Just a week into summer and already we’re seeing a changing of the gardening guard, so to speak. There’s still a few tall bearded Iris blooming, a few peonies petals are hanging on (temperatures have moderated since last weekend and we even had a bit of rain on Wednesday) and lupins are still popping up here and there, as they will for a few more months. But the backbone blooms of summer have made an appearance, with bright colours and flower forms that beg close inspection. Every Saturday, The Propagator encourages gardeners around the world to share six things that are happening in their garden. Here are my six – a few are stalwarts and one a pleasant surprise.
1 – Lavendula angustifolia – English lavender – is hardy here as long as there’s good drainage. I’ve heard different approaches to pruning, from don’t prune at all until mid spring, when new growth starts, then just snip off the dead stuff, to prune back hard in early spring so that the plant doesn’t get woody. Any suggestions?
2 – Geum! Also called Avens, for some reason… this is Geum ‘Blazing Sunset,’ started from seed early in 2019. It germinated, and I planted them outside last spring, but then they seemed to disappear. This year, like magic…
On the left, this is what the foliage looks like. It’s so rough and weedy looking, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ripped some out last year, thinking it was just another unwanted farmyard foe. Glad I wasn’t too particular this year! On the right is the same flower as above, but with the image taken about an hour earlier, just as the sun was rising and the petals unfurling.
3 – I planted a few pots with Sedum and other succulents this year, wanting variety but also to cut down on watering. I’ve misplaced the name of this one but I find it interesting, with its large reddish leaves plus the branches coming from leaf nodes, unlike the Sedum spectabile that I am more familiar with.
4 – Finally – a Clematis flower that escaped the chipmunks! This is C. x durandii – a sturdy, rambling vine that will now produce flowers until frost. This Clematis adds splashes of colour to a corner garden that get morning sun but is in shade from early afternoon.
5 – Gaillardia pulchella – Blanket Flower – is starting to open. I collected seeds from a rocky, sandy park in Toronto many years ago and continue to scatter their progeny here and there every fall. Often the blossoms have different colouring – some interesting genetic information going on there! This species is not native to Ontario but has naturalized in several locations. It’s found in many American states – in the central, south and east, and also in northern Mexico.
6 – Deadly nightshade – Atropa belladonna – springs up now and then. Not native in North America but widely spread. I don’t try to nibble, since, as the name implies, all parts (including the bright red berries) are poisonous. Interesting that it’s in the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes and eggplants. I really do love the blue flowers so I’ll let this stay for a few days before pulling it. It’s not nearly as invasive as some other things growing around here.
Great Six. That Blanket Flower is rather nice indeed. I tend to chop off the flower stems as soon as they’ve finished flowering on my lavender and chop the plant back in spring if it’s looking a bit leggy.
Very pretty gaillardia, I don’t have mine flowered yet.
Nice clump of lavender : I always prune mine after flowering by cutting the dry flowers and a very small part of the new shoots but not too much! In spring, I cut back the dead stems. Drained soil is the key ( and no wind :I lost one )
I’m a recent convert to gaillardia, I really like them now. Lovely lone clematis, have the chipmunks gone elsewhere now, or are they still terrrorising you?
They are still terrorizing, and their taste buds now have an appreciation for rose buds, it seems, although I’m not certain how they’re clambering up the canes…😕
Wonderful, I love the English Lavendar and have no clue what to do with it..too far south for any Lavendar. We do have native Gallardia here and it comes up with all different flowers and colors. The named cultivars don’t hang around very long.
That’s what I’ve read as well….at least it self seeds amd comes back, in whatever form! Just wandering thru the garden today I counted three colour variations!
Interesting, the same here..how many things can we say that about? Gallardia and do you have Muhly Grass or Oxalis ? I have Prickly Pear Cactus another common plant..
Ha! I have purple Oxalis, in a pot in the dining room; the Prickly Pear survived winter and is looking pretty good, with new pads and what I think may be flower buds! Muhly grass…I don’t think so….
Thanks…I wonder if I should tweak the shearing dates mentioned in the article, given our frost dates are likely earlier than yours? Maybe the beginning of august instead of the second half…
Your lavender looks great, and it has been interesting to read all the comments on when to prune. I seem to kill my lavenders off at a regular rate, and I thought I was being too brutal with the pruners….. i like the Gallardias with their colour variation, but not sure if they will grow here.
I have three nice sized lavender plants near the house, where the photos were taken. I may try three different pruning methods this year and see what happens…
Avens is a pretty sweet color. It looks like Portulaca. Clematis is rad too of course.
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It is, isn’t it? Purtulaca on a 11″ stem!
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Great Six. That Blanket Flower is rather nice indeed. I tend to chop off the flower stems as soon as they’ve finished flowering on my lavender and chop the plant back in spring if it’s looking a bit leggy.
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That’s what I generally do as well. And then someone comes along, insisting it should get chopped right back every year no matter what…
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Very pretty gaillardia, I don’t have mine flowered yet.
Nice clump of lavender : I always prune mine after flowering by cutting the dry flowers and a very small part of the new shoots but not too much! In spring, I cut back the dead stems. Drained soil is the key ( and no wind :I lost one )
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That’s exactly what I do!
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I’m a recent convert to gaillardia, I really like them now. Lovely lone clematis, have the chipmunks gone elsewhere now, or are they still terrrorising you?
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They are still terrorizing, and their taste buds now have an appreciation for rose buds, it seems, although I’m not certain how they’re clambering up the canes…😕
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Just like your clematis durandii mine is lurking behind another plant! Why do they do that? The geum is gorgeous.
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I know eh? That’s why I have an old iron bed headboard thingy in that small bed – to twine the Clematis stems through it.
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Good idea!
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I’ll bet you were excited to see that clematis peeking out, Chris!
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I was!!!!
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Wonderful, I love the English Lavendar and have no clue what to do with it..too far south for any Lavendar. We do have native Gallardia here and it comes up with all different flowers and colors. The named cultivars don’t hang around very long.
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That’s what I’ve read as well….at least it self seeds amd comes back, in whatever form! Just wandering thru the garden today I counted three colour variations!
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Interesting, the same here..how many things can we say that about? Gallardia and do you have Muhly Grass or Oxalis ? I have Prickly Pear Cactus another common plant..
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Ha! I have purple Oxalis, in a pot in the dining room; the Prickly Pear survived winter and is looking pretty good, with new pads and what I think may be flower buds! Muhly grass…I don’t think so….
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Are you in Zone 5 or does that translate to Canada? We asked the cactus to leave the garden except Dragonfruit.
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A bit warmer these days, almost zone 6 perhaps. My cactus arrived when its previous caretaker feared for her dog! 😆🌵
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after flowering for the lavender, take the shears to it, cut it back hard, be brutal.
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Brutal, as in, lop off foliage as well as flower stalks?
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Yeah, brutal brutal.
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There must be an imogee for that…
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About half way.
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https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/home-garden/gardening/advice-tips/pruning/how-to-prune-lavender#:~:text=Pruning%20English%20lavender,harden%20up%20before%20winter%20comes.
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Thanks…I wonder if I should tweak the shearing dates mentioned in the article, given our frost dates are likely earlier than yours? Maybe the beginning of august instead of the second half…
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Your lavender looks great, and it has been interesting to read all the comments on when to prune. I seem to kill my lavenders off at a regular rate, and I thought I was being too brutal with the pruners….. i like the Gallardias with their colour variation, but not sure if they will grow here.
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I have three nice sized lavender plants near the house, where the photos were taken. I may try three different pruning methods this year and see what happens…
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