Monday In Bloom

It was a lovely day Sunday when I went out to water.  A tiny bit muggy but overall, lovely.  And of course it started to rain a couple hours later.  As I was taking my last picture, the drops started coming.  Slow at first, until we had a downpour.  Those rains are sure hit or miss for me.  If they don’t come at a certain angle, the plants closest to the wall won’t get a drop. 

I haven’t deadheaded.  At this point, I’m not sure I will.  Last week was so busy for me, and this week coming up will be, too, as it’s the last week of our school vacation and I have to get tons of stuff ready for classes next Monday.  Yikes!  I am so glad I “pre-recorded” all my posts for the September 19-Something Challenge I’ve been doing or I’d have probably failed at that one, lol.  So deadheading is going to have to take a back seat to everything else I have going on.  And I can’t even begin to tell you how much I miss my blog and all of you.  I feel like I haven’t read anything for days.  Not related to gardening, but if you’re the praying type, I would ask for prayer for my friend going through a divorce.  Things are piling up for her and she is overwhelmed and hurting and … I. Worry.  On another unrelated note, a friend came into town for a visit and I got to spend some time with her.  She’s one of the ladies who used to work here, so there was lots of laughing going on at the office, lol. 

It was an awesome storm, by the way.  Not enough thunder and lightning though but it did downpour pretty hard for a few minutes.  So, awesome but not epic, lol. 

Things are starting to slow down and relax quite a bit.  I did see that something has been digging in one of few remaining pansy pots, although my friend frog from the last 2 years didn’t show up.  Flowers are starting to die back and leaves are beginning to turn brown.  The plants know Autumn is here and are getting ready, even if the temperatures aren’t quite there yet.  I think we’re going to see a cool down this week though, with daytime temps getting –and staying, yay!- in the 60s. 

I’m thinking the globe amaranth are Autumn plants.  In the last couple weeks those little magenta globes have popped up all over the plants I have, like nobody’s business!  They died back and turned brown over the Summer so I thought that was it for them, but all of a sudden, poof! 

I am sure that anyone in their right mind would tell me I overloaded this pot.  The coleus is so huge!  I just can’t get over it!  But it’s so pretty with the spikes and the Dusty Miller, I love it! 

At least these mums are still bright. 

Last week I noticed all these little spatters that looked like paint splashes all over my table.  I was on the phone with my friend and saying, “It almost looks like someone spilled paint on my table.”  Now I look at it and I’m like, Duh!  The tiny flower petals from the Sweet Alyssum fluttered off, it rained at some point, and made tiny white spots all over everything, lol. 

The steadfast Marigolds.  I do appreciate their reliability!

These mums look like they’re dying a bit already.  I was so surprised, I just got them.  I haven’t been watering them as much as the other plants, because they like it on the dryer side.  So I don’t know what’s wrong with them.  I was hoping to get more than just a couple weeks out of them.  Still, they’re kind of pretty in their dying state

It’s just such a glorious shade of yellow! 

These Speedwell seem to still be doing great. 

The lavender, however, has some dead branches already.  *sigh*  They don’t show up very well in the picture, but in the middle, it’s brown. 

At least the sage is still pretty happy!

More of the globe amaranth popping up. 

So that’s how my garden’s growing this week.  How’s yours doing?  Are you doing Autumn/Winter prep yet?

cross-posted on my daily blog 

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking! 2016 Garden Weekly 21 | Flickr  //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

So That's How You Make Catnip

So That's How You Make Catnip:

Monday In Bloom

I couldn’t get a screenshot of the temperature as I was on the phone with my friend when I went out to take pictures, but it was in the low-mid 70s, and the humidity was decent.  It was a bright, sunny day and not uncomfortable to be out.  We haven’t gotten as much rain this week as last, so things have been a bit on the dry side.  I’ll probably be out there Monday morning watering away. 

Overall, things are still looking pretty good.  The landscapers shaved a bit too close with the weed whacker so the grass edge around my little fence is all dead.  It’s actually a little trench that was originally landscaped in, and sometimes I think I’d like to fill it with smooth rocks or something. 

Do you notice what’s missing?

Still looking bright and lush!

In case you didn’t know, coleus is mostly a shade plant.  My little garden patches face East, South East.  So we get some morning sun, and in the afternoon the front section gets some, but everything else is pretty much in the shade by then.  So, clearly the coleus have been a good choice, and they really seem to love this corner, which also happens to be the shadiest.
 

Every time I see this pot, I think of a wedding gown.

These mums are finally blooming.  They are indeed more of a rusty color and not the burgundy I was hoping for.  Oh well, at least it’s a pretty plant. 

For Ryan, at Stormbound Treehouse, this is what I was talking about last week when I said this plant matched the marigolds better than it matches the coleus. 

Speaking of coleus (again!), can you believe how huge this thing is?! 

The potato vine has lots of flower buds on it.  I’ve never seen it have so many!  I’m thinking it likes the shade more than the full sun I’ve been giving it each year when I buy it.  It’s vine-y, so I hung it, and the little tag thingy said it liked sun, but I’m thinking it only likes partial sun at best. 

In case you didn’t notice what was missing in the first picture, here it is!  The hanging pot of sweet alyssum is no longer hanging.  The hanger rope broke when I was watering a couple days ago, just like its neighbor pot of potato vine did a few weeks ago.  So I guess I’m going to have to find a better hanging solution for these pots, or give up on the idea of hanging pots all together.  Yeah, I don’t like that last idea either!

Still some lilies left on the plant!

The lavender seems to be doing great.  I can’t recall how big they got last year (and seriously Vanessa, why do you take the pictures then?)  Okay just went to look back at last year’s pics, and the lavender, one of them anyway, did pretty well.  It made it through Winter but died in early Spring.  It was almost as big as this one, but that was in Week 28.  So, for all intents and purposes, this one seems to be doing better.  *fingerscrossed*

Annnnd Autumn is fast approaching.  Thursday, at 9:21 AM CDT! 

More snaps, yay!

I simply adore this combination of the silvery Dusty Miller with the purple Sweet Alyssum.  It seems every pot that has one, also has the other.  While I was on the phone with my friend I just started snapping all of them.  I guess you could call it … Study in Silver and Sweet. 

So grows my garden this week!  How’s yours doing?  Are you getting ready for Autumn?

cross-posted on my daily blog 

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking! 2016 Garden Weekly 20 | Flickr //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Monday In Bloom

It was actually a pretty nice day Sunday!  My Beloved and I went for a walk in the late afternoon, and I didn’t do any gardening at all.  We’ve had a bit of rain this week, temperatures have cooled some, and the garden has kind of been on auto-pilot for a couple days.  And, we might even see daytime temps in the 60s for a couple days this week!  Woohoo! 

Except for my Creeping Phlox, I’m pretty happy with the state of things.  The rain and cooler weather has really been a nice change of pace and the garden has really enjoyed it, too. 

I love how these pink polka dots look like they’re raising their little stemmy arms in praise and shouting, “Woohoo!”

It just looks so lush and full and thriving, and that makes me so happy!  If you could see baby laughter, it would look like this.

Since turning this pot around, the stuff in the back can breathe now! 

I think these are going to be a little more on the rusty side than I anticipated when I bought them last week.  I thought they’d match the coleus, but it looks like they’ll accent the marigolds a little better instead. 

Fresh little pops of color on the globe amaranth, along with cascades of sweet alyssum!

The creamy, vanilla mums have revealed a bit of yellow, so now it looks like a scoop of lemony ice cream.

This Artemisia is definitely going to take over the garden, lol.  It’s about 6 times bigger now than it was when first planted it in May. 

The lilies are still blooming!  Every week I think it’s the last week for them, and each time I see more buds hiding in the leaves.  What a bonus!

This sage has so surprised me!  For weeks after I planted it, I thought for sure it wasn’t going to make it.  I guess it just needed some time to decided whether or not it was going to hang around. 

The corner.  After seeing one of the other resident’s gardens, I am so jealous!  They’ve wrapped around their entire patio with mulch and plants and lights, and now I am plotting.  I even saw her hang a bird feeder over the weekend!  This corner has annoyed me for ages because it’s got nothing, and I wasn’t sure I would be permitted to do more with the garden area than what was originally landscaped.  But now … *rubshandstogether* it’s on.  This is how I “landscape.”  I stare and stare at a space until I “see” it finished, then I know what I need to get it done.  Corner, I’m looking at you! 

So that’s how my garden’s growing!  How’s yours coming along?

cross-posted on my daily blog 

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking! 2016 Garden Weekly 19 | Flickr //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js