Late Summer Flowers

Red Dahlias.

Red Dahlia with hardy Begonia.

Late summer is a time of the year when most plants are finished with the season's growth, and setting seed. Fall bloomers are starting to show color in their buds, but in between, there are some plants that like to bloom. I bought this deep red Dahlia on sale a couple of years ago, and was so late in setting it out that it only produced a couple of flowers before the first frosts arrived. Last year I replanted the rhizome in a pot, hoping to be able to save it from early frosts, and it never produced any flowers--the pot was probably too small. So, this year I re-potted it in a much larger pot, and set it outside.

The Dahlia grew to handsome proportions, with several large stems, but these started to flop over. I tried staking it and succeeded only in breaking off one stem. You can't fight gravity after all, so I set it against the trunk of my cherry tree and allowed it to flop as it pleased; the reward is these two gorgeous flowers!

The hardy Begonias growing next to the Dahlia are now starting to bloom and will make a nice show in a week or two. My Begonia patch has been gradually expanding from one plant I brought from my garden in Columbia eight years ago and reliably re-seeds itself every year.

Clematis 'New Love'

Clematis 'New Love'

My recently acquired Clematis 'New Love' has put forth some flowering spikes. This is a new type of Clematis bred to form a small shrub rather than a vine, and has small bell-shaped purple flowers. It's not quite what I had expected, but very unusual and pretty anyway. We'll see if it manages to survive and continue to bloom in my garden.

Black cotton bolls

The black cotton plants are developing a number of large bolls that should be loaded with seeds for next year's garden. The coneflower seeds are ripe and the goldfinches have been having a banquet with them--they've been visiting regularly morning and evening.

Goldfinch on coneflower seedhead.

Goldfinch feasting on coneflower seeds.

Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' and native mints

Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' above, known as Blue Mist or Bluebeard plant is another late flowering shrub with feathery blue spikes. I combined my three plants with two native mints (whitish flowers on the right): hoary mountain mint (Pycnanthemum incanum), common mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), and sea oat grass (Chasmanthium latifolium) in this bed.

Dog stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus)

The odd fungus known as Dog stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus) has made its reappearance in our yard recently. Herb came across these while he was mowing the lawn the other morning, and ran in to tell me about his strange sighting. I recognized it at once--we'd first encountered this weird fungus in Columbia, where it sprouted from a mulched flowerbed. Apparently the spores can be carried in the shredded bark mulch that is commercially available.

These strange mushrooms are members of the Phallaceae family, appropriately named as you can see. They attract flies and other insects that spread the spores. I find these weirdly fascinating--I may do a botanical illustration of one eventually.

Dog Days Coming Around Again

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia syphillitica)

Great Blue Lobelias

The dog days of August are coming around again, as they do every summer. After July's record high temperatures, they don't seem so awful, thus far.  My Great Blue Lobelias have put forth more flower spikes than ever this year, and they are gorgeous. The crabgrass and weeds are lush, too--I went out yesterday morning to weed around my veggie bed and try to tackle the worst of it in the back yard beds. Two hours later I was drenched in sweat, had one large plastic bag full of weeds, and feeling that I'd barely made a dent. It will take many more sessions to get the weeds under control, in as much as that is at all possible.

Black or Levant cotton (Gossypium herbaceum ' Nigrum')

My three black cotton plants grown from Lili's seeds are producing lots of flowers and bolls. The seeds were collected from the U.S. Botanic Gardens a number of years ago (I've seen this exotic annual selling for amazingly high prices in catalogs), and thanks to my daughter-in-law's green thumb, we've managed to keep this line going.

Black cotton flower bud.

The following spring the collected seeds went in my garden beds, and I shared some with my daughter-in-law. But with soil as poor as mine, only a few blooms and bolls with seeds developed.  Lili had better luck in her garden, and managed to get enough seeds to return the favor last year. The flowers are so lovely! Their beauty is hard to appreciate fully because they tend to hide under the foliage.

Black cotton flower

I've done paintings of both the Great Blue Lobelia and the black cotton--my Great Blue Lobelia painting sold last year, but I still have the watercolor of black cotton that I painted as Artist in Residence at the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2018. The specimen I worked from didn't have any flowers present so I introduced some from my photos taken of the ones I'd grown. Unfortunately, my photos didn't show the exact way the flower stem grows out from the middle of the leaf petiole, so I didn't get this detail quite right. I'm tempted to try another painting to correct my previous misunderstanding.

The back yard from the Badlands.

I took this photo of the back yard from the rearmost bed, the one we call "The Badlands" because the soil there was the worst imaginable. I remember well how little grew here and all along the perimeter of our lot at the edge of the woods. My idea for landscaping this area was to create a transition zone for the huge trees at the edge of the woods with a series of smaller understory trees. These three trees were the first I planted in the back yard: a dogwood, which revealed itself to be a C. kousa (Asian) type only this spring, when it finally produced its first blooms, a redbud (Cercis canadense), and behind that, a Seven Son Flower tree (Heptacodium miconoides) which is a native of China.

Seven Son Flower tree (Heptacodium miconoides)

Flowering clusters of the Seven Son Flower tree

The common name for this small tree comes from the observation that the number of flowers in each cluster is usually seven. I bought this Heptacodium as a sapling on sale for the amazing price of $6--the selling point for me wasn't just the price, but that the tree blossoms in August, at a time when little else in the garden is in bloom, the blossoms are fragrant, and it grows fast.  After planting it I've had time to appreciate its other attractive features--in autumn, after the flowers fade, the sepals turn pink, giving the appearance of a second flowering, and the bark peels in layers of different colors that make a wonderful display in winter.

Basket of begonia.

I didn't find any fuschias for the hanging baskets on the porch this year, so I bought this beautiful red Begonia instead. Calibrachoas in several colors went in the two other baskets, with the addition of some creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea') hanging over the edges. 

Hanging baskets of Calibrachoas on the porch.

The recent rains have brought out some new flowers: Crocosmia 'Lucifer's red flowers make a nice contrast against the fluffy blue Ageratum, with orange marigolds. The yellow Chrysanthemums are already starting to bloom, despite earlier de-budding. I'm curious to see how the 'Autumn Joy' sedum will look in the fall when the pink Muhly grass puts out some of its plumes--the deer have really chewed up the sedums!

Herb's bed.

High Summer

Monarch butterfly on Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)

This July has been one of the hottest that I can recall in eight years, as well as one of the driest. The drought broke last week when a series of thunderstorms dropped much-needed rain--over one and a half inches! This was a blessing for the plants, and for the wildlife. Another overnight storm and a rainy day yesterday added more to the total accumulation.

A Monarch butterfly wafted in a few days ago and has been very taken by the Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligustylis) I planted this spring. Now that I see how much the butterflies love it, I'm buying more of this plant in hopes of attracting more of them. The Monarchs don't seem much drawn to the Asclepias tuberosa--although this is one of their host plants, it's not their preferred milkweed family host, Asclepias syriaca. In years past I've seen a number of Monarch caterpillars on my bushes, but I presume the birds ate the caterpillars before they had a chance to mature, since I never found any pupas or newly-hatched butterflies.

Ruby-throated hummingbird.

The Ruby-throated humming birds have been visiting regularly the 'Major Wheeler' red honeysuckle this summer, and the other morning I spotted one feasting on the flowers of the Bottle Brush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora). That hummingbird was so covered in pollen that it looked as if it was yellow--unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo of that, or of the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly that also loves the flowers of this native tree. This morning, however, one of the hummers perched on a dead branch of my small honey locust tree long enough to be photographed through my telephoto.

Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance'

The Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance' that I bought this past spring and planted in a pot, has grown very well and is currently blooming--a really lovely shrub, with its variegated green and white leaves and small white flowers. I have no idea yet where I'll end up planting it--it should reach 3 to 5 feet in height and width according to the tag information, but with such a delicate look, I need to select a site where it can be admired up close and not be too susceptible to deer attacks.

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia syphillitica)

Great Blue Lobelia with Mexican feather grass.

The Great Blue Lobelia I planted a few years back in the east bed has multiplied very well, forming several nice clumps which are just starting to bloom. This native wildflower is spectacular when in full bloom! The Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima), native to the southwest, has also spread and formed clumps that make a beautiful backdrop to the Lobelias.

East side of the yard.

Overall, the plantings on this side of the house continue to develop, though the hydrangeas haven't produced much in the way of blooms this year, with the exception of the white 'Incrediball.' Two late frosts this spring are probably the reason--although 'Endless Summer' (with pink flowers) is supposed to bloom on old as well as new wood, it isn't doing much blooming thus far. I plan to put in another hydrangea in this area in the fall, an Oakleaf variety, though I haven't decided on the exact location.

Pentstemon 'Rosie Posie'

The Pentstemons I planted last fall are now blooming. I think the soft pink color on the grayish green foliage looks great, but I'd hoped that the hummingbirds would be attracted to these--it seems the color doesn't appeal to them, since I've yet to see even one bird exploring the nectar-rich flowers.

The long island bed in back.

The Black-eyed Susans are now in their glory in the long island bed below the deck, while the red 'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle takes a rest. The honeysuckle will probably re-bloom later on as the weather begins to cool off. I wonder what the dog days of August will bring?

Long island bed from the deck.

Dawn and Dusk Watercolor

Dawn and Dusk, watercolor, 17"h x 13"w.

My latest watercolor is a luscious combination of the climbing rose 'New Dawn' and clematis 'Etoile de Violette' that grows on the side of my porch. I started working on this two years ago, developing the drawing from a set of photos I'd taken that spring--my drawing is a bit on the sloppy side with many unresolved areas, but I thought it was enough to get started, and worry about developing it more fully as I got into the painting.

Pen and ink drawing for tracing.

The idea was to try to convey the lushness of the two intertwining plants in a composition that spilled in a rambunctious fashion over the entire sheet of watercolor. I started applying some under painting to the central clematis flower when I realized that the Permanent Rose and Cobalt Blue pigment combination I was using was too opaque for the desired effect.

Dawn and Dusk - early stages.

I put the painting aside for two years, searching for more transparent pigments. A number of workshops I took in the intervening years helped me to develop other techniques and find the transparent pigments I was looking for: Quinacridone Coral and Brilliant Blue-violet. I scrubbed as much of the early pigments as possible and started again, this time with happier results.

Dawn and Dusk - later stage.

The illusion of perspective is created mostly by the change in size of the flowers and leaves, as well as light and dark areas. A bit of redesign was necessary to hide a couple of paint spills that happened along the way--I don't always cover my painting to protect the white areas because this makes it difficult to see the entire painting at one time. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

At this point I'm trying to decide if it's finished, or if it needs a few more leaves and/or buds or a little more drybrush in places to bring out the edges of the pale roses. I'll let it sit on my easel for a few more weeks now and think about it before I decide. There's no hurry, as there are no art shows in my schedule anytime in the future.

Mid-Summer Harvest

Blueberries and Strawberries

This year my 'Top Hat' Blueberry bush has done well, thanks to a self-watering pot. I fed it lots of Holly Tone in the spring and it rewarded me with ample blossoms and later, fruit. As the berries started to ripen I noticed that the mockingbirds were circling around more frequently. In years past, I've lost most of the berries to them and squirrels; this year I was determined they wouldn't get the best of my harvest, and I covered the bush with bird netting. One mockingbird perched on the porch roof and scolded me for an hour after I did that, but I've been able to enjoy my home-grown blueberries at last!

The ever-bearing strawberry 'Mara de Bois' continues to produce too, though not in the profusion of the first flush in June. Tonight's fruit salad will be all home-grown.

 Blueberry 'Top Hat' bush.

We're now in the middle of the summer doldrums--so hot and dry that all my plants are suffering. I spend my evenings watering, trying to keep everything alive. Below are a couple of yellow roses I cut before they got blasted by the heat. If only it would rain, lots and lots of plentiful water we desperately need!

Yellow roses: 'Molineux' on the right, rootstock or 'Peace' on the left.

Still, many plants offer their blooms at this time of the year, such as the Butterfly bush (Buddleia hybrids), and this white hibiscus with a deep red eye.  The hibiscus wilts frequently, but with a bit of watering, perks up right away. The Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is still displaying some flowers, as well as the lavender.

Butterfly bush (Buddleia) and white hibiscus.

The flower spikes of Vitex, also known as Chaste-tree (Vitex agnus-castus) appear at this time of the year--its blue spikes give the illusion of coolness in the blistering heat.

Vitex shrub (Vitex agnus-castus)

I planted this Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) as a small sapling some five years ago; it's now over my head and covered with flower spikes that are starting to open. It will eventually reach some 12 to 15 feet high and wider, since it tends to spread out by suckers.

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aseculus parviflora)

The Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) that I added to Herb's bed this spring is starting to bloom--I wish I'd ordered more plants--there were only two bulbs in the order of three I was sent, and I planted the other bulb in the Lil' Indians bed, where it promptly disappeared--overshadowed by other plants. Oh well, I'll move the other bulb here in the fall and hope they'll form a nice clump eventually. The flowers are unusual in that they open from the top down--most flower spikes tend to open from the bottom upward.

Herb's bed

The black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm') in the long bed is starting to bloom, and the ornamental blue grama grasses (Boutelua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition') thankfully don't need a lot of water.

Black-eyed Susan and ornamental grasses.

My white-flowered Crape myrtle 'Natchez' is finally reaching tree height, though it tends to lose some top growth during the winter. The bark peels in attractive layers of brown and gray, giving it added interest during the winter season.

Crepe myrtle 'Natchez' in front.

The drift roses are holding their own with some watering--I'm thinking of expanding this bed all the way across toward the crape myrtle and putting in more drift roses, maybe white ones? I like the way the blue fescue grasses look with the roses, but the bed needs a touch more of blue--maybe add more of the same variety of blue Veronica growing below the crepe myrtle, or some blue lupines?

I'm counting the days until fall planting season now.

In the Heat of July

Herb with a common Mullein.

The common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a native plant that grows wild in open fields in many places throughout the world. I've seen them on our roadsides and local pastures often enough while driving around, but never had a chance to observe them close-up, so when several plants sprang up in my yard last year, I left them alone so that I could watch them closely. The plants are biennial, with a rosette of silvery leaves growing the first year, developing the flowering stalk on their second year. It has been used medicinally for hundreds of years--I think the flowers are very attractive.

Close-up of Mullein flowers

One of the Mulleins came up right by the front steps to the house. The structure the flowering stem is fascinating--the veins form flanges that support the incredible height of the flowering stalk. The one in the back bed reached an impressive height--my husband Herb is 6'-4" and as you can see in the photo, the flower stalk towers at least a foot above him!

Mullein by the front steps

Our area tends to be quite hot and dry during summers that are punctuated by the occasional thunderstorm and accompanying gully-washers. This environment is hard on many plants, particularly some garden favorites, but there are others that can resist these conditions, and I've slowly been learning which will survive and even thrive.

Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are among these, and I'd planted a nice group of them in the back bed. Two winters ago most of them disappeared--I learned that voles (a type of small field mouse) like to eat the roots, and they attacked mine mercilessly. When I replaced the plants last summer, I wrapped the root balls in wire mesh before putting them in the ground so that the voles couldn't get to the roots, and this year, I'm happy to see that my Coneflowers are starting to prosper.  There are several varieties here: orange 'Sombrero', 'Cheyenne Spirit', white 'Avalanche,' as well as an ordinary light pink--I have no idea where the yellow ones came from, perhaps natural cross-pollination.

I spotted a family of goldfinches scouting the flowers earlier--they love to eat the seeds--so I'm hoping to see lots of goldfinches feeding on them after the flowers have set seed. Hopefully, these will eventually fill in the whole bed, although I may put some other plants among them to discourage voles, just to make sure.

Coneflowers ( in assorted colors.

Deer found the Diervilla 'Kodiak Black' (Diervilla lonicera) I planted last summer very tasty, so I took the precaution of caging it so that I could see some flowers this year. This plant, known as bush honeysuckle, is native to the eastern half of North America from Canada to North Carolina. My cultivar is supposed to have dark purplish leaves, but since it prefers cool summers, I'm guessing the heat may be causing the leaves to turn green.

Diervilla 'Kodiak Black'

 Peach color Daylily

The mid-season daylilies are putting on a show now--I forget the names of these varieties, some of which I planted during my first couple of summers here. When I expanded another bed later on I planted another grouping in assorted colors. These varieties that were being discontinued by Gilbert Wild & Son were on sale, and the plants have taken a couple of years to reach this size.

Daylily bed

Daylilies in summery pastel colors

What summer garden could be without Hydrangeas? The white 'Incrediball' is outstanding, but the other two hydrangeas, 'Endless Summer' and a blue lacecap variety that I brought as cuttings from my garden in Columbia seem to die back to the ground every winter, despite deep mulching. These bloom on old wood as well as new, but lag behind and wilt frequently in this climate. With a lot of watering, I hope to get a few blooms eventually, but these will be pink, despite all the aluminum sulfate I add every year. Hard to believe these were a lovely blue in my garden in Columbia!

Hydrangeas on the east side.

Farther back towards the woods.

The orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in back is now well established, but the 'Hello Yellow' variety I planted last year barely made it--one tiny plant has put out a puny flower. Oh well, it may yet gather some strength for next year. The hot-pink phlox was added this year--the butterfly bush (Buddleia) in back should start blooming soon.

Herb's old sunflower bed was replanted with perennials such as lavender, ornamental grasses, annuals and chrysanthemums that will bloom in the fall. I'm still working on expanding this bed, wondering if I should try to create a small bog garden towards the front. This would require digging up a patch about 12" deep, putting a plastic barrier to retain water, and filling it in with peat moss and sand to make the soil really acidic, since bog plants dislike alkaline soils. It seems like a lot of work, and I wonder if it would be worth the effort. Considering the alkalinity of this soil, it might be wiser to select other more suitable native plants for this spot.

Korean fir 'Silverhorst' and purple basil with calibrachoas.

I couldn't resist buying this lovely Korean fir 'Horstman's Silberlocke' (Abies koreana 'Horstman's Silberlocke') when it went on sale at Wayside Gardens, but that was very late in the spring. Rather than risk losing it to our scorching summers, I decided to re-pot it into a larger pot where I can keep it well-watered, and then plant in the fall, when it stands a better chance. Next to it is a pot with purple basil and some Calibrachoas--I love the contrasting colors against the blue-green of the woolly thyme ground cover.

Two other shrubs I purchased are also awaiting in pots for fall planting, you can see a bit of the variegated Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance' to the right. My collection of potted plants on the back deck keeps growing too. It takes so much time to water these days, I think I need to buy more self-watering pots. Here is this year's most colorful combination: red annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) with Heliotrope, blue Lobelia, Coleus, and creeping Jenny.

Potted plants on the deck.

Heliotrope, annual Vinca, Coleus and blue Lobelia.