Gardens Abroad

While I was not blogging this past week, I was enjoying gardens and garden centers while travelling in British Columbia. I am aware that this activity qualifies me as a garden nerd, yet I feel no shame.

I bought myself some narcissus and botanical tulip bulbs as well as some Fritillaria imperialis bulbs for a relative in Penticton with a nasty deer problem. These flowers (and the bulbs themselves!) are repulsive to any nose, including those of deer. The woman at the Kelowna garden center said that you should avoid planting these next to your door so that their fragrance does not overwhelm you. I hope that they are effective!

This green combo to the is my mom's potted canna with a cluster of green bell peppers! I can only imagine that the annuals that filled the base of the pot included a stray vegetable!

I had to stop to see this private garden in Trout Creek, a small community near Summerland, British Columbia (southern Okanagan, zone 6). There were hundreds of crocus-like flowers, planted in rows and clusters.

Lots and lots of Colchicum! Apparently, they are also growing saffron crocus, but the woman said that they bloom later, closer to November.

A violet-colored Waterlily Colchicum. The woman working in the garden said that these were Colchicum, a special interest of her husband. Of course, I have garden envy, as I cannot grow these fall-blooming beauties in my own cold zone!

Rotary park at Okanagan Lake beach in Penticton, British Columbia. The plaques surrounding this circle of flowers record the winners of the Ironman triathlon, which starts and ends at this location.

Broad tropical leaves of cannas fill the background, with bright pom-pom zinnias and purple salvia "Victoria" in the foreground.

I like looking at flowers in city parks, both for inspiration for my own garden, and to see what grows well in this particular climate. The southern Okanagan is hot and dry during the summer. This flower display uses cannas, zinnias, marigolds, salvia, cleome, ornamental peppers, and a few other plants.

Tall Plants: Bright red canna flowers on the right with the last blooms of pink and purple cleome at left. Zinnias occupy the foreground.

The Slow Farewell to Summer

I don't want to admit it, but our summer will be over soon. There will be no more transplanting perennials as if it were a botanical game of musical chairs. I've made some fall bulb orders and am waiting a while until I order the rest, so at least they will be spread out on two different credit card bills.

Butterflies and bees are loving the Liatris spicata "Floristan violet", Echinacea purpurea and Monarda didyma at this time of year. I cut my delphiniums back to the ground and they are producing new foliage. Last year they rebloomed in September.

You can click on this photo to see it enlarged!

A elegant-looking white Echinacea purpurea.

Echinacea purpurea "Ruby Star", remarkable for its dark red central "cone". I also noticed the stems on this plant to be dark red.
Monarda didyma (Bergamot, Bee balm) in full bloom, buzzing with bees! This clump was started from seed two years ago.
Zinnia "Profusion cherry" along with other annuals in a barrel planter.










I am getting bored with some of the perennials I planted in large numbers last year. I ripped a few out, leaving spaces as an excuse to grow some new ones from seed. Sound silly? I suppose it is. I really need some more flowerbeds! The need to garden is getting out of control and I am already plotting some new plants for mom's yard.

Let's Talk Annuals

For a change of pace, here are some of the annuals I am growing this year!

Barrel planters: I started my "Aladdin Cherry"petunias, "Profusion cherry"zinnias, "Serena"Angelonia (purple and white), and "Violet Queen" cleome from seed for these barrel planters. The Angelonia seed are a novel item, as you could only purchase vegetatively propagated plants until now.

Here are more "Aladdin Cherry" petunias, some ten week stocks (Matthiola incana) - very fragrant, Salvia splendens "Salsa Light Purple", "Serena Purple" Angelonia, and some ornamental sweet potato vines (the vines are the only thing I didn't grow from seed). As you can see, I chose really bright snappy colors, ones that scream "Look at me! Enjoy me! I won't be around forever!"

Pots on my front deck

However, I want to buy some new dark brown pots to match the trim of the house. Hopefully, we'll get to civilization before Wally*mart sells out.

Some sources say this miniature black-eyed susan is an annual and others say it is a perennial. Regardless, it is kinda cute.

A lonely Ruckbeckia hirta "Toto"

Here's my canna "Stuttgart" surrounded by annual flowers. I grew this one in my bedroom all winter and put it out this spring. It really is a bit silly trying to grow one of these big-leafed tropical beauties here, but I'm doing it anyways. Actually, it doesn't look half bad for all that tropical appeal it gives my "subarctic" yard.

Canna "Stuttgart" and annual flowers

Speaking of the tropics, here is Musa acuminata "Dwarf cavendish", a banana plant. The main difference between this one and my indoor ones is the wind-torn leaves on the outdoor plant, which makes it look more like an authentic banana. For a good time, I could pot up a dozen of these on my upstairs deck, sit out there sipping lemonade and think about the only thing that makes this better than a tropical country: the mosquites don't carry malaria. (That's the only thing positive I can say about the mosquitoes). I'll bring the banana back inside in September

Musa acuminata "Dwarf cavendish" (Banana)

Volunteer (annual) blue cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) and a blue Siberian iris in the perennial bed.

This is a new annual for me: Lantana. It does well in hot, dry conditions in poor soils. Immediately I thought of it for my hanging baskets! It flowers all summer and would be perennial if I lived in Florida. This one is "Bandana pink". Flowers initially are yellow and age to pink.

Lantana Bandana series Pink

Hot Pink Petunias and the Lettuce Finale

My basement flowers are starting to bloom, pushing the lettuce and herbs out of the way. The Aladdin Cherry petunias and Profusion Cherry zinnias look lovely. They're both a bright pink, sure to make a garish display in the barrel planters.

For those of you following the vermicomposting lettuce saga...we have reached the end of the experiment. For the last post, on day 23, see this previous entry. The romaine lettuce grown in the pot of worm casting compost is the picture of agricultural success, while the potting soil + fertilizer lettuce ended up pathetically small.

An unforeseen lettuce-challenging hurdle in this 60 day trial was my 2-week absence, during which time resident-lawnmower-man tended (that choice of verb may even be too generous) my plants. Despite my warnings about adequately watering the lettuce, I came back to a batch of tough and bitter lettuce, all except for the "worm" lettuce. Yes, the taste test today confirms that the worm lettuce is sweet and mild while the potting soil lettuce is not. Maybe the worm compost had better moisture-retentive properties, protecting it from stingy watering by a non-plantsperson. Moisture retention reportedly is one of the benefits of adding compost to your soil.