Nearly Fall Already? I've Still Got Flowers

After a few posts of non-garden diversions, I thought I'd post some pictures of the flowers in my yard. Some say that an over-abundance of yellow is common in late summer flowers, yet my garden only has the yellow Gaillardia "Yellow Queen" in that color right now. Even my sunflowers are not yellow!

This is sunflower "Sunwalker", which is well-appreciated by bees and butterflies:

Echinacea "Ruby Star" is the shorter, deeper pink flower in the foreground. Behind those are the wild-type pale pink Echinacea and a white variety.

The Echinacea amidst the perennial raised bed.

Liatris spicata looks amazing at this time of year. A few seedling plants are growing near this one and I have been potting them up and giving them away.

Liatris spicata has such an interesting shape and texture and the foliage is inobtrusive in early summer.

Postal Plant Thrills

Besides my usual ebay packages yesterday, I was excited to get an order of bare root plants from Veseys. I ordered them back in the dark days of winter, when catalogs entice gardeners with discounts for early-ordering and taunt you with mouthwatering colorful pictures of exotic new breeds, making one feel like the victim of plant pornography. Then, by the time spring arrives and the plants show up at the local post office, I have forgotten what I ordered in the first place. By the way, the pictures in the post are from the Veseys site, and I can only hope that my plants will look as good!

I now need to find places to plant 4 roots of Eryngium alpinum (Blue Sea Holly, zone 4a), 2 roots of white "Jade" Echinacea (Coneflower, zone 3a), and 2 roots of dark pink "Little Business" Daylily (zone 3a). The "Jade" Echinacea is a new white version of the usual pink flower. I also have several of the traditional pink ones. Both the Erygium and novel Echinacea are going into the blue/yellow/white-themed raised bed (aka the Ikea garden).

Of course, there are a few pinks and purples thrown in there, but I have strictly avoided reds and oranges. Last year, a spectacular orange LA hybrid lily bloomed in that bed. Of course, it was by itself, a thing of beauty and robust health. However, it clashed with my vision for the yard and I dug it up and gave it to the neighbours.

Growing A Garden of Birdseed

The yard is growing well, but many of the perennials are done for the season and others with aspirations of world domination were removed, making me wish I had some annuals to fill up the empty spaces!

These sunflowers grew out of compost laden with birdseed! Resident-lawnmower-man had put the birdseed in the compost (after it got wet and he thought it had gone rotten) and I added the compost to this flowerbed in the spring.

Here's the center raised bed after my "renovations". I am going to add some colorful short annuals to the front next year. I also need to divide the lilies, as they multiply so quickly!






Pictured at right: The pink Digitalis purpura (Foxglove) were started from seed early this year and I am happy to see this late summer bloom.


Pictured at left: The bright pink Echinacea purpura attracts hundred of butterflies and is a joy of the late summer flower garden.

Echinacea and Bee Balm

Two well-known perennials are blooming this week. Both are big butterfly favourites and grow as wildflowers elsewhere in the world.

Pictured: A purple Mondarda didyma (Bergamot, Bee Balm). This plant does spread by rhizomes, popping up several new plants around the base, but it is not yet the worst of the garden thugs. If you have this plant, you need to either regularly hack up the growth around the base or give the new plants away to friends.

Pictured: Pink Echinacea, some melon-colored short lilies, and a background of pink Malva Moschata (Mallow).

My Echinacea is the old fashioned type whichI grew from seed. Of course, now they have the hybrids with orange and yellow flowers, double-flowered and double-decker flowers, and ones that can operate heavy machinery...