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 ....

Nuts for nigella

I haven't visited all the latest posts from my dear friends in the blogging world for weeks.

My life has been filled with summer fun. A quick trip to the Twin Cities with my husband and girls and a girls weekend in Kansas City - what a great time! All the while, my garden has suffered slightly from neglect. I bribed the girls into watering for me during my KC trip. It worked for the first day but the rest of the time - not so much.

I came home and the tomato plant had pretty much died. The annuals needed a good drink too. But thankfully, some plants came to life and here they are.

The two photos above are my first try with nigella or Love in a Mist "Persian Violet", recommended by Connie at Notes from a Cottage Garden. Connie - I'm so glad you suggested these!!!!! First of all, the colors are stunning (and match all the different hues of purple and pink I have) and they are so carefree. I am surprised at how many people (and fellow gardeners around here) weren't familiar with this annual - but now they are after seeing these beauties. Thanks for the tip!

The story behind this plant - I received a $20 gift card to a local nursery from the lady whose chocolate lab ate my bush morning glory! So I picked up this double purple coneflower. It's a lot shorter than other coneflowers that I've grown - not sure if this will be different next year after its roots mature. Isn't it cool?

Kerri from Colors of the Garden - here is your blue larkspur!!!! These have really taken off and are very tall and sturdy. I love them. The gloriosa daisies are about ready to bloom and hopefully will be able to post some photos for next time. I started both of these from seeds this spring.

What is the proper way to collect seeds from annuals so that I can do this again next year?

Hope all is well in your gardens. It has been very dry and cool here. We could use a good soaking and some nice warm August days .... and I have some serious weeding to do!

Making a case for the blues and brandy ....

Readers of this blog remember how much I gushed about the bush morning glory. This week it finally bloomed and it's more lovely than I remember.

I'm not a huge fan of blue. Maybe it's all those years of having to wear royal blue in high school that has turned me off. And it typically isn't a color I am drawn to in the garden either. But this nautical blue is a dazzling sight. In the sunlight it's a bright blue but on an overcast day, it almost has a purple hue.

I sowed these seeds in late May/early June. They were fast growers and were not high maintenance to get going. They do have that trailing habit so I can see why the packet said it would be good in a rock garden. Next year, I would like to spread these out a little more for that nautical flash in a couple of spots.

I planted this laurentia not because of the beauty of the plant (albeit it's pleasant enough) but because of the name "Beth's Blue." I couldn't resist. It actually is more purple and blue. It's been blooming non-stop for weeks.

You can see on this photo that I opted for black mulch in my front yard beds. So far, the experiment has worked well. The soft black of the mulch is very forgiving for gardeners like me that are constantly moving things around. It's true test will be a hard rain or a wind storm!

I had never grown an annual rudbekia until I saw "Cherry Brandy". I've tried to incorporate more red in the garden basically to appease my husband - a big fan of red flowers. Red can look garish so I add it sparingly and with much trepidation.

Cherry Brandy's petals are as soft as velvet and I love the burgundy - almost black cherry - hue. What a bummer that it's only an annual ... although on some sites it says it can be a perennial.

Has anyone else grown it? Can it reseed itself as a perennial?

Kit and caboodles in her garden

I was visiting with my co-worker Johnny about my love of gardening one day when he suggested, "You need to come over and talk to my wife, Kit - she loves to garden too."

So last weekend I took him up on his offer and went over to their home to admire their garden. We had the best time! We talked gardening, and dirt, and mulch and seeds and everything garden - we were all in heaven! They have transformed their twin home landscape into a caleidoscope of colorful perennials and annuals.

The goal of our meeting was to exchange monarda as I'm an avid collector of all colors. I took home a cutting of Kit's lavender-colored variety and I gave her a chunk of my "Raspberry Wine". We were like two kids trading baseball cards - both giddy to get their coveted favorite player - or plant in our case.

Kit is a lot like me in that we had no formal training in gardening or have taken any special classes. We both developed this affinity for gardening by getting our hands in the dirt. We are on a constant mission to beautify our surroundings. She also told me one of her favorite places to shop was the Plant Ranch too! (See earlier post "Flat Sale"). Indeed, Kit and I were kindred spirits.

Kit had some interesting blooms in garden - some of which were completely new to me that I wanted to share with you, my blogger friends.

Kit raved about her Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis). Of course, when she said verbena I'm thinking about the trailing plant you see in containers but this was completely different. She said this plant grows in even the worst soil, takes little space in the garden and has an airy feel that doesn't thwart the growth of other plants. I caught a bee on a verbena cluster above. Kit is giving me seeds for next summer. Yes!

This was my favorite of the day - a Bush Morning Glory. I had never seen a ground cover plant quite like it. Kit planted these by seed in June and it was a prolific clump of beautiful blue blooms with yellow eyes. It was fabulous. That's going on my wish list. Love, love, loved it.

Scabiosa or pincushion flower. I'm trying this next year.

Loved the combination of profusion zinnias (which looked WAY different than mine), tickseed and balloon flower. Here's another photo below of the profusion zinnias.

I thought profusions were always small?! They did such a nice job with the rock edging too.

This dainty white flower delphinium "Summer Morning" was front and center in the back bed. (I thought it was nicotiana at first glance).

This perennial lobelia was next to the delphinium as well. I had tried this plant before but the bunnies got it ... (sigh).

This was the oddest looking plant - a "cleome" or spider flower - which Johnny said looked like giant jellyfish. It was huge but a very cool accent in the garden.

Here's a glance at how everything works together....

I hope you enjoyed a look at Johnny and Kit's garden. It was a Sunday afternoon well spent.

Happy Birthday Sasha!

Flat sale

My neighborhood "white hoop" shop "The Plant Ranch" is closing up for the summer. Along side of their tent was the greeting "Flat Sale - $8.00". I had to stop in.

The Plant Ranch is famous for the "99 cent perennial". Of course, with the price of gas and the general state of economy, the 99 cent perennial soon became the $1.29 this year - still a good bargain. They have hundreds of perennials - grown locally in little Pekin, North Dakota. The selection is superb - if you're a patient gardener and can live with a small cutting of something. Me? I'm impatient by nature but I decided that this is a great time to try some new things - since I'll have a new part-sun area come fall.

I was surprised at the wide selection this late in the year and how good their stock looked. I had 10 minutes to get home so I did a quick shop and here's what I took home:

Grasses: Korean Feather Reed Grass, Blue Hair Grass, New Zealand Wind Grass and, I couldn't help myself, "Heavy Metal" Switchgrass. Rock on dude! I've been Googling photos all night of these. I'm especially excited for the Korean Feather Reed Grass.

Perennials: I am finally trying a "Camelot Lavender" foxglove, an "Alba" Armeria, St. Johannis Anthemis (which came up as chamomile online), Campanula "Blue Clips", Gayfeather and Eupatorium "Chocolate" - which looked really cool online. It has purpley chocolate leaves with small white flowers. Has anybody grown this?

I also picked up a few New Guinea impatiens to bright up a shady spot. All this, ladies and gentlemen, cost me a whopping $8.00. Now that's what I call a good day.

Here's a few favorites right now in the garden ...

Gazania Tiger Mix - I wish these stayed open all day long instead of just when the sun was out!

Profusion white zinnias.

"White Swan" coneflowers - always a favorite.

My annual rant

At one time I was a perennial prude.

I used to think that a true gardener only planted perennials and by my planting only perennials, I would somehow be awarded the golden green thumb. I have a friend, dare I say, is still that way. "Annuals are so boring," is what I heard and I believed her. I wanted to be that sophisticated gardener that stayed away from the garden stalwarts of petunias, marigolds, impatiens and geraniums. I used to think they had no place in my garden.

Well, let's just say I have embraced my inner annual.

I admire my sister-in-law's gardening philosophy. Be bold! She isn't afraid to plop an annual wherever she darn well pleases. She was blessed to buy a house that had beautiful existing perennial beds. But she uses splashes of color to brighten vacant spots. A fuscia here - a million bells here - a profusion zinnia there. It's just enough color to make her beds interesting and colorful and that's what I'm learning to do too.

Let's face it, perennials gardens can be kind of bland between blooming periods and without annuals here and there, they can get kind of "green." That's not a bad thing it's just, well, kind of boring.

So, in comes the annuals. Here's what I've been planting:

Heliotrope - great purple blooms. Some say they have a vanilla scent but I'm not smelling it yet. Looks great with my pink dianthus.

Bacopa (Snowstorm Giant Snowflake) - the best trailer I have planted in years. Always blooming and needs very little care. This beats an ivy any day.

Gazania - I have the Tiger Mix variety with blooms of yellow, orange and white stripes. I have it in my "all-orange" planter along side signet marigolds and a trailing peach million bells.

Cuphea - I saw a webcast where they put together colorful planters and they used this red accent plant. I bought one on a whim. Jury is still out though ...

I love what I'm seeing with this combination of Zinfandel Oxalis, osteospermums and orange profusion zinnias. The Zinfandel has yellow blooms that come up when the sun is out - very pretty.

My favorite planter - I love the red and pink together.

Signet marigolds in "Lemon Gem" - they really smell like lemons!

I'm embarrased to say that I finally tried these for the FIRST TIME:

Coleus (Sedona) - I feel in love with the orange. I first made the mistake of planting it in full sun where it took a beating. I moved it to the the northside and added some small red coleus to the planter. It has bounced back nicely.

Baby's Breath - What a novice, I know! And I thought I could use it only in the dried variety. This is beautiful!

Wax begonias - Gasp! I've never been attracted to begonias but I thought I'd try one in a mixed planter.

Perennial wisdom

I don't want to disrespect the perennials - they are the staples to every garden and I do love them. I have two favorites so far in this growing season.

My May Night Salvia has never looked better. In fact, I have people that stop in the middle of the street and stare at it. One lady knocked on my door and asked me for a leaf to bring in to a nursery to find out what it was. That's never happened before to ME. I'm usually the one knocking on someone's door!

This lady's mantle has been a pleasant surprise. I bought this late in the season last year when it only had about two leaves and it was on its last leg. I have it in mostly shade and it's about ready to show its chartreuse blooms. I liked it so much that I bought one for a small area in the backyard that I recently dug up and am making a small "shade sanctuary". Photos of that to come ...

My canna experiment is working!

Good morning Sunshine

It's a Saturday morning and Sasha the Schnauzer was up early - somewhere around 5:20 a.m. It's the weekend - I wanted to sleep in!

But it was not meant to be. The pup needed to go outside and I obliged. I put on my daily pot of coffee and headed outside and was greeted by this beautiful "Butterfly" Marguerite Daisy (I misidentified it earlier as a osteospermum - they look so much alike!. I had to share ...

Last year I purchased the "Lemon Symphony" but I have to say, I prefer the buttery yellow of "Butterly". I mixed in red and fuschia million bells and sweet potato vine -a welcome display of color by my front door.

I love this low-growing catmint, "Little Titch". Never mind the grass clippings in the photo. Little Titch is always an early bloomer and will bloom for most of the summer. The best part of about this Little Titch is that it doesn't overtake its space - unlike the Walkers Low. Mine is beautiful right now but it is overshadowing my cranesbill geranium that is finally doing something this year.

Ever have two exact same kinds of flowers - planted right next to each other - same soil, same light, same moisture, etc... And one thrives and one doesn't? That's happening with my White Swan coneflowers. One looks great - and the other looks like an overgrown weed. I don't get it!

Do you think it'll just catch up or do perennials just regress and never really bounce back?

Spring at last!

A labor of love from my husband for Mother's Day

Hello bloggers - it's good to be back! I haven't been writing lately because, well, I've been gardening! The snow has melted (the last snowfall we had was about 10 days ago - it's May for crying out loud!) and there 's been a lot to do since then.

As you can see in the photo above, my husband promised to expand my garden this spring and I held him to his promise. With shovel in hand, he dug, and dug, and dug and loaded fresh dirt into a larger space in our backyard. He finished it off with new edgers that look great against our newly stained deck. I've been busy filling it with perennials I've moved or divided. I think in another month it'll start to really thrive.

With spring comes the inevitably inventory of what made it through the winter. Sad to say these plants didn't make it:

• Sunray coreopsis


• Gaillardia


• Veronica


• Ken Donson clematis


• one barberry bush


• Jacob Cline monarda (I know - monarda! Just when you thought nothing could kill it)


• One catmit (that's because the snowblower got it). It still might be salvageable!

Oh well, a lot of my other transplanted stuff is thriving - the ligularia and lungwort are going gangbusters and the one phlox I thought I destroyed has sprouted to life again.

Mommy's little helper in the garden

This time of year is pretty tough for me as I have no willpower. I've visited the local white hoop flower shop in the grocery store parking lot at least 5 times since it's opened last week. I've been to darn near every nursery in Fargo, not to mention big box retailer garden centers. I have to see what's new and am so enticed by all the colorful blooms. Here's what I've done new this year so far:

Cannas! My co-worker dug up all of his canna bulbs when he moved from Indiana to Fargo and graciously shared them with me. He came in to my office with no less than about 40 bulbs. Really, you can only have so many cannas. I probably planted a good 7 or 8 and the rest I shared with friends and other co-workers. Not sure how a tropical-looking plant will look in my landscape but I'm willing to give it a shot. I hear they are no-maintenance and rabbits don't care for them. Nice ...

A new clematis - Ernest Markham. It's supposed to have reddish-pinkish flowers that I think will look tremendous next to my salvia caradonna and rudebekia. Clematis and I have had a tough relationship over the years. Let's hope a new variety will be good karma for me.

Red coreoposis - different than the sunray coreoposis - more mound-like. I hope it doesn't get as invasive as the pink - I was digging those out of my garden bed for two years.

More to follow ...

My "Maiden" voyage to grasses ...

Got a way from posting after the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse. I live in North Dakota but the shock of this event reverberated so strong. EVERYONE here has a friend or relative in the Twin Cities and most of us were on the phone that Wednesday evening to check on their well-being. My thoughts are with those who have lost a loved one and are suffering as I write this ...

My bright spot this week is that my friend and garden guru Kathy came to look at my new garden and gave it a thumbs up. That meant a lot to me as Kathy is the one that nurtured this interest in me and showed me the ropes. I respect her opinion.

She has some good ideas, tips and a whole new design plan for my backyard. A plan that is pretty aggressive which I'm not sure my husband is all that crazy about it as of yet!

Kathy has always been an ornamental grass enthusiast. I think the Karl Forester is lovely as is Maiden Grass. But beyond that - I could take it or leave it. Anyway, Kathy wants to split up her overgrown grasses and has offered to design my backyard area into a grass oasis. Gone will be the daylilies, the salvia and the few scraps of monarda and geraniums I have now. It's kind of exciting thinking about a garden with a whole new look but it's kind of out of my comfort zone.

My husband isn't much for my garden but the only thing he DOES like is red in the garden - so this might be a tougher sell. I begged Kathy to keep the little rock garden - she relented but she's still trying to talk me out of red geraniums. She said it's something about red geraniums and cemeteries ...

I have to admit - that is my first early memory of flowers. As a little girl, my mom and grandma dutifully planted geraniums at graves where they produced endless displays of stinky flowers. And here I am, 40 years later, putting stinky red flowers into my garden.

More to follow ...

Zinnias in bloom ...

We moved into our home in September of 2004, and every year I've tried to grow zinnias from seed. This year was the first time I have succeeded. Why, you might ask? RABBITS. We live on the edge of city limits where rabbits are everywhere. They're destructive, despicable creaturesthat if hungry enough - will eat anything (they even ate my marigolds. MARIGOLDS!!!).

So at a weak moment at my local CVS store, I picked up a pack of zinnia seeds and said what the heck. I planted two packs on the east side of my house and to my surprise, the rabbits didn't go after them. I did nothing differently from years past and right now, I'm enjoying my first zinnia patch in yearsand lovin' it.

My friend Angie told me she has over 100 blooming right now with more to come. Now that's a zinnia garden! There are a few flowers that literally make me smile when I look at them. Maybe it's their color, their beauty, their foliage or their aroma, etc... but zinnias are one of them. They are the happiest flower. Vibrant, drought resistant and always forth coming. I especially like the "Envy" variety that are lime green. The one pictured above is a smaller variety - I typically like the larger ones. Either way - it's all good.

Annabelles - how I love thee

I'm crazy about the Annabelle hydrangea. I think they're a must in every perennial garden. Their large chartreusse globes are so round and robust. They make a powerful statement in anybody's garden. Of course, I am a little partial to them as I planted one in honor of my daughter, Annabel. Little did I know that our love affair would last over nine years. I think it's here to stay ...

I was a little disappointed this year when we hired someone to powerwash and stain our front deck. I asked the guy to be careful with my Annabelle. He said, "Oh no problem, plants usually bounce back." Well, he hammered my Annabelle and the poor thing is a little lobsided now - and that's been over a month ago. I have resigned myself to the fact that this year I'll have to make do. Come next spring, I might give it a fairly hard cut and start fresh and have all the branches at about the same level. Right now, I have large branches and stubby ones from where the powerwash had ripped them to shreds. Sigh ...

I've never tried vinca before and this year I thought I would try it. One of my favorite hobbies is antiquing and flea marketing. My sister-in-law and I go to the Shady Hollow Flea Market in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota a few times each summer. We bought some cream cans and I filled them with vinca and verbena and they are flourishing! The bright pink vinca really bring out the charm in those old cans. I'll have to plant those again next year .... plus, they are so easy maintenance. Sorry, but I'm sick of petunias!