Monday In Bloom

It was a pretty decent evening, not too hot or muggy.  Even the mosquitos, while bad, weren’t as terrible as last week. 

 

It feels like it’s been a rough week though, garden-wise.  Things have been so dry here after all the flooding a couple weeks ago.  And despite my attempts at watering, several of my perennials are dead or dying.  I didn’t even bother to take pictures of them this week, even for documenting purposes.  Even the lilies are fading fast, it seems.  I know that’s fairly typical, at this point in the season.  It’s still a bit depressing, though. 

I know that in a couple weeks, after the hottest spells have (hopefully) passed, many plants will gain their “second wind” and pull out a second bloom.  And I’m also thinking the lilies will definitely have to be divided this year.  Probably the daisies, too.  In fact, probably most of what’s left in the perennial patch will have to be divided.  I suppose the things that need to be divided can fill in the empty spots from the plants that have died.  I certainly have my work cut out for me come Autumn!

On a brighter note, the snapdragons have been blooming, and the coleus are thriving.  The yellow daisies are blooming again after some deadheading a few weeks ago.

Yay for snappies!  Bright, happy spots in the midst of gardening season!

I keep meaning to switch this pot with the one in the other corner of the side patch but I still haven’t gotten around to it.  This week for sure!!  The verbena and sweet alyssum are fading, but still retain some of their earlier glory.

Right side of the urn …

Left side of the urn!  I took a picture from this angle to show how much that sweet potato vine has grown.  It swoops down and trails around the pot like a veil, it’s so stunning!  This is exactly what I hoped it would do all those times I planted it in one of the hanging pots in the front patch, but it never did.  I realize now, that was too sunny for this plant, as it clearly prefers much more shade than I realized.  Next year, assuming the garden center has them again, I am going to put one in a side patch raised pot, with just a spike plant for accent. 

Yellow daisies!

Fortunately, this licorice plant isn’t terribly decimated from the recent butterfly caterpillar invasion, certainly not as bad as the one in the other hanging pot.  And the asparagus fern and purple heart plant still are looking pretty decent. 

That’s how my garden is surviving this week, how’s yours doing?

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking!  2017 Garden Weekly 13 | Flickr

Monday In Bloom

It feels like it’s been a rough week in the garden. 

We’ve had an abundance of rain.  Some of my perennials aren’t liking that much rain.  They’re dying.  My pincushion, my lavender plants, even my columbines are looking positively dreadful.  Maybe if things remain dry over the next several days some of these drought-tolerant plants will revive.

My husband kind of laughed at me, running out to water when the rain was just ending.  “Uh, you do know it just rained, right?”  “Yes!  But the rain doesn’t get to my pots because of the overhang and they’re dry as a bone in the pots by the window!”  The ground was all squishy under my feet and getting my sandals and toes sopping wet, while my plants were drooping in distress from lack of water. 

And the mosquitoes!  Oh my gosh, they were awful!  It felt like walking into a mosquito nest, if there was such a thing.  Why do they like my eyes so much?!  Ugh.  There I was, trying to take pictures, and swat the @$#@#% things at the same time.  The humidity was really bad. It made breathing feel like a waste of effort.

Most of the rest of my pansies have died.  I lost another pot. 

It was not a good picture day!  lol 

For the most part, many plants are doing the best they can with all the extra water.  Things are still pretty much on the lush side for the lilies, and some of the pots.

My lovely licorice / icicles plants that had just started to flower are also dying.  Seems those flowers were beacons for some butterflies to lay eggs.  I am kind of comforted about having a butterfly nursery though.  Turns out it’s the Vanessa virginiensis variety, or American Painted Lady.  I feel sort of obligated to let them do what they need to do, being a namesake and all.  Butterflies!

This makes me happy.  I just love how the little verbena blossoms match the colors on the coleus leaves.  I was hopeful they’d go nice together when I set up the pot, but this is way beyond my hopes. 

At least the coleus and salvia seem happy! 

Sometimes you just get really lucky.  You get that little 6 or 8 pack of baby plants at the garden center and most of them haven’t bloomed so you don’t even know what the colors are, and you try to put them together with other plants and cross your fingers that it will look nice, but you won’t even really know for a month or so.

This one loves the sheltered corner, but wishes I would be better about watering.

I can’t even!  That sweet potato vine is just … wow!  This one needs a good dose of diatomaceous earth though – there were webs on the sweet alyssum!  *cue Hitchcock horror music*

You can see how the caterpillars have nearly decimated the icicles plants here in the hanging baskets. 

This one isn’t quite as bad, but I suspect it will be soon.

And that’s how my garden is … surviving this week.  How’s yours doing?

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking! 2017 Garden Weekly 12 | Flickr

Monday In Bloom

I think I’ve finally figured out that if I take the pictures around sunset, they turn out a little better. 

My poor pansies just can’t catch a break this season!  The leaves were looking kind of weird when I looked out my window to check on them, and when I went outside to take a closer look, they were covered in webs!  *shudder*  Ewww!  The leaves were turning a sickly yellow.  I have no idea if it’s a spider or a worm or some other kind of creepy crawly thing, but I whipped up a batch of some insecticidal-fungicidal soap and sprayed the heck out of it.  Hopefully … .

Otherwise, it was a pretty nice day when I went out to take pictures.  I was thankful for that!  We’ve had about a ton and a half of rain lately – lots of flood warnings here and our county is under a lot of water, lots of road closings and the like.  Despite all that rain, practically none of my pots closest to the walls get any of it, so I still have to water.  I can’t tell you how silly I feel lugging my watering can out when it’s been raining cats and dogs, lol.

Things are looking pretty lush with just a couple of exceptions (like my poor pansies!).  Overall, I’m really pleased with the progress this year. 

The lilies continue to be a bright spot!

The coleus, salvia, and dusty miller are just thriving!  I can’t even begin to describe how happy it makes my gardener’s heart to see how abundant these plants are getting!

I don’t think I could be more pleased with how this pot turned out. 

This pot is just flooring me!  I swear, I’ve gotten that purple sweet potato plant pretty much every year for the last few years, and I’ve always put it out front in one of my hanging baskets.  It’s NEVER done half as well as it’s doing in this pot!  I’m thinking that even though the tag said “full sun to part shade” this plant does MUCH better in more shade than sun.  It’s hard to tell from this angle but it’s nearly touching the ground!  Yeah, I’m never putting this one in full sun again, that’s for sure!

Same pot from the other side.  Sometimes it’s nice to get a different view. 

Two sides of the hanging planters.  They almost look like entirely different pots when seen from the back side.

And that’s how my garden is growing this week!  How’s yours coming along?

To see all my pictures from the garden this week, you can click either the link or the image below. Thanks for looking! 2017 Garden Weekly 11 | Flickr