A Belated Look at My September Garden

Our September vacation to Michigan got me so excited about those particular photos that I didn’t even put up a September blog post. I thought I’d better remedy that, since this blog is mostly dedicated to my “nest” here at home.

With my vacation looming, and the fact that I didn’t want to drag monarch caterpillars around with me, I ended my monarch season early. The caterpillars that showed up after that had to fend for themselves as Mother Nature intended. As it was, I had to farm out the last chrysalides to a friend who had never even raised caterpillars before. (Thanks Judy!) She had the fun part, simply watch them emerge and set them free!

m

For the first time, I did not find myself a garden waterer while I was away. I decided to take a chance that it might actually rain, and boy did it ever. Nearly four inches fell while we were away, so everything was healthy and strong on our return. I’m so glad.

Zinnias are often the highlight of my September garden, but this year was not my best zinnia year. There were, and still are, some zinnias still thriving. And thank goodness, since the migrating monarchs visit them often. However, my signature flower, the Queen Red Lime zinnia was a big disappointment this year. I only had six sickly plants, and they’ve given me very few blooms. I believe it was because of that virus I mentioned in my August post, so I’ll try again next year.

The biggest delight upon my return was the dahlias. I usually just pick up random packages of dahlias at local garden centers, but I may go to the trouble of ordering special varieties next year. They give me so much delight, and such generous late season blooms, so I should be more selective.

Since the weather begins to cool off in September, my roses usually start to perk up. I often think about replacing my roses with hydrangeas, but that expensive proposition still remains on the back burner. Roses just don’t thrive here, but I haven't figured out why. My theory is that we get all the same cold as we got in Michigan, with very little snow to keep the roots protected.

I thought I’d miss the first blooming of my new Zig Zag goldenrod while I was away, but instead, it was still glorious. This long blooming lovely is going to become a favorite of mine, I can just tell.

I'll close with some random pretty spots, and then my usual sunset shots. September is a glorious month in the garden, with lots of exuberant plantings to highlight. There's usually enough to cover up any insect or pest damage that was bothering me in August.

Sunsets from my nest! Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you again at the end of the October.

Random Chatter for my August Garden

If it's August, we know to expect heat. We can also expect the garden to start fading as it goes past its peak. I wish I could figure out how to maintain the fresh green look of July. Instead I'm fighting every possible insect for mastery over the garden. But I'm able to hide it fairly well with the exuberance of my plantings.

I thought that I might skip showing you my endless butterfly photos this month, but then I laughed at myself. "Be serious Robin! You know that butterflies are your favorites." In case you haven't guessed, I've continued to raise monarchs inside the house. It's been a banner year for them, and you'd be able to tell by just how many monarch photos I have in my files. I'll ultimately release around 50 this year. For me, that is a considerable amount, especially considering just how small my milkweed patch is. I've actually raised a couple of swallowtails too, and even though they are beautiful, they just don't generate the same enthusiasm for me.

Do you like hydrangeas in the garden? Well, who doesn't? I often hear gardeners complain that their hydrangea doesn't bloom anymore. You might want to consider replacing that non-bloomer with one of the newer varieties. This Little Quickfire hydrangea was given to me by Proven Winners for a trial a few years ago, and it has more than surpassed my expectations. It blooms non-stop, starting out white, then fading to this softer pink color, then finishing off dark pink in the fall. It also makes an excellent cut flower. You can even dry them to preserve the beautiful blooms. In the top photo below, you'll see a green blob behind the Little Quickfire. That's my Endless Summer hydrangea, who puts out less than one quarter of the flowers. The bottom hydrangea photo is Little Lime. I do love it, but so far it isn't the showstopper of its neighbor. But it is a few years younger, so perhaps it will catch up.

Here are a few more of my plant recommendations to consider. Keep in mind that my garden is quite bright and sunny, so most of these selections do better in full sun. Below you will see the exuberant purslane/portulaca. This premium annual will bloom on and on all summer long with no added water. The flowers themselves are especially bright and stunning. Keep in mind that they fold up later in the day, only to reopen the next day. The fact that they close up in the evening has shown me that I shouldn't plant them singly like this, as my container is boring at the end of the day. Next time, I think I'll combine them with lantana to combat this problem.

As mentioned above, lantana is also great for full sun, with endless blooms that don't close up at night. Butterflies and hummingbirds love it! It's also a premium annual, but worth a few dollars for non-stop blooms.

Caladiums are for shade, and an annual in Ohio. They love the heat, so don't bother planting them until early June. They will then reward you with quick growth. This pot holds just a few bulbs, yet it's packed with color.

Do you grow Millennium alliums? You don't buy them in bulb form like traditional alliums, but as plants. Although they are shorter, they do rebloom throughout the summer. Pollinators love them.

I'd call mandevilla a premium, premium annual. They usually run around $20 to $30 for a big pot full. But this one is definitely worth it. No deadheading is needed, and it blooms endlessly. Not to mention, they are drop dead gorgeous!

I found a couple of strange flowers this year, and a friend tells me that it comes from a virus spread by insects. It has given the affected flowers a strange and odd beauty, and each bloom seems to last much longer than the more normal flowers of the same type.

 The dahlias are starting to bloom, which is a good thing late in the summer when other parts of the garden are giving up. There's just something stunning about a big, blowsy dahlia flower that makes me say wow.

After several years of trying to find an umbrella planter to suit me, I finally found this one at the Monticello Shop. I love it! But I didn't want to water it twice a day, so I filled it with succulents instead of flowers. This combination is nice, but it doesn't have that wow factor. I'll have to give some thought over the winter on how to make a more stunning combination for next summer. The planter itself is a winner though. I'm also pleased with my idea to put a few of favorite beach rocks around the base of it.

We grow vegetables every year, but we've never grown cantaloupe. Technically, we didn't grow cantaloupe this year either. But apparently the cantaloupe seeds in our compost survived the winter. The amazing part is that this didn't get weeded away, but its similarity to cucumbers assured its survival. I'm excited to taste it.

Resurrection lilies are one of those passalong plants that many of us have in our gardens. That's exactly how I got mine, as a matter of fact. They have the most unique coloring, both pink and blue at once. I wish the blooms lasted longer.

This exuberant area of my garden has always been called Butterfly Corner. Since I gave it this name,  almost my entire yard has become devoted to my beloved butterflies. But the moniker here remains. It's a chaotic mess for the most part. But it is generally full of flowers, despite the mess. I occasionally try to tame it, with little success.

The photos below are just garden eye candy to me.

I'll end as usual with a few Ohio sunsets. Thanks for stopping by Robin's Nest! I'm so glad to share my little garden corner with you.