Six on Saturday – 17SEP2022 – last Weekend of Summer

Just…heavy sigh…

I was trying for an action shot of the bumble bee…then I noticed the latest pest to make a home in my garden – the spotted asparagus cucumber beetle. I’m not sure what it’s doing in this New England Aster, but its relatives are loving a nearby rose and King Tut grass…

Goldenrod with (foreground) and without (background) a mid June Chelsea Chop. None of the goldenrod in my yard has been planted – it just pops up in any bare patch of soil it finds. The Chelsea Chop, if you didn’t know, is the cutting back of some flowers at the end of spring/beginning of summer. It encourages branching which produces more flowers, and for really tall plants, like these and like some Asters and some annuals, it prevents them from getting tall, gangly and falling over. Problem is, perhaps just for goldenrod, the resulting flowers are only about half the size, volume wise, as those left un-chopped.

I don’t know the name of this floppy white aster, it’s another plant that just appears where it wants. It sends out roots that sprout into new branches at an incredible rate – without consistent pulling it would quickly overtake any garden setting it shows up in. Very pretty though, like baby’s breath almost, and bees love it.

Clematis texensis ‘Gravetye Beauty’ – one last go at it. We’re expecting temperatures in the low twenties for the next few weeks, with nights in the mid teens; these two buds will likely have time to bloom; that is, if the earwigs or asparagus beetles don’t eat them up first.

I planted two Pelagorums in an urn in late May. They’ve flowered non stop since them, as they were expected to, in salmon and peach shades that I quite like. Although it would be easy enough to store them in the basement over winter, it would mean re-potting them and then finding a spot for them in early spring amongst the tomatoes and peppers under the grow lights. Not sure it’s worth it…

Mid September and the Big Blue Salvia (Salvia longispicata x farinacea) I started from seed mid-March have finally decided to start blooming! I really liked them last year – these were started from seeds collected almost exactly a year ago – and will try to grow them again so will need to buy fresh seed as I doubt there is time for these to ripen before our mid to late October hard frosts.

Every Saturday Jon, The Propagator, invites gardeners around the world to showcase six things in their gardens. This week I predict you’ll see daffodils in New Zealand, semi-tropicals in northern France, full tropicals in south Florida as well as loads of luscious yet fading blooms in Great Briton. Have a great weekend everyone!