September Bloom Day

Blue Lobelias in east garden.

All-whilte Lobelia.

 

A very wet August brought us respite from the heat and drought--I recorded over 11 inches of rain during the month of August this year--and my garden seems to have revived to nearly normal. Every 15th of the month is Bloomday, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog, so welcome to my September garden: let's take a look at what's blooming.

The deer ate back the buds of most of my Blue Lobelias, but after the rains the plants recovered enough to offer a nice array of flowers. They really set off the area of my east garden where I've been trying to create a shady woodland. I had just pruned the Japanese maple tree which I grew from a 6" seedling twelve years ago when I took this photo. I even found one all-white Lobelia in there--a sport or mutant? Lovely in any case! 

 I have two other Japanese maples in my little woodland, as well as a Carolina Silverbell tree and a Pagoda dogwood. The bed is finally starting to look somewhat as I had envisioned, but will need a few more years' growth to achieve fullness.

 

The east garden miniature woodland

 

Also on the east side of the house, my  Viburnum 'Brandywine' is making a wonderful display as its berries turn from pink to blue.

 

Viburnum 'Brandywine' berries

Moving on towards the back yard, the "Autumn Joy' Sedum is looking nice next to the wild blue Ageratum--unfortunately deer are very fond of this Sedum so it must be kept protected or there would be nothing left. I call this the "Herb bed" because my husband Herb dug the first part of it. Our hummingbirds love the red Salvia as well as the Brazilian Salvia 'Black and Blue.'

 

                Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with blue Ageratum and Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'

Red Salvia 'Windwalker Royal Red'

 

Behind this bed I have a witchhazel variety named 'Diane' flanked by two Viburnums I grew from seed collected at Brookside Gardens in Maryland--by the look of the leaves I think these may be Leatherleaf Viburnum. And one of these has developed some flower buds--unseasonably, it seems to me. I'm curious to see what the flowers and subsequent fruit will look like. It may reveal more about the particular species.

 More interesting is to note the chewed-up leaves. A number of clearwing hummingbird moths visited my garden this summer, and Viburnum is the host plant for the caterpillar of this moth, so I hope they are feeding on my Viburnums and will make my garden their home.

 

Leatherleaf Viburnum? budding.

 

I recently planted one of three Gaultherias I bought this past spring under the witchhazel tree after treating the soil with acidifier. Let's hope it survives and prospers. The alkalinity of the soil here can be a problem for many acid-loving plants.

 

Prairie sage and wild sunflowers.

A lovely color combination found in the back-most bed I call "The Badlands" was this blue sage (Salvia azurea) with some late-blooming native sunflowers. My display is still very skimpy, but hopefully will grow fuller with time if I can get the deer to stop eating it. Deer aren't supposed to eat salvias, but they will browse it if nothing else is available, and the sunflowers too.

 

Beautyberry (Callicarpa dochotoma 'Early Amethyst')

My two Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' bushes are displaying their lovely berries and haven't been too badly chewed by the deer. And there are still some flowers on my butterfly bushes, they're finishing as other fall flowers come into bloom.

 

Butterfly bush 'Miss Molly'

I spent the past two days cleaning up a bed on the west side of the house--the crabgrass was almost up to my knees!--and while doing so, I transplanted a lovely wild purple aster that I'd found in the very back of the yard near my neighbor's fence. The aster was so tall I had to cut off the top so it wouldn't pull out of the ground, but hopefully it will recover and show even better next year. This one was a volunteer, I think it came from seeds collected in Warm Springs, VA, a few years back. Some times these volunteers can be wonderful additions to a native garden.

 

Purple aster with Caryopteris shrub in the west bed.

Also on the west garden, my Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles' has recovered from the browsing and is producing some blooms. This plant is a hybrid of the native New Jersey tea plant (Ceanothus americanus) with the California native lilac. Its flowers are fragrant.

 

Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles'

In the front yard on the west, my Abelia "Panoramic Color Radiance' did not get too badly eaten this year, and has some lovely blooms.

 

Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance'

The dogwood tree in front of the house is starting to show its fall foliage. And the deer left me a few hardy begonias under the cherry tree to flower and re-seed themselves, only because  of timely spraying with repellent.

 

Dogwood tree and front walk.

Hardy begonias.

Some of my potted plants are looking good too--the white Heliotrope on the front walk is lovely, as are the porch hanging baskets.

 

White Heliotrope.

Fuchsia in hanging basket.

Porch hanging basket.

The tuberous Begonia in the hanging basket on the back deck is still blooming but starting to fade, while the Salvia 'Black and Blue' is holding its own. The humming birds love this plant and we've had quite a few of them visiting our deck. Most of them don't seem to be bothered by our close proximity and feed while we're there, but a few are very shy.

Tuberous Begonia on the back deck.

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

I hope you've enjoyed this stroll through my garden on a lovely September day. Can't wait to see what the Autumn Equinox will bring!

Gardener's Bloom Day, January 2024

Dried Hydrangea blossoms with snow

 

It's Gardener's Bloom Day once again, sponsored by Carol Michel's Blog "May Dreams Garden." What a lovely surprise to wake up to see about an inch of snow on the ground this morning! It's been two years since we had any significant snow here in my USDA Zone 6b garden. I believe we're supposed to get another 1-3 inches tomorrow, let's hope. I love having a bit of snow cover at this time of the year, it seems fitting and proper.

 

Princess holly, lavender and barberry shrubs.

It was about 23 degrees outside when I took these shots with my phone--why won't these phones work when you are using gloves? My hand was an icicle by the time I got back inside!

 

My cut-leaf Japanese maple 'Viridium'

Muhly grass with dried perennials.

The Little Indians bed.

The west bed with sedge and grasses.

I love the way some plants look when they're dusted with a bit of snow, but there are definitely no blooms here to be seen, unless you consider these "snow blossoms." Indoors, however, I always have a few flowers to console myself with. My collection of indoor plants is a weird mix of exotics and very eclectic, so here we are.

My Gardenia Tree (Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno') likes to bloom at this time of the year--I suspect this may be its blooming season in its native habitat in southeast Asia. The flowers have the most marvelous perfume for the first 6-8 hours after opening--after that the perfume fades.

 

Gardenia tree (Tabernaemontana divaricata)

 

My home-grown orchids continue to bloom: the oddly colored hybrid I bought at a roadside stand in Florida is probably a hybrid of Oncidium and another species. I brought it into the master bath after the flowers opened to enjoy its blossoms. The other orchids have been blooming for a couple of months now. The plant stand in the family room below is where most of my orchids live--as you can see I have collected quite a few over the years, mostly as presents, and a few from my botanical art classes. My students love to paint orchids, even though they're really difficult flowers to render.

 

Mystery orchid in the master bath.

Miltassia orchid flower spike.

Phalaenopsis on plant stand in family room.

Here are a few other blossoms: an Anthurium one of my sisters gave me, and a Brazilian begonia. I bought the latter because it was touted to have perfume, and I'm a sucker for perfumed flowers, but it has disappointed. This specimen, at least, has no scent that I can detect, but likes to bloom during the winter, which few begonias do.

Pink Anthurium

Brazilian begonia.

 

Someone gave me a waxed Amaryllis for Christmas but the downstairs of my house is so chilly it's taking its time to open. I thought it would be interesting to document the process of the buds opening in a painting, so that's what this last photo is about.

 

Waxed Amaryllis and painting.

I'm saving the center of the painting for the fully open flower, which will probably happen later this week. I'd love to save the bulb to grow, but have no idea if these bulbs will survive if potted once the blooms have faded. I have about four pots full of red Amaryllis bulbs that re-bloom every spring, but I don't know if these waxed ones will grow if freed from their wax covering. Have any other gardeners reading this tried it? If so, I'd appreciate any advice!

November Bloom Day

'Queen Charlotte' violet

 

By mid-November there aren't a whole lot of flowers outdoors in my Zone 6b Virginia garden to celebrate Bloom Day on the 15th of the month (hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog). My 'Queen Charlotte' violets are among the few flowers that persist this late in the season. There would be none if I didn't cover them with a wire cloche because the deer like to eat them ( I remove the cover to photograph them). 

 

Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

Aromatic asters among the leaves.

 

Some blooms persist on the aromatic asters even after the first few frosts, but it's the leaves that are most colorful at this time of the year. I love the colors of the trees in the woods behind my house! This shot was taken a few days ago, most of these are native oaks. The hickories have lost most of their leaves.

 

The woods in early morning.

 A few shrubs in my garden are still colorful too, like this dwarf Nandina that doesn't fruit (I've forgotten the name of this variety), and the Viburnum 'Brandywine'.

 

Nandina

Viburnum 'Brandywine'

 

The witchhazels in the back woods are also blooming at this time, although two other varieties in my garden don't bloom until late winter or early spring.

Native witchhazel trees in the woods.

My back yard in November.

To make up for the lack of flowers outside, there are plenty of blooms in my indoor garden. The  yellow hibiscus my sister gave me is still offering a flower or two after being brought indoors. I brought in the white heliotrope plant hoping to keep it alive during the winter for a larger plant next summer. The begonias next to them are among the plants I keep alive indoors from year to year to decorate the back deck in summer.

Yellow hibiscus

White heliotrope with begonias in back

One of the small Phalaenopsis orchids I bought for one of my botanical art classes a few years ago decided to re-bloom for the first time, along with a miniature Dendrobium. The two orchids in the master bath are usually very prolific with their blossoms--I can't believe they're blooming for the second time this year!

Phalaenopsis orchid in bloom.

Dendrobium orchid

Orchids in the bathroom.

My Bearss lime tree is covered in blooms too, and setting fruit.

 

Bearss lime blossoms

 That's about it for November's Bloom Day.

May Bloom Day

White bearded iris.

Yellow iris.

The 15th of the month is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's "May Dreams Garden" blog.

The month of May is so beautiful in the northern hemisphere, a gardener would almost wish it could last all year long, except that then we wouldn't appreciate it as much... to everything there is a reason and a season.

I love bearded irises because of the beauty of their regal flowers and easy care. Today some are already past their peak in my garden, but most in my collection are still blooming. The core of my iris collection was given to me by a lady at the Virginia Native Plant Society's booth at Garden Fest, a weekend-long plant sale at Blandy Farm, the Virginia State Arboretum, held every spring. The rhizomes she gave me weren't native of course, nor were they labeled, so I have no idea of the names of these varieties. Other varieties that I've purchased over the years have names, of course.

One of my favorites is the white you see above--its lovely pure white falls and standards have pale blue beards with weird little tongues on their ends. The pure yellow and the purple and apricot bi-colors are also lovely

 

Bicolor iris with red 'Double Knockout' rose buds.

Iris patch along the front walk.

 

Last year I dug up and thinned the old-fashioned variety that once grew in my mother's garden in Falls Church, so this year my bed is a bit skimpy, but there's still enough bloom to admire.

 

Mom's irises.

A few years later I added two more varieties: the blue 'Victoria Falls' and 'Blatant', a yellow and wine bi-color.

 

'Victoria Falls' and 'Blatant' in the back yard.

 

My Virginia fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) is a dwarf cultivar, and it was spectacular about a week ago--there is still some bloom there. Underneath the columbine 'Blue Barlow' has spread nicely.

'Blue Barlow' columbines under Virginia fringe tree.

Foam flower (Tiarella)

 

This clump of foam flower also grows under the fringe tree--I usually keep this one under a wire cage because the deer love to eat it, but I remove it to take photos.

 

Clematis 'Etoile Violette' with 'New Dawn' rose.

 

At the side of the porch my "Dawn and Dusk" combination of clematis 'Etoile Violette' and climbing rose 'New Dawn' is about to launch its fabulous display of bloom. I need to find a way to re-train the rose back up on the porch pillar where it once was before a storm blew it down, but the rose is so huge and heavy now, it's hard to control. I need a suit of armor to get in there to prune it!

 

Elderberry (Sambucus 'Black Lace') with Dutch iris and red honeysuckle.

Dutch iris with red honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler'

 

The Sambucus 'Black Lace' is just opening its bunches of pale pink, next to the purple Dutch iris. The red honeysuckle "Major Wheeler' has started to offer its red trumpets for the ruby-throated hummingbirds to feast on. At the end of April we saw the first of the migrating hummers visiting, and since then they've been coming by regularly.

 

Blue Salvia with Coreopsis and pink Dianthus.

 

On the west side of the house my late spring/early summer perennials are starting their display. I have other flowers here and there, everywhere.

 

Pink Dianthus in front.

Indoors  two Phalaenopsis orchids are blooming. My sister Silvia gave me the white one some fifteen years ago and it bloomed regularly for a number of years, then went into inexplicable decline a few years back; it had not bloomed in over five years. After a lot of coaxing, it has finally been persuaded to re-bloom. The pale pink one was given to me by my other sister, Bea, and has bloomed regularly for about eight years.

 

White Phalaenopsis orchid indoors.

Pink Phalaenopsis orchid.

 

Currently my porch is full of potted plants--Mother's Day gifts--waiting to be set out in my garden. A lot of vegetable and flower seedlings I've been growing indoors are being hardened off here

 

Plants of the porch.

Hanging baskets on the front porch.

I planted my hanging baskets last week, but it will take some time before they look like much. Here's hoping for good, lush coverage soon!

A few days ago I had a bit of a start--I saw a small snake crawl up through the wood slats onto the back deck and slither across the threshold of the sliding door. The color and markings looked suspiciously like a rattlesnake's but I didn't seen any rattle at the end of the tail. Just to be sure, I looked up photos of juvenile snakes, and was reassured to see that juvenile rat snakes do have these markings. So, I let this garden buddy slide away down the clematis vine the way he came. Rat snakes are a gardener's friend--they eat a lot of garden pests, particularly mice and voles, though they do go after birds' eggs too. This one was probably looking for some eggs in the birds' nests under our deck.

 

Juvenile rat snake on the back deck.

Begonias on the back deck.

My collection of houseplants is almost all outdoors now--the begonias and succulents always take a beating when they go outdoors, but recover quickly.

Green thumbs?

This last photo is for fun--I have very soft nails and my thumbnails have been splitting down to the quick lately (even wearing gloves), so I decided to put some nail polish on them to try to stop the unraveling. The only nail polish I had on hand is green--my husband Herb thought it was a great sight gag!