Dog days of summer

It's been too hot here. Even Sasha the Schnauzer thinks so.

I know I shouldn't complain. It's in the 80s almost every day and the sun is a warm beacon in the sky. I should be overjoyed since our summers are short here in North Dakota and this one was cooler than normal.

But it's September and like my friend Kit commented in her blog, I am "so over" summer. It's football season and I can't enjoy a Vikings game indoors when it's 80+ degrees outdoors and I should be doing something constructive in the garden!

My "M.O." the past few summers is to fill several planters at the end of the season - or when the small plant shops or big box stores start slashing prices on annuals. I made this row of planers on my back deck and spent next to nothing for a swath of color I can enjoy from my kitchen window. The added benefit is that these will still look good until the first frost where as my annuals that I planted in the first stages of spring look like they've had it.

This has been the summer of rudbeckia. My friend Kit suggested this "Indian Summer" so I tried it. The leaves are huge and a buttery yellow. Mine are quite short but Kit says they'll get very tall.

This was a last-minute purchase when I wanted to add a little color to a part-sun spot. This rudbeckia hirta "Sonora" had interesting coloring with the cocoa brown rim around the centers. Neat ....

I think these are part of the rudbeckia family right?! These gloriosa daisies are from Kerri at Colors of the Garden. I started this whole section from seed - they grew effortlessly and have been non-stop bloomers for weeks. Love them ...

This plant has me baffled because it looks so different from the typical rudeckia. The tag said rudbeckia fulgida. The diameter of the flower itself is no bigger than 3 inches across and they are on very long spindly stems. The petals are very dainty and look cool next to the tall stalks of my verbena. It'll be interesting to see what it'll look like next year.

The recent warm weather really gave my impatiens a boost. I have this trailing variety in the small rock garden by one of my favorite garden inspirations - St. Francis of Assisi.

In my next post, I'll offer my garden awards for the year. Prizes will go to to the best plants and worst plants in the garden this year. Stay tuned ....

What rudbeckias SHOULD look like!

Let's not confuse this with the batch that I complained about earlier. I bought this plant in late May and planted it in a different spot in my garden. Fortunately, they didn't suffer the fate of my other BES.

Rudbeckia update

I consulted my gardening mentor (former neighbor and master gardener Kathy) and she confirmed that my plants have black spot (see earlier post and ugly photo under "Trials and Tribulations"). Her advice was to just take off the worst leaves. Black spot doesn't hurt the plant, but it is ugly. She also suggested to simply cut it down to the ground and wait until next year (and toss in some fast growing seed of some sort just for this year). Kathy said sometimes rudbeckias do that - leaves and no flowers. She said hers did that a few years ago and this year, they are triple everything.

There is hope after all ... but until than I have to look at a barren patch in my front yard. Gasp!

Trials and Tribulations

We haven't had rain in weeks and my garden is slowly starting to show some ill effects. I kept everything hydrated very well but the one thing I noticed that is WAY behind is my rudbeckia. Plus, I'm seeing these odd brown/black spots.

I am very discouraged. I thought Black-Eyed Susans were some of the hardiest of the perennials and I've never experienced this. In fact, I was boasting the merits of this plant to my sister and gave it to her as a gift for her garden in coastal Maine. I hope she has better luck with it than I am! Of course, it is only July 8. I'll post new photos in a few weeks to show you how it's doing. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome ...


And here's another weird one. Have you ever seen a plant that is yellow at the bottom and green at the top? I think it must have got too much water at one time so I cut back. I used to hook up the hose right behind the plant (see it on the house?). I think that did it in ...


Once I stopped using that faucet, I noticed that it did get a little greener. This coneflower did NOTHING last year and now it's huge - despite the odd coloring. There are several blooms on it so we'll see how it does in a few weeks.


P.S. I mulched my whole front and side gardens with cocoa bean mulch. I went on a tour of homes last year and one gardener told me how much she liked it. And I admit, it was a very neat-looking garden without the whole mess of wood chips. I tried it and now I'm a believer. Cocoa bean mulch looks good, smells good and doesn't completely upset your garden if you like to move things around all summer. I just put a new dressing on my beds this weekend. With the high temps and humidity, I felt my beds needed a little extra TLC.


My Monarda is starting to bloom. Honestly, I can stare at my Monarda all day and I am amazed at its beauty. I know a lot of people don't like it because of its invasiveness but so far, I like that it's a prolific grower and it hasn't become a pest in my garden whatsoever.


My Marshall's Delight and Raspberry Wine (pictured) are both lovely. The Jacob Cline are nice but they really droop. I have been able stake them and that helps. I believe I read somewhere that deadheading will help in reblooming. If that's true, where do you deadhead? Man, this is a pretty color, isn't it?