So, September 1 arrived on Wednesday, and it was like a switch had been flipped. The torridly hot and humid days experienced all August magically disappeared and instead we were greeted with simple, warm days and lovely, easy to sleep in, cool nights. The only worrying thing, weather-wise, is the lack of rain. And I know I shouldn’t even mention that, given what our American neighbours not too far south have recently experienced, but gardeners, like farmers, like to talk about the weather, and my rain barrels are almost empty. That means about the only things looking decent right now are my tomatoes (planted deeply and well mulched) and a few things growing in pots. Every Saturday Jon ‘The Propagator‘ invites gardeners to share six things happening in their garden. Here are mine, with a bonus Zinnia as my featured photo this week. Just ’cause.
This gorgeous Fimbriata Begonia is in a hanging basket on the back porch.
This is Calibrachoa hybrid – ‘Superbells Evening Star’ – growing in a pot. They’re like a mini petunia, and have been blooming all summer. Well, except for a period at the beginning of August when they started to die, and I realized the pot needed daily watering. They rebounded quite well from that episode!
This Gerbera daisy has REALLY enjoyed the hot, humid summer. In July , when it was wet and not hot, it struggled.
These Coleus have been pretty happy in mostly shade along the driveway, even if I’m very lax with watering.
Not in a pot, but I have a two square metre (about 20 square feet) pebbly patch chock full of Sempervivum. Of COURSE they’re happy!
This row of goldenrod (Solidago) doesn’t look so bad, growing along the driveway. They’re right alongside large, very thick, flat limestone slabs which may be helping keep the soil cool and a bit moist. Goldenrod growing not too far away isn’t nearly as happy looking.
That’s my six for this Labour Day long weekend Saturday – stay safe everyone!
Sempervivium performs well in your climate?! I do not think of it as something that tolerates hard frost, or long winters. Ours can rot if it stays too damp for too long.
Yes, good drainage is required, but it doesn’t mind being covered in a few feet of snow. I have a few varieties, with different shaped leaves and pinches of pink/red, in that pebbly patch but the common green ones have just exploded with growth this year.
To me, snow is comparable to frost. I do not consider it to be insulation from the worst of frost damage. Goodness, the climate of your region is SO harsh.
Lovely ziniia photo! We have the same Golden Rod here… our native one struggles to compete. But I love it, as it symbolises the onset of my favourite season. 😃 Have a great holiday weekend!
Your Sempervivum patch is lovely! I hope mine do as well, though wet is my problem not cold. But my envy is that Zinnia. What a beauty! And as always I love to see your beautiful photos Chris. Enjoy your long weekend!
Interesting you have Goldenrod there, too. Coleus continues to amaze me as well. It is not cool here at all, October might flip the switch. Gorgeous Begonia.
I find Calibrochoa very rewarding, and they do last a lot longer than petunias! Gerbera are also one of my favourites, and now-a-days there are so many colours and types to choose from. Mine do not mind wet conditions too much as long as they are in soil that allows water to drain away. The golden rod look amazing.
Also interesting is that the purple Calibrachoa is blooming like crazy, while a yellow one, planted in the same pot, has withered and died. Mysterious….
Actually, I have also found that the purples seem to be stronger plants. The white ones I planted out did not do as well as the purple ones I had the previous year.
Lovely mix of colours in the coleus pot.
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I’m surprised how huge the leaves have become, and how little water the pot has needed. I imagine having it in the shade has helped on both counts.
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I didn’t know the Calibrachoa, thanks for sharing. I don’t know if they would succeed here and multiply like petunias by volunteer seedlings.
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I’m not sure either – I bought these as plants in pots and am happy they’ve kept blooming. Petunias usually look horrible for me by mid summer.
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Sempervivium performs well in your climate?! I do not think of it as something that tolerates hard frost, or long winters. Ours can rot if it stays too damp for too long.
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Yes, good drainage is required, but it doesn’t mind being covered in a few feet of snow. I have a few varieties, with different shaped leaves and pinches of pink/red, in that pebbly patch but the common green ones have just exploded with growth this year.
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To me, snow is comparable to frost. I do not consider it to be insulation from the worst of frost damage. Goodness, the climate of your region is SO harsh.
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LOL!!
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I really love the Sempervivum pebbly patch 🙂
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Low maintenance!
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Lovely ziniia photo! We have the same Golden Rod here… our native one struggles to compete. But I love it, as it symbolises the onset of my favourite season. 😃 Have a great holiday weekend!
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Thanks Cathy! I usually love autumn but the shift in temperature was so abrupt this year…I’m still shivering!
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I just have to give a special nod to that begonia. Red and ruffly is a great combination.
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It took a while but it was worth the wait. Nice that it’s at eye level as well!
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Autumn does seem to have arrived abruptly this year. The red begonia is spectacular, the semps subtly beautiful.
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Thanks! The begonia is hanging right by the back door – makes me happy when I out!
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The zinnia is great – I love the colors in it! The heat disappeared here, too, and we finally had some rain.
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Yaay for rain! We may see a titch tomorrow…fingers crossed!
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Your Sempervivum patch is lovely! I hope mine do as well, though wet is my problem not cold. But my envy is that Zinnia. What a beauty! And as always I love to see your beautiful photos Chris. Enjoy your long weekend!
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Thanks so much! Hope your
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…weekend is great as well
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Interesting you have Goldenrod there, too. Coleus continues to amaze me as well. It is not cool here at all, October might flip the switch. Gorgeous Begonia.
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I love how summer is bracketed by swaths of yellow daffodils and then swaths of yellow goldenrod!
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No Daffodils here! love the idea. Seems strange we have Goldenrod.
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I find Calibrochoa very rewarding, and they do last a lot longer than petunias! Gerbera are also one of my favourites, and now-a-days there are so many colours and types to choose from. Mine do not mind wet conditions too much as long as they are in soil that allows water to drain away. The golden rod look amazing.
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Also interesting is that the purple Calibrachoa is blooming like crazy, while a yellow one, planted in the same pot, has withered and died. Mysterious….
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Actually, I have also found that the purples seem to be stronger plants. The white ones I planted out did not do as well as the purple ones I had the previous year.
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