There was a time when I felt my August gardens didn't have a lot to offer and we would generally travel during that time just before my returning to the fall semester of teaching. I no longer feel like being away from the garden in August is a good thing. Annuals of course are a big part of the color, but there are a number of other plants that make August special. Today I will continue with my 2010 log, covering only two days... August 1st and 2nd...
The addition of hydrangeas is a big part of what makes August work these days... Unique is pictured below. I have a number of hydrangeas and am following the advice of other bloggers by cutting them back this past fall... I'm very anxious to see how that works out for me!
A second plant choice that has brought a great deal of interest to the August gardens are the hardy hibiscus... we are blessed not to have the Japanese beetles thus far... I'm not certain how these blowsy blooms will hold up to them if they ever do make it it here...
Finally, the few hardy altheas I've discovered add a lot to August as well...
Here's a shot from one of those misty mornings that occur so often in these parts...
And here is the cottage garden with annuals such as alyssum, petunias, and zinnias. Note the spellbound series of impatiens in two colors (white and pink). I've found that these do best with a lot of sun as long as they don't get too dry... they are quite amazing in sun but where used in shade I found them to be a bit disappointing...
August is always brightened up with lots of Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'... I find this does ok in areas where there is dry soil from tree competition and I try to mass it in such a situation...
The following two photos feature the bright red blooms of one of my favorite cannas, Black Knight... We decided that as part of our need to cut back on work, we would not dig these this past fall. As it turned out, we had a six foot drift over them all winter and I'm very anxious to see it this will prove to be enough insulation for them to come back...
The following picture shows the salmon blooming spellbound impatiens which worked quite well with the hydrangeas but obviously not the pink phlox...
I will close this post with a few more photos from these first two days of August this past season... note one of my favorite hardy hibiscus... 'Lord Baltimore'. I should also point out the lavendar petunias which were used as ground cover are 'Tidal Wave Silver'... Larry
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