Gold
• Stiletto
• Blue Cadet

I also moved ‘Sun Power’ and ‘Red October’ from the side garden to the front.

Patriot, Red October, and Blue Cadet
(The Military Collection?)



Stiletto, Blue Mouse Ears, and Bitsy Gold
(The Miniature Collection)



Stiletto Close Up




Then there’s the cranesbill that I finally planted, plus a new one I got this weekend:

• Mourning Widow Cranesbill (Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’) NEW
• Spotted Cranesbill (Geranium maculatum ‘Elizabeth Ann’)
• Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense ‘Mrs. Kendall Clark’)

I also moved ‘Hokus Pokus’ from the back to the side garden. There wasn’t much of it left after I cut it back, but I’ve planted it in a more shaded place now, so I hope it will do better.

I got three new heuchera on the weekend (well, technically one is a heucherella, which upset me a bit when I discovered it -- I usually avoid heucherellas because they are more delicate than heuchera and don’t have a good survival rate in my garden). Anyway, the heucherella is ‘Burnished Bronze’. The two new heuchera are ‘Dolce Licorice’ and ‘Purple Petticoats’. They are dark ones that I planted in the front garden where I don’t have a lot of shade. While we are on the subject of heuchera, I moved ‘Beauty Colour’ from the side garden to the back.

By now you will have noticed that this post is not really for my readers. It is for myself, so that I can keep track of my planting marathon and remember what I’ve done. I don't have photos of all these plants, so I will fill in with other photos of hostas and heuchera.

Hosta and Heuchera



Fairy Girl Between Two Heuchera



Just An Ordinary White-Margined Hosta
(Hosta fortunei 'Albo-marginata')



Paradise Power (An Improved Version of 'Sun Power')



'Sun Power' Hosta and 'Purple Petticoats' Heuchera



Finally, I planted five Woolly Thyme plants on the back slope where they do amazingly well and form a lovely carpet-like covering that spreads over the mulch. I also planted a Beard-Tongue (Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’) and all my remaining unplanted daylilies in the front garden. Meanwhile, as I was planting, my wonderful husband was remulching the many areas that needed it after all that planting.

Black Mulch in the Side Garden



New Mulch in the Northeast Corner


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.


Now it's all done and I can go on my vacation without worrying about the relatives from Germany who will be taking a little tour of our garden (escorted by my mother-in-law) while we are away.

Towards the End of August

Well, there are still a few things blooming in the garden. The last of the daylilies are putting on a healthy show.

Daring Deception



The Last of 'My Hope'



Those who love long hot summers will no doubt feel disappointed at the cooler weather, but I have been spending long hours in the garden dividing irises and daylilies, moving hostas and heucheras to try to get more variety in the front garden (unfortunately there is not quite enough shade for what I have available for moving, so it looks like I will have to pick up a few sun-tolerant ones).

Fragrant Hosta Flowers



Plantaginea hosta is fairly sun-tolerant, and blooms with lovely fragrant flowers. The ones I have in the side garden by the lattice wall are nice and healthy.

Grasshopper



So many of my plants are being torn apart or eaten by pests, some of them cuter than others. Chipmunks are of course very cute. Grasshoppers, not so much.

Long Garden View



I am lucky, however, that in general, the big picture is not at all spoiled by these small annoyances. And speaking of small, my clematis with small flowers ('Mrs. Robert Brydon') is blooming. It is beloved of bees. There were half a dozen buzzing around it in just one limited area.

Clematis jouiana 'Mrs. Robert Brydon'



Bee on Clematis



Question: Am I the only one who cannot pass the soft branches of a small pine tree without brushing my hand across the needles? Does anyone else feel the compulsion to touch pine trees? Maybe I'm just weird that way.

Soft, Fuzzy Pine



And finally, as I said earlier, 'Rozanne' hardy geranium blooms from July into autumn, and it's one of the main bloomers in the garden now. I managed to catch it in the perfect light to practise my "artistic" photography skills.

'Rozanne' Hardy Geranium in the Sun


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

And with that image, I will close off the post.

Hanna's Copyright Post

Before I do anything else, I want to give a shout out to Hanna at This Garden is Illegal for this post on copyright. Although it's specific to the United States, there are many useful resources in the article. Thanks, Hanna!

[This was meant to be a longer post, but I guess I never got around to finishing it. But there's a good reason for that. The most perfect gardening weather came along and I was spending all my time in the garden.]

In My Garden Today

Four 'Light Years Away' blooming on one scape. As I've said before, a high bud count can be good and bad. This almost looks like a bride's bouquet. Tomorrow, though, it's all going to be one big squishy mess.

Four 'Light Years Away'



Three late-blooming daylilies in close proximity. I've already shown 'Darkside' and 'Kwanso' together. Now add 'Royal Palace Prince' to the mix.

Three Different Daylilies



And a green worm gorging on some parsley.

Green Worm and Garden Ornament


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Royal Palace Prince

Today the daylily 'Royal Palace Prince' had its first bloom this year.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

That means that the daylily whose small flower bloomed on July 26 was 'Mariska'.

Early August in the Garden

Since I last wrote, the weather has turned hot and humid. But it doesn't stop the daylilies from blooming. There are almost none left to see that haven't been seen already though. Here is the one bud of 'Highland Lord' (a new purchase) that finally bloomed.

'Highland Lord'



It is supposed to be a glorious full double, but this flower looks like it is struggling a bit. We'll have to see how it does next year. One new purchase that did bloom nicely though is 'Darkside'. I have planted it near 'Kwanso' in the garden and the colours look great together.

'Darkside' and 'Kwanso'



And here is 'Joan Senior' blooming in a wild part of the garden.

Joan Senior


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

There isn't really that much going on right now. Everything is in a holding pattern, waiting for some cooler weather to come along.

Tra-la-la Trahlyta (and True Blue Heart)

We did indeed pay another visit to Betty and her garden today. We exchanged 'Apollo's Chariot' for 'Executive Decision'. I had also pre-ordered the 'Blue Mouse Ears' hosta and 'Postman's Pride' Sedum. Unfortunately I only got one stalk of the sedum -- I guess Betty is a little bit short of it. I feel like I must baby it and guard it carefully until it proliferates. I should try and find another source for it, but I've never seen it anywhere else.

Of course we could not leave without shopping for daylilies again. This time I discovered how to figure out the price of the daylily before taking it to the cash, so I was able to pick up a couple of reasonably priced ones.

'Trahlyta' has been on my wish list for a while. I'm glad I found it. This photo was taken at the end of the day when heat had taken its toll on the flower. Earlier in the day the colour was not so muddy.

Trahlyta



And I found this 'True Blue Heart'. I guess there are trends in daylilies, and lavender-blue eyes were a desirable trait for a while. Still desirable to me! I really like this one.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

It's supposed to have lavender petals rather than cream, but still. I love the eye.

High Bud Count, Etc.

When I was at the daylily gardens, I was trying to tell the owner what it was I liked, which sort of flowers caught my eye. I stuttered something like "dark purples" and mentioned my latest bloomer at the time, which was 'Grand Masterpiece'. But then Betty said, "I bet you didn't get too many flowers from it though, did you?"

And she's right, I guess. Bud count is not one of the things I consider when I choose a daylily. I do have some daylilies that are solid performers in that regard, but to tell you the truth, most of them are not my favourites.

Although I do like 'Cricket Dance'.

'Cricket Dance' Has a High Bud Count



The problem with high bud count is that it results in high spent bloom count, too. Very messy plants. Especially if the flowers are large and fleshy, you can get ugly results. 'Daring Deception' is a case in point.

'Daring Deception' Has a High Bud Count



Note that the two flowers down in front are 'Sabine Baur'.

As far as I know, the Siloams usually have a high bud count. For example, 'Siloam Merle Kent', 'Siloam Doodlebug', 'Siloam Plum Tree' are ones that I have. 'Siloam Merle Kent' is my most well-established of the three.

Siloam Merle Kent Has a High Bud Count



But look at how the spent blooms make the plant look messy, and interfere with the current blooms. Sometimes the buds negatively affect the blooms, too. And deadheading becomes harder when you are working around buds and current blooms, hoping not to dislodge any with an extra enthusiastic snap or tug. So really, I am not especially a fan of high bud count. I see as many problems as advantages.

New Plants and First Blooms

These are my new plants and first blooms today.

All American Baby (New)



Bela Lugosi (New)



In the photo above, try to ignore the blemishes and picture it as a uniform purple. It's a new purchase and this is the only bud I got with the plant.

Smith Brothers (New)



Can you see how similar 'Smith Brothers' is to 'Root Beer'? Only the ruffles and the greenish tinge to the throat make it look different.

'My Hope' First Bloom Today


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Executive Decision

I've been in touch with Betty about "Apollo's Chariot" -- my daylily that didn't look like it was supposed to -- and she's offered (in an executive decision) to exchange it for an "Executive Decision". One that is much more expensive. I feel bad.

So tomorrow we are going to pay Betty a visit and return the current plant for a new one.

White Daylilies and More

One of my new daylilies didn't come true to form. Sigh. (I'm going to have to get in touch with Betty.) Apollo's Chariot is supposed to be a red self, and it came up (yet another) pink daylily with purple eyezone and yellow-green throat. I already have plenty of those. And one of them is named 'Always Afternoon'. Hmm. Another A.

In the last few days I had two new blooms, both white: 'Ice Carnival' (white tinged with lemon yellow) and 'Joan Senior' (a creamy white bloom).

Ice Carnival



Joan Senior



This morning while I was out taking photos, I managed to catch a little chipmunk in a rare moment when it wasn't scurrying madly about with cheek pockets full of seeds.

Chipmunk in the Garden



In this view you can see my 'Lullaby of Spring' irises, which I have divided and moved to the east fence.

I planted the heuchera in a pot to save it from the rabbits, which like to munch on them. Maybe that's why Dolce names all their hybrids after sweet treats (like 'Creme Brulee' and 'Peach Melba') -- because they are dessert for rabbits.

And here is something sweet that I discovered early this morning. It survived the rabbits, only just. It is my 'Razzmatazz' echinacea. It was a lovely huge plant last year, very much reduced in size this year. I suppose I should be happy it's alive and blooming at all!

Razzmatazz Echinacea


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Floral and Hardy

I finally visited a daylily farm!!!

Floral and Hardy Gardens



Floral and Hardy Gardens, run by Betty and Marv, has close to 3000 daylily cultivars to choose from. Of course I bought eight, which I will list later.

Betty's own gardens are gorgeous. She even hosts wedding photos there. I just have a few pictures of spots that I would love to call my own, and I'm going to try to emulate in some small way.

Betty's Garden by the House



Betty loves hosta, heuchera, and hemerocallis just as I do. As well as the daylilies, she has close to 500 varieties of hosta, and over 120 varieties of heuchera (including heucherella and tiarella).

Hosta, Heuchera, and Hemerocallis



I fell immediately in love with two plants in her garden: 'Postman's Pride' sedum and 'Blue Mouse Ears' hosta, which you can see in the photo above forming a triangle with the unmistakeable 'Lime Rickey' heuchera.

Notice how Betty labels everything in her garden? She asked me did I have labels in my garden. I told her no, I used an album. Not good enough! No excuses! And since it's getting harder and harder to keep track of my plants now, I may just take Betty's advice and start labelling them.

And here is another lovely combo from Betty's garden.

More of Betty's Garden



Do I wish Betty's garden was my garden? You bet I do!

Oh, and my purchases? Here is a list:

• All American Baby
• Apollo's Chariot
• Bela Lugosi
• Darkside
• Highland Lord
• Persian Ruby
• Root Beer
• Smith Brothers

There is very little difference between 'Root Beer' and 'Smith Brothers'. I had given up on finding 'Smith Brothers' and chose 'Root Beer' instead, but then I found a 'Smith Brothers' that was located so far from the 'S' section that finding it was just lucky. It is slightly more ruffled, has a greenish throat, and will grow slightly taller than 'Root Beer'.

'Root Beer' Planted in My Garden



Finding 'Darkside' was also a fluke, as Betty had thought she was sold out of them. They were handmarked with odd labels (none of which said 'Darkside'), but looked just like the 'Darkside' demo plant. See, I told Betty I liked the dark purple daylilies, so that is what I got a lot of.

'Persian Ruby' Planted in My Garden


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

However, 'Persian Ruby' and 'Highland Lord' are actually reds, and 'All American Baby' is a small, cream flower with delicate watermark. It is similar to another lovely daylily that I would have bought if someone didn't name it after the kind of lingerie you need to go to a special store to buy. I can't even put the name of it in my blog because I would get all kinds of undesirable hits from people searching for ... that sort of thing.