Blooming in fall

We've had enough rain in the last two months that my angel trumpet and moon flower are finally beautiful. The angel trumpet is below. It smells heavenly at night!

We reseeded the front yard and are finally getting some good looking grass. Hopefully this time it will survive.

I divided and moved my spiderwort plants, putting them in the front garden on the southside of the yard. I hope they will do better with less late day sun. I bought a rosemary bush and planted it next to the driveway. I also pulled up the back gardens and planted pansies. I hope to add more perennials soon.

Grass, again

I am still struggling with grass in the front yard. The high heat in early June killed the fescue that we planted in the spring. We planted bermuda after that, but is has only grown in patches, leaving big bare patches and weeds in the yards. So, I'm at it again. With the wet and cool weather this week, I decided to try some fescue blend. Scattered over the bare spots.

Two bright spots though. The lantana I planted in the middle of the front yard is doing great. Also the Ruella planted earlier in the summer is blooming. Pictures of both.

Getting ready for Fall

I plan to rework a couple of beds in the front yard this fall. So, we've been working hard to get them ready. The bed in this picture is on the north side of our lot, but gets full southern and western exposure. It is about 15'x45'. My husband removed a small crepe mrytle tree, we weeded it, then added 3lbs of 10-10-10 fertilizer. I then worked in lots of coffee grounds (free from Starbucks) and 6lbs of lime to counteract the acid from the coffee. We then mulched the entire bed. I have a list of perennials I want to plant this fall.


We also used a weed/feed on the front lawn. Unfortunately it is more weed than grass.

Next weekend is the fall open house at PlantDelights nursery. I've never been, but hear it is a great place to buy a wide variety of plants. I'm looking forward to going. They are open to the public just a few weekends a year.

Late August

There is not a lot happening in the garden right now. My Obedient plants are now blooming. I realize that I don't have many late bloomers. I would like more.

We cleaned out the south garden in the front yard, and mulched it. The garden needs some serious work! I've got small azaleas in the back, but I think they will get bigger. I also have several hellebores which are doing well. In the upper part of that bed, I planted some daylilies to the front. I need to move those this fall. I have some spiderwort in the bed near the driveway that I will move into this bed. I need some other 'short' plants too. It gets partial shade, so I can put annuals there. The vinca is doing well, and I had impatians there last year, which reseeded a bit. This will be one place I will work on for the fall.

I have loved the caladiums in the boxes near the pond. I will pull up those bulbs and try to keep them for next year. I'll plant some in this south bed, and more in those same boxes.

Neither my moon vine nor my angel trumpet has bloomed much again this year. I think the dry weather is the problem, since they otherwise seem healthy. I'll save moonflower seeds for my friends Swampcat.

Had soil tests done on the front lawn (which has been a wreck this year) and on 3 beds. We will amend that all accordingly.

Photos below are of the caladium, the obedient plant and that south bed.

Heat of the summer

My blue/black salvia is blooming now. I have had two moon flowers so far. The vine is doing pretty well, going up the light post, but not heavy with blooms yet. The weather has been a bit dry the last two weeks. It would like more moisture.

Last week I noticed a blue flower blooming out near the airport. I got some pictures of it, but have had trouble making an identification. Saturday morning while out walking I saw some in a neighbor's yard. She happened to be out watering, so I asked what it was. She didn't know, but gave me some small off shoots. I planted them, and have since found that it is Ruellia brittoniana or Mexican petunia. Not a petunia at all, actually, but a woody perennial with a blue flower. I think I will enjoy it, as I always like a passalong plant.

Oh, the photos here are the blue/black salvia, moon flower vine and sedum "Autumn Joy".

New blooms

As much as I dislike the heat and humidity of mid summer, I love the fact that nearly everyday something new is blooming. We have had a rather wet summer so far, so the yard is growing wild. I can't keep up with the weeds, but all the good stuff is growing well too.

My angel trumpet has just the one bloom right now. I'm sure it will have more. It is a huge plant this year. I like the pale salmon color and the wonderful fragrance in the evening.

The red crinums are now blooming. I got the bulbs from my late mother-in-law's yard in Edenton. It took a couple of years for the plants to establish, but now they are huge. My husband called them 'flame plants'. They have several other common names, such as Confederate lily, angel lily and candystick lily. They were very popular plants in the south decades ago, but seem to have lost their popularity. I really like such heirloom plants.

I have morning glory all over the place. The are growing up in my abelia bushes. I should pull it up, but I like the morning blooming.

I think the bees and butterflies feeding make nice pictures. They love my flowers.

This week

Its that time of the summer when most of my time in the yard is spent pulling weeds and swatting mosquitoes. I am doing lots of both.

I have a bare spot in the front yard where grass just doesn't want to grow. So, this weekend we planted a Sizzlin'Pink Fringeflower bush (Loropetalum chinensis). It has nice dark purple leaves and bright pink blooms. Around this I planted a variety of lantana. All should do well with that full sun.

I picked my first cukes and squash. The pond hyacinths and the sun flowers are also just beginning to bloom. Some nice picture of all of these are below.

I had a comment that I should show my compost bin and my water collection system. The compost area is great, as in I have great compost, but it isn't very nice to look at. We will work on that. Our really nice water collection system is almost finished. Just have to get the gutters installed on the tool shed. Photos will be forthcoming. Now that I have rain barrels we seem to be having lots of rain!