Category Archives: What’s Blooming

Roses , Berries and Seedheads

Fall here is all about roses, berries and seedheads. In my lectures on Easy Care Roses, I often reccomend a number of the newer shrubs and climbers that have long bloom times, and at this time of year I am always grateful I take my own advice 😉 .

Blooming right now are Climbing Iceberg, both the red and double pink knockouts, the white Magic Carpet, Seafoam, Easy elegance Yellow Brick Road, the Fairy, Carefree Spirit, both the pink and red Drift roses,( from the breeders of the Konockout series),Elsie Poulsen,  and two David Austin Roses; Chritopher Marlowe and Sharifa Asma( both of which have  lovely fragrances). They all certainly earn their place in my garden.

Rounding out the picture are of course the mums and the asters ( check out the photo of one called Matchstick-you will know it when you see it!) and the hydrangeas in their ever changing glory of course.

But even better yet are all the berries on the viburnums , the hollies, the winterberries , the rose hips and the seedheads and pods.

Clematis Texensis whirly seedheads are surrounding my garden sign, the baptisia has long stems of rattling black seed pods waiting to open, and I wish I could snap a photo of the coneflower seedheads when the goldfinches visit..it is like a new garden of bright yellow flowers when they are all perched on the stems devouring the seeds, but they are very nervous and take off when I approach  no matter how stealthy I think I am .

Hover to see what’s what and click on to embiggen!

Who says a September Garden is a Yawn??

Funny, in the past week or two I have extended an invitation to several people to come see the garden and they have all replied the same way..”ooooh , I’d love to , but September probably isn’t   a great month to view your garden”.  Well, that is just flat out wrong when it comes to this dessert location. First off, I have just as much in bloom, berry and color as I do at any other time, AND you can enjoy it in the beautiful gentle September sunlight (that would be unlike the July sunlight that here in The  Burrow could incinerate you in a matter of seconds).

Here is a photo ( or 40 lol)

Joe -pye weed Eupatorium  “Gateway  and black eyed susans co-mingle

Asters growing in pots to save them from the rabbits are starting

this large sunflowery plant whose name I do not know is lovely

red velvety snapdragons beg to be touched

The dahlias are in full bloom everywhere. I just read today that the double forms lost their nectar forming parts(?) in an effort to super size the flower and are therefore useless to bees. Next year it is back to the single forms for me.

This sunflower came from a mixed seed packet and I really don’t care for it’s droopy petals, but here it is alongside a hyacinth bean vine .

Rudbeckias add so much to the garden in September. Here is “Denver Daisy”

These tiny inconspicuous flowers on the calicarpa bush mean a great show of vivd purple berries is in store for the winter garden

I grow lots and lots of sedum. This is an’ Autumn Joy’ paired with a ‘Brilliant”. The bees go nutso like wacky nectar addicts looking for a fix when the sedum is in bloom

Rosa’The Fairy” goes all summer long, right up until frost

I let the amaranths self seed wherever they wanted to this year, and only ended up pulling a few. They really add a lot of color and drama in a very effortless lazy way.Here the green and burgundy seeded next to a rose bush

This new mum,  ‘Centerpiece’,  is growing next to salvia ‘Royal Crimson Distinction’ . The salvia has been one of my star performers this year. It has flowered for great lengths of time, been cut back, and reflowered 3 times already with hardly any break. The mum came from Faribault  growers in MN. In spring (which is when you should plan the  hardy mums they are trying to sell you now) I ordered quite a few of them from this grower I heard of from a  fellow blogger  . many of them are in bloom now, and I am hoping many overwinter (crossed fingers)

Here is one called ‘Red Daisy’,  in it’s handy dandy rabbit fence enclosure

Rose of Sharon adds lots of punch to the late summer border without taking up lots of real estate. I grow quite a few new cultivars, but here is an old standard  pink that is just as nice

and this verbena called “Annie’ came from High Country Gardens.It blooms non-stop from probably late May until frost and is hardy here in zone 5 and gently spreading. Awesome groundcover plant!

The paniculata forms of Hydrangea all have the first pink-ish tinge on their white flowers, and soon will be cut to dry for arrangements and wreaths.

Rosa ‘Carefree Spirit” is still going strong

and the perennial geraniums are in their second flush of blooms after being cut back in late July

Caryopteri ( Blue Mist Shrub)s is alive and humming with polinators, who can’t seem to get enough of it

The Butterfly bushes, this is ‘Pink Delight’, are also humming with bees and butterflies all day (and Pumpkin who is fascinated by them and wandered into the shot)

This Sedum, a new one called ‘Hab Gray” is lovely both in foliage color, and it’s interesting pale yellow flowers. After it bloomed I left it uncut and the wind knocked it over. In a first for me with any sedum it flowered again all along the top of the stem that was facing the sun (like climbing roses do). Interesting, and a new thing to remember for future years.

The Heptacodium Miconoides tree is blooming for the first time this year.

The catmint has been going like gangbusters all summer, with little sign of slowing down.

The clematis vines that are done flowering are sporting their funky little seed heads all over…they are so  fun to look at and great to press.

The new Drift series of  low growing roses from the breeder of Knockout have performed wonderfully here all summer and look great now in the front gardens. The darker pink has a lovely light fragrance to boot.

Every year I grow a bunch of different annual vines. This year my fav has been the love in a puff cardiospermum halicacabum . The delicate foliage and flowers are crazy adorable, and the little puffs are beyond cute. When the puffs are dry you pop them open and the seed inside has a cool  heart shape on it, hence the name. It is a viscious weed elsewhere in the country, but is not hardy or a nuicance here. Lucky us!

My standard fav annual vine is , hands down, the hyacinth bean vine lablab purpurea. I hand out seeds to anyone who will take them, and like Johnny Appleseed (Cheryl beanseed ??) , hope many get planted and enjoyed. This year I planted them along the new fence, and WOW do I like the effect. The really come into their own in late August and throughout Sept-Oct, at a time the garden yearns for color. They are so easy to grow, too, needing nothing but sun and a little water to get them going.

Another beauty in the climbing department is this Thunbergia called ‘Blushing Susan’

Add in clematis vines: ‘Gravetye Beauty’, ‘terniflora’, ‘Pope John PAul II’, Comtesse de Bouchard’, ‘Rosea’, and Betty Corning’. Salvia ‘White Sensation’, Geum ,turtlehead , the pink and red Knockout roses, the end of the coneflowers, Roses Seafoam, New dawn, Golden Celebration, Magic Carpet,  and my unknown red climber; the awesome berries on all the viburums, hollies,and  snow berry bushes (symphoricarpos the species and ‘Amethyst’), massive colorful hips on the rugosa roses and rosa glauca, thesweet pink flowers covering the  bushcloverlaspedeza t. yakushimaNora Leigh and Franz Schubert phlox, ‘Annabelle’ hydrangaes, both yellow and pink potentillas, mallows, the fragrant hosta ‘Fragrant Boquet ‘, gallardia, lonicera ‘Major Wheeler ‘ the two trumpet vines, the heavily loaded pearand apple trees and heritage raspberry canes,

then add in the annuals; nasturtiums, nicotianas,cosmos, verbenas, sweet peas, osteospermums (in purple, yellow and orange), torinia, and probably a dozen things I overlooked, and that DOES NOT add up to a yawn. I LOVE the September Garden

Happy Bloom Day!!!

Late Summer

EEGADS>>>late summer already?  Today I started a list of to-do s for fall planting, transplanting, and winterizing projects. It was adreary day, so meloncholy was an acceptable mood, but the reality that school starts in 17 days and the nights have certainly been a little chillier and all the harvest fairs are all starting, yikes!!! I can’t bear it!

But I have a secret  happiness in late summer ; one that takes the edge off that frantic-time is going by too quickly feeling; and that is the August border ,( AKA the Dog’s Garden).

The Dog’s Garden was designed specifically to come into it’s glory in mid August (even though the dogs could care less)  and continue until late fall. It all started with 3 old fashioned Rose of Sharon bushes that are virtually invisible  with their narrow vase like form all summer until they expode into bright pink and purple bloom in the late summer. They were part of an old garden near the house that got moved to a new location  when our addition went on, and they became  the jumping off point for the border.

Among the first plants to join the hibiscus girls  in their new home were the clethras (‘Ruby Spice and the white species clethra alnifolia) also known as summer sweet. Their fragrance is heavenly and they are staggered along the back of the border Just opening the porch door invites in the sweet smell of summer.  To finish out the larger plantings I added, two Hydrangea Paniculata ‘Limelight”, Heptaocodium Minocides ( seven sons flower)  and  several blue spruces including a dwarf one that always grows lopsided.

Near the walkway are lined up a handful of red knockout roses that bloom without break all summer, and a David Austin rose ‘Christopher Marlowe’ that has an intoxicationg fragrance and is never without buds and blooms from June through September.Behind them is another long bloomer called ‘carefree spirit’.

Here is the’ Ruby spice’ summersweet and hydrangea’ limelight’

and another with one of the Rose of Sharons

the white summer sweet grows next to a butterfly bush called ‘Pink Delight’…which is….delightful!

An interesting native called symphoricaros alba (snow berry), blooms literally all summer but the flowers are so small you would b=never know it except for the constant hum of the bees who adore it. this time of year it develops it fat white berries that are so fun to look at. The birds don’t seem to care for them, although I have  heard grouse love them, ( we  seem to be  grouse free here). This year I also added a new hybrid called ‘Amethyst” that has pink berries.. An interesting fact about the snowberry and the summersweet is that they both tolerate a wide range of conditions from full sun to full shade, dry sand to heavy clay, and don’t mind wet feet either. Add in the fact that they are bee magnets and they are true  garden lottery winners.

 in this garden I let several annuals seed wherever they like and am always happy with the results. Here is some nicotiana in front of sedum  reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’

this border is also home to Faith’s fairy garden, and the corresponding fairies which reside here but are afraid of the camera . Below is a known fairy resting spot.

Amaranth  is a very cool plant that will shoot up to 5-8  feet in a heartbeat, and works well with lots of other perennials. In this garden it is the burgandy one called amarantus hypochondriacus I let seed. You can eat the seeds and the leaves in salads if you are so inclined.   It has sprouted this year all around the tomato plants and looks awesome there, a combination I wish I had actually thought of myself!

Nasturtiums are planted behind the white bench on the top of a little berm that I hope by next summer will also be draped in clematis . This clematis, c. x ‘jouiniana ‘Mrs. Robert Brydon’, has large fuzzy leaves and small pruple and white flowers and does not twine making it a great choice for hills and slopes (and berms!) The cutting I planted there is doing well and will really take off next year.

I had planted 4 caryopteris bushes when the garden was installed, but over the course of a few years have lost them all except for one very happy one.I think it is ‘First Choice’ , but I am unsure.

Also behind the bench are a stand of Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium ‘Gateway’) and sunflowers. Unexpectedly, they are getting too much shade which NEVER happens around here and I may need to rethink their placement.

Two of the latest blooming daylilys for me, Franz Hil (photo) and Lime Frost, live here.

as does one of only two ornamental grasses I like, Panicum Virgatum     ‘Northwind’ which stays neatly clumped and rigidly upright. ( the other is variegated miscanthus in case you are curious)

In front of the grass are a few late blooming penstemons

The large black seedpods of false indigo(baptisia ‘twight prarie blues’ here) are an added bonus to a great plant that boasts spotless foliage, and early pea like blooms.

This cute climber is thunbergia alata ‘Blushing Susie’ ,  really takes off in late summer.

As does the purple hyacinth bean vine, lablab purpurea, and must have for any garden of mine.

Clematis texensis ‘gravetye beauty’ flanks the entrance arbor to the dog’s garden , and a few others (belle of woking’, Dr. Ruutel, and ‘Rosemoor ‘ will continue to bloom here for a few weeks .

Yet to even start their part of the show  are the heptacodium which will flower all over in creamy white pannicles, and follow that display with cherry red sepals AMAZING!  , the various mums including the oldies but goodies sheffield, and ‘copper penny’; the tall sedums ‘Autumn joy’ ‘Frosty Morn, and ‘Brilliante”, and the Japanese anemones.

All this definitely soothes my anxiety for the winding down of the gardening season. After I get over the hump of september, I am always ready to put the garden to bed and dream of next year while I rest my aching hips and knees.

Head over to Bloom Day at  www.maydreamsgardens.com to see what a bunch of othe bloggers all over the country have going on!

July In Pictures

….and speaking of roses

Tonight I am giving a lecture on “Easy Care Roses” at the Blackstone Public Library, so while I was out cutting some roses to bring along, I took the camera out and snapped some photos.

June is when the roses come in to their own and start what for many will be 5 months of bloom. That is a lot for one flower to give.The secret to a long bloom time, not having to  spray for foliar diseases, and NO DEADHEADING (my least favorite chore in the hot summer garden months) is the selction of the right cultivar, and that is what I will be speaking about.

I cheat a little here  and grow a few roses I would describe as anything but easy care, but I am weak sometimes, and their beauty and fragrance drew me in, and now I am a slave to their whims . But most I grow are super easy and put on a spectacular show all summer.

This is an unknown red climber given to me by my mother. It looks lonely today because it’s companion plant , a Betty Corning clematis, was looking very funky lately and got sent off to UNH Plant Diagnostics Lab yesterday.

This next one is a rose I can no longer find in cultivation from a series named after National parks and landmarks, it is called the Canyon Rose and is a large shrub, or as grown here, a short climber.

Not yet blooming, but loaded with buds (in this photo) is the rose we call Grammy’s Rose. It was grown from a cutting taken in my grandmother’s garden from a old fashioned rambler that was a gift from her mother in the 1930’s. It gets black spot like nobody’s business, and often powdery mildew too. It is thorny as all get out and blooms only once a year for five minutes (well really about 3 weeks. ) Here it is in bloom  so you can see why , besides sentimental reasons, I keep it around.

This pretty pink is Capt. Samuel Holland, one of the Canadian Exporer Series, I grow it as a standard…

and this is another climbing red(name unknown) growing on the arbor leading to the newest gardens.

The knockouts, pink hereand red are two of my favorite shrubs. They bloom like crazy.

Rosa Gluaca has just about finished blooming but it’s foliage will serve as the backdrop to my perennials in the back 40.

Flower carpet is amassed in bloom near the end of the boxwood walkway…

and New Dawn is just getting it’s act together after some horrible encounters with the rabbits.

Christopher Marlowe is my favorite David Austin rose, I love the color……

the pink rugosa is loving life where I planted way out back so it can run to it’s hearts content without having to be thinned which causes  me incredible pain since it is so thorny.

The Fairy rose is just starting to open for its summer long show

and yet to even open are Golden Celebration (another David Austin), Climbing Iceberg, Don Juan, and Carefree Beauty. I am glad they are not flowering yet, as it can get a little garish here at times, plus I like to extend the show as long as possible.

After they are finished blooming , many of them have beautiful hips (the seed capsules or “fruit” of the rose) of which RosaGlauca’s are my favorite. They are just starting to form now. Wish me luck tonight!

It’s A Purple-y Day in the Neighborhood

Welcome to the only brief time when purple is the dominat color in my garden. It was not done in any way intentionally, just the timing of what is blooming early, before the show really begins around here.

Of course there are the several cultivars of liac (other than Miss Canada which blooms pink), bearded iris, the opening spires of baptisia, salvia, the johnny jump ups and pansy I let seed at will, the ajuga that covers all the bare ground I have not planted yet,the spurs of columbine, nepata ,jacob’s ladder(‘stairway to heaven’)  and my earliest blooming large flowered clematis called’ Elsa Spath’. This year the blooms on Elsa are HUGE and it is windy and they are being difficult to photograph in all their expansive flowery-ness. ( I gave it my best shot)

 Anyway, I will enjoy the purple while it lasts,it may not be my favorite color but it beats the heck out of the dreaded yellow time that comes during the late summer lull.

Fall in the Burrow

Well  after 3 frosts, all light,( even though the temps have been in the 20’s a few nights), I guess I can call it a day (or a season anyway) in the garden. Even thought there is still so much to look at out there, my chore list consists of waiting for a hard frost to take everything down so I can do a fall clean-up. I had planned one more big day of planting after I visited a friend who is kindly giving me some great plants, but on the morning I was set to head over to her house Tigger took it upon himself to attack the puppy. He gave her a good gash on her ear and punctured her nose, so instead of gardening fun, I spent the morning at an emergency vet visit, and the afternoon finding a vet-behavior therapist for Tigger. He sadly has gotten so fearful it is time for doggie drugs as a last ditch effort to keep him here.  Ahhh,on to happier topics………

Outside the leaves are turning. a few trees have prematurely dropped leaves due to the drought, but most look spectacular. Here, because our neighborhood is young , borrowed scenery is the way to go. Around our development, which looks like a UFO landing carved out of the forest ,we are surrounded by lovely trees in the distance circling the acreage where the houses are sited. Translate: lovely view, no raking. But my favorite bit of borrowed scenery is the line of eunymous (burning bushes) that hedge the property line to the south of my house. For those of you who don’t know, burning bushes are outlawed here in MA because they are on the invasive plant list. Hurumph! I have a great many thoughts on the “native plant” movement and the invasive plant list , but it would take pages and pages to rant about it, and it makes me angry so I shall save it for a yucky day in the winter when I am bored and in a bad mood. Back to the burning bushes…..they get their nickname from the fact that they are so vibrantly red in the fall, they look aflame and they frame out my yard beautifully , AND they are not mine, so I don’t have to listen to anyone reprimanding me to take them out. (if you think that would never happen ,you are wrong…it does…and it has…..some people love to get on any high horse they can rein in and shout  their opinions from the tree-tops). I  never discourage them, as it amuses me, and increases that smug little feeling inside I so enjoy.

The weather here has also been pretty darn nice the last few days, gorgeous autumn sunshine, moderate temps, and rain last week make it a joy to be out in the garden. Add in the fact that the weeds have slowed down (or died) and it is garden nirvana. Hope it is just as nice in your neck of the woods, and that you can fit in some time to be a leaf-peeper or get to a few fall festivals. Pretty soon I will be blogging snow fall amounts!

[cincopa AAOAOQ6PwiBM]

Bloom Day

One more time I missed bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens  ..  maydreamsgardens.com  ……and you all know how I hate to be left out of anything :)…..so better late than never, and this post will remind me next month on the 15th to get my a** in gear.

I could list all the plants that are blooming here, but they mimic the lists already on other sites, so instead on bloom day I will stick to clematis (and or other vines as the mood strikes me).

c.Dr. Ruppel

c.’ Dr. Ruppel’ is planted twice in the same bed, once to grow into a Rose of Sharon, once in a container. It is blooming in the container right now

Elsa Spath

c.’Elsa Spath’ is in her second, and smaller flush of blooms for the summer

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c.viticella’ Kermesina’ is blooming with abandon, but will be moved to a better more visisble location when it is finished (can’t seem to find the picture….hmmmmm

c.’Comtesse de Bouchard’ (right) just keeps on keepin on as does c. viticella ‘Betty Corning ‘ (left)(both in week 16 of bloom)

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c.’Huldine’ (left)is blooming out front although it finished out back two weeks ago, and c.texensis’ Gravetye Beauty'(right) is doing what is does best..being beautiful! What a job to have, huh?

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Last but certainly not least, the herbaceous c.integrifolia ‘Rosea’ (below) is blooming all around the ever so beautiful Christopher Marlowe rose I am infatuated with since it’s arrival from David Austin roses this spring. 

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Because of the bunny issues here ,I will not swear here even though I wanna, some clematis have been blooming out of their ordinary time, so almost every day I am surprised to see a new one with buds and look forward (now that they are all caged off grrrrrrr) to see who comes out next.