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| Tie Dye hardy Hibiscus |
I knew taking a 3000 mile road trip would take a toll on the gardens... this is especially true because we haven't had appreciable rain since June. There has been a tenth of an inch a couple of times and on July 21st we got 3/10ths. I'm trying to get moisture to all the plants, but as they say, I'm falling "behinder and behinder"!
It has been in the 90's and the wind has been blowing hard... the wind made the Welsh Hymn Sing that Sarah and I were involved yesterday bearable since the little country church has no air conditioning, but it did do a number on the gardens... it could be worse... (Beth and Ron...are you out there? Is it true that you are expecting 104 degrees in DesMoines on Tuesday?!) Tonight I found lady ferns totally collapsed from being too dry and I am back to 24 hours of watering daily, along with trusting that our shallow 100 year old plus well holds up.
It's ok though, this has been such an intense garden season that I really need to get to other things... it doesn't take long to move hoses about and hopefully I won't lose too many plants.
Since I didn't do a lot of annuals this season, there isn't a great amount of bloom in the gardens now that the end of August has arrived. Perhaps my favorite blooms just now are on the hardy hibiscus called Tie Dye. Here are a few more pictures of this excellent plant...
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| Lord Baltimore hardy Hibiscus |
One plant that's not minding the heat and dry is Verbena bonariensis. It self seeds all over the place and is simple to remove where necessary... great for hummingbirds and especially butterflies...
I picked up a new Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' yesterday. The beauty of this plant is threefold... beautiful mature form, purple upright cones, and especially the silvery white reflexed needles that show on much of the growth, especially the new growth. This is my 3rd attempt although the first two trees aren't dead. After considering all the possible reasons why they may not thrive here, I've landed on drainage issues... I suspect our soil is too heavy since I've seen marvelous specimens situated in zone 4 with full sun... I've tried the full sun and we are warmer than zone 4. This one will go into the amended sandy bed...
The dinner plate dahlias are just coming on and some plants are an amazing nine feet in height. Also there are vinca's in the 'Cora' series that are doing better since we got dry. The marigolds in some cases have withered and dried up, but there are still numerous healthy examples. Following are a few shots of some of what remains for color this season...
The dinner plate dahlias are just coming on and some plants are an amazing nine feet in height. Also there are vinca's in the 'Cora' series that are doing better since we got dry. The marigolds in some cases have withered and dried up, but there are still numerous healthy examples. Following are a few shots of some of what remains for color this season...
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Seed started Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer' provides reliable and rich color in August and September
Rust on hollyhocks... there are some years that are worse than others and this is the first time I've observed it on the short cultivar 'Fiesta Time'. Our wet, cool, and moist conditions through the end of June are most likely responsible for the problem and the fungal spores move about on the air. Plants such as velvet weed which are affected, as well as other hollyhock relatives, abound on the farm land around us so totally eradicating the situation is unlikely. I'll be sure to move some seeds to areas at some distance from where the plants are growing now and provide as much air circulation as possible for next season. At one point I had severe rust problems on my 'Jack In The Pulpits' and the solution was to allow new plants from seed and totally destroy all mature plants that had the problem. That was several years ago and I now have a healthy stand of Arisaema. Beyond that there is little than I will try to do. In the case of hollyhocks I have found that areas can improve over time (a few years) if the diseased plants are removed and healthy hollyhocks can once again bloom in those parts of the gardens. I was surprised at all the hollyhocks growing in yards in Sheridan, Wyoming when we were there last week... but consider the climate... very windy, hot, and very dry... hollyhock heaven! Note the rust pustules on the foliage of 'Fiesta Time' pictured below...  I've switched out the petunias and calibrachoas with the Calliope Dark Red pelargoniums and really like the look with Oak Lawn's blue... maintenance is easier with these geraniums also and I plan on using them heavily in the future...    Limelight Hydrangea...  After a slow start this season due to a bad case of clematis wilt last year, the supposedly disease resistant Clematis viticella 'Venosa Violacea' has come back nicely... the secret to surviving wilt is of course to plant the crown 2-3" beneath the soil surface, from which it can send fresh shoots...  I have a sense that the gardens would be blooming much better were it not for our present heat wave and long standing dry period, but as I've noted before... it's ok... even obsessive gardeners have other things to do so the break is welcome... Larry |
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