fall flowers

My wild chrysanthemum is so pretty

I really need more of this in other places in my yard. And I think I can do so easily- I had cut a few stems that were growing out of the space just few weeks ago, stuck them in a new spot, and didn't expect much. But look- not only did they survive, they're blooming too!

The standard mums in the front are full of flowers. Even though I only pinched once, they are bushy enough and not flopping over this year. So increase sun is a plus. I only have two left now- this pinkish purple

and the salmon colored one

My black-and-blue salvia is reblooming, after I did all that trimming. Not as much as in full summer, but plenty to enjoy looking at, and I hope the hummingbird appreciated it too. Haven't seen it at the cardinal climber in the past few days, I'm assuming it's gone on migration now.

around the garden

I've been doing some work on the garden structure- the bed edges and such. But too tired from that to write it all out now, so here's some incidental pictures from the past few days. More on the actual work tomorrow. Found an unknown caterpillar- black and spiky!- on the boneset plant.

Which is doing great- it grew so fast, 

already the height of my small camellia.

I want to get more of this plant, or the common one that blooms in summer. Near it is the yarrow- so thin and small- I really admired some yarrow in a relative's yard several states south this past weekend, where it's warmer- hers so bright and thick and feathery! I suspect now mine would do better if I move it to a sunnier location.

Funny though, the same gardener had arum growing here and there in her yard. She asked me what it was- they'd been pulling it out! I like the bright, exotic appearance. She thought it might be an objectionable plant. I shrugged and said: well, if you like it, leave it be- but if you don't want it around, you'll probably have to dig up the tuberous roots. Here's mine, regrowing in fall-

I dug up a few echinacea to take to the plant swap soon. Here with other potted extras on my little bench- several catmint, a few beautyberry, and two pots of the miniature geranium (which I've grown tired of).

Not sure I'm going to take the beautyberries to the swap, though. Half the larger ones I transplanted died, or look like they did. This one by the hydrangeas is just a few thin sticks with a few leaves- 

but it does have three clusters of bright purple!

The side bed it's in, starting to look a bit neater and more deliberate. I've dug the stones into their places in the ground, to make the edge. Pulled more grass from behind the edge, and transplanted some errant ajuga out of the lawn, back into the bed.

When I was doing that work (actually about a week ago) I trimmed a bit of the wild chrysanthemum, and just stuck the cuttings in the ground on the other side of the little ornamental cypress. Wasn't sure if they'd take- but not only did they survive, they're blooming! Hard to see in this photo, I'll get a better one soon.

across the front

My front bed has needed a lot of cleaning up. So many weeds and young volunteer trees to pull, mulch to spread, things to trim back. My clumps of clary sage have lots of bug holes-

 But I was pleased to find, next to this baby cranesbill, a new clary sage as well! At least one of them self-seeded (even though I cut the flower stalks back to try and get a second bloom).

A few catmint have popped up here, too, next to the brunnera. Those traveled far!

Even though I only pinched back the mums once, they grew quite thick so I hope flower without flopping over too much this year.

In the other front corner by the driveway, I've weeded and mulched around the daylilies- and you can see that little pink lily is still here!

Some of the lyreleaf sage I planted under the lilac are finally looking okay.

And this one is grown really thick and lush. I think it might be one of those ajuga actually getting a foothold now- it looks very much like the lyreleaf, I won't really be sure until it blooms in spring. Feel silly not recognizing my own plant, but hey.

I'm dismayed my lilac is still apparently dying. The right half is still bare, in fact the barren branches seem to be spreading. And there's very little bug sign on the foliage this year. I'm stumped. Is it the encroachment of the black-and-blue salvia I put in the corner behind it? Did I really overdo it with leaf mulch those early winters, and it got rot down in the root crown? I just don't know.

small goals

I am feeling some dismay about the state of my yard and garden. Last summer the front bed looked like this- all full!

Now it's pretty shabby. The deer have eaten back a lot of the shrub on the corner, and I think some of the mums died. I did not go out on the spur of the moment to quickly cover plants from cold this past fall and winter- didn't even really mulch most of the plants. So I expect not everything survived. I suppose the plus is that it shows me what work I was doing needlessly! I need to get out there and clean stuff up, but can still only do a little bit at a time.

One of the few things I did accomplish last fall was digging up some errant ajuga and moving them to form an outside ring surrounding the crabapple base in front yard. Also trimmed back the yellow salvias, which looked like they might start spreading into the lawn. I dug up and moved some autum joy sedums around, and also tore out tons of vinca from the sideyard where the steps are, transplanted milkweed to the other sideyard, and dug and moved joe pye weed into its place against the house on that slope. Because the milkweed never seemed to do great on the first sideyard, but a few were thriving in the other spot. And I wanted to move most of the joe pye from where we planned to put a gate in, thought it would look nice tall against the house there. 

Now it just looks strange and empty where I dug and moved plants, because the fence has not yet got installed. And the deer come up into that space now, are eating the other euonymus shrub plus the small ones I planted in the back, plus what's in the garden . . . 

However the ajuga on first sideyard is filling in between the stepping stones

and other things are still showing their greenery for spring. Yesterday I cleared half another garden bed of weeds, pulled out dead stems above the freshly sprouting catmint, and gathered up piles of sycamore leaves that had blown into the yard, stuck under shrubs all winter. It was enough to get me winded and swell my ankle again.

I think this year I have to just plan on trying to keep the yard tidy and take care of the perennials, that's probably it. They will get a good feed this season as I didn't turn over and spread the compost last season, just gave them some leaf mulch if I recall. 

end summer blooms

Last week with the cold, hummingbird quit coming to visit. The cardinal climber flowers lingered a bit longer.

Sharing space on balcony railing with cowpea vines again

Around the mailbox I've started trimming off the heavy heads of celosia, I'm sure there's already an overload of seed on the ground there. They were pretty good this year!

Joe Pye I also cut down before it could scatter too much seed.

Sedums are starting to look their best

Rear side bed is pretty messy, but turtlehead still makes some color

My black-and-blue salvia did well again this year,

but the lilac next to it appears to be dying. One half has no leaves. Overshaded by the neighbor's tree? Crowded out by the salvia? I'm not sure. Maybe it's just sick or attacked by some insect pest.

Cranesbill is starting to falter in the cold, less flowers now- but it was great just a few weeks ago:

Not sure how the mums will do, I didn't pinch them more than once this year so maybe they will flop over. But lots of buds right now!

And there's not nearly as much of this blue sage as I would like- the color is so stunning when everything else is beginning to go drab.

what's coming up

Actually, that was not so hot for April yesteraday. I suppose it just felt so. I looked it up- record temperature for this area in April was 97°. Doing more cleanup around the yard- clearing away dead stems and foliage that I'd left overwinter, spreading mulch (still have a good supply from the maples we took out last year). The oakleaf and pannicle hydrangeas are leafing out, and the rose of sharons just barely starting to. Lilac is nearly in full leaf- but oddly one side of the plant has hardly any. Insect damage? Too much shade from the neighbor's tree? 

 Cranesbill are all sprouting up, bleeding hearts are in full bloom and the columbines look nice across the rear of the front flower bed, where there's nothing much else yet. Later on they'll be obscured by coleus and more when they die back in summer neat. My peonies are putting up shoots, hosta and gladiolas are emerging, yellow salvias already in full leaf around the base of trees. Ajuga spreading bright color so nicely, and I'm very happy to see the ostrich ferns emerging- there seem to be a few more this spring! Beautyberry is leafing, which makes me very happy, and all the heucherellas are still here (not eaten up by rabbits yet). Joe pye weed is growing back. I need to tidy up the liriope and hellebores. I have not yet seen any growth on the black-and-blue salvia, milkweed or mums. And disappointing, there's no borage seedlings. I think a few had come up months ago in the garden, but I dug them out when preparing the beds for planting, thinking plenty would grow in the perennial spot, or around the mailbox. Nope. I wonder if they sprouted earlier when it was unseasonally warm, and then died in the cold again.

Here's a few hellbore flowers I cut and put in tiny jars on the kitchen windowsill to admire for a week.

Just now I planted out the mulberry seedling, mulched and watered it, fenced it around to keep off the deer. The young holly I moved to a spot just downslope of it on that hillside is still alive! The other two look dead but when I scrape a tiny spot with fingernail on the bark, still green underneath so I'm leaving them there in case they can recover. Dug and planted the two canna lilies in a spot near the ostrich fern where it gets pretty damp- water flows there from both the downspout on that side of the house, and output from our basement sump. I've been thinking of someday putting irises in that area, too . . . 

Lovage is thick enough to eat now, so I might strike celery off the grocery shopping list.

out front

In the front bed, my sweet alyssum plants have grown into decent clumps and flowered after all. Pinks:

and purples. Still not very visible from the sidewalk, say- but enough I'm encouraged to try growing more next year.

Also pleased well the chrysanthemums look, since their move forwards- the additional light has helped. Even though think I forgot to do the second pinching, I'm hoping the flowers do better now (not so leggy).

Also doing better is the row of 'main street rodeo drive' coleus. So bright!

The sedums are looking grand, though deer have started to eat them- I need to put out deterrents. Columbine are still green behind the coleus, peony foliage nice, cranesbill filled in, and I've started trimming the small creeping stonecrop to spread around the edge- but didn't take more pictures of all that.

the front bed

Filling up, but still has a ways to go-

Both cranesbill are doing better since moved forward into more sun- 

I moved the nepitella here from the herb bed

yellowish stonecrop is starting to creep along the edge

Remembered to pinch my chrysanthemums

Curious how these two columbines next to each other, are a slightly different green

Maybe a few of the alyssum will make it after all? this one has grown a bit

Mountain laurel bloomed for a few weeks, and it was lovely. They're just starting to fade now.