My Gardens in December 2015

December was warm considering it was supposed to be winter. We still hadn’t had a really big killing frost.

The Kitchen Garden in December 2015

Sparse, but still a few things were growing in the kitchen garden in December, due to the warm weather. I have never had as much growing this late in the season before.

 Arugula, Rainbow Chard, and Leeks.

Kale ‘Redbor.’

Rainbow Chard and Dill.

Parsley...thriving!

More Parsley, Sorrel, and Garlic Chives.

Garlic Chives and Sorrel.

The Flower Garden in December 2015

Foggy mornings were somewhat common in the garden in the warmth of December.

It was warm enough for a yellow rose or two to still be blooming!

And daffodils thought it was already spring.

There was even mint still growing outside the back door – enough to make a couple mojitos.

Also outside the back door, Oregano, Thyme, and Sage, were still green – barely touched by frost at all.

But no mistake, it WAS December.

The Christmas Ferns had their fine greenery for Christmas, hence the name.

Winnie watched over the garden, as always.

I put the leftover pumpkins from Halloween and Easter out in the garden for the squirrels to munch on. Usually they devour them, but this time they really weren’t interested.

The neighbor’s cats continued to take advantage of the warmer weather.

As did my cats!

My Flower Garden in September 2015

After months of living in a Philadelphia Flower Show bubble, I am finally coming up for air. I will post my reflections on my first year working as a PHS employee at the show, but in the meantime, I will try to catch up a bit on reflections of my garden from last year. September in the flower garden, for instance...

My flower garden is at it’s best in spring and summer, but not so much as fall approaches. However, here are some of the highlights.

I love anemone. Given that, you would think I would have tons of it in my garden, yet I don’t. I never seem to be able to find the room for more. This one is Anemone tomentosa Robustissima. I love the dark, almost black, stems with the pink flowers and fluffy-looking, yellow centers. Unfortunately, this anemone is fairly hidden in a corner of what I call my “secret garden,” so it is not often seen.  

Purple Morning Glory vines cover the arbor in late summer. The hummingbirds enjoy the flowers before they migrate away.

The pink roses in the flower garden were still hanging in there off and on until winter came. Same with the bright red Cardinal Climber vine, another hummingbird favorite.

A new addition to the late summer / early fall garden in 2015 was Ironweed. I wish I could remember if this was Vernonia noveboracensis or Vernonia gigantea, though. I can't seem to find the tag. Nevertheless, Ironweed is a native plant and a favorite of our valuable pollinators. I planted it specifically for all of my bumble bee and butterfly friends who visit my garden on a regular basis spring through fall.

Blooming in September near the Ironweed was Phlox paniculata 'David's Lavender' (which actually looks more pink here), and light pink Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana).

The white Phlox paniculata David was still blooming, as well, in September.

I don’t buy a lot of annuals for the flower garden, but when I do, they have to be long-lasting, solid performers. These two fit the bill – Melampodium Million Gold with its yellow flowers and Colorblaze Lime Time Coleus. I plant Melampodium every year. It starts out slow, but by late summer it looks full and fantastic. The key is to make sure it gets enough water. This is my first year planting the Lime Time Coleus and it flourished in this hot, sunny spot. I love the combination of these two plants together. Don’t be surprised if you see this combination pop up again in my garden.

Next to this planting was lavender and another small annual with lavender, aster-like flowers called 'Toucan Tango' Brachyscome. Toucan Tango flowered all season, however it never got very full-looking. I had temporarily moved my strainer of succulents to this pot in the garden and ended up liking it there.

Sedums are a staple of the fall garden. I have a few varieties that I planted years ago and can’t recall all of the names.

Sedums are a favorite of the bumble bees in September.

Blue Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is a reliable ground cover that gets pretty blue flowers in the late summer and fall.

 

Winding down in September is this white hydrangea that borders the kitchen garden. It has arching branches. I inherited this from the previous owner, but it seems to be some sort of Hydrangea paniculata. The flowers turn pinkish before they brown up for the winter.

Another highlight of the late summer garden is...hey, wait a minute, that's not a plant, it’s a cat. Yes, another one of my neighbor’s cats. This one is Puss. Puss loves to find different areas of the garden to nap.

Mr. Thaddeous Gnome was still tending to his sheep under the Christmas Ferns in the flower garden in September. I took some of the rotting wood with moss from my cedar trash bin and put it on Thaddeous’ roof. Never met a gnome named Thaddeous? Well there’s a first time for everything.

Not actually IN the flower garden, but near it, were my bog pots. The carnivorous Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia leucophylla) always seem happiest in September. They are still thriving when the air gets crisp and I have to bring in the pots to protect the Venus Flytraps that also call these pots home.

Many, many birds inhabit my garden. These doves decided perching on the bird feeder was a good idea during a rain shower. I personally can’t see how that was a good idea.

In order to watch the birds of the garden more closely, I moved some of the feeders to be next to the screened-in back porch. Hummingbirds and goldfinches came to visit, but only after they realized that me and my two kitties were no threat to them in our screened room. I look forward to seeing these feathery friends again this year.

Memories of May

Wow, was my last post really May 5th? I think that may be the longest I have gone without blogging. I thought when my night web design classes ended I would find myself with more free time. That wasn’t the case. I was playing catch-up with the garden like a madwoman, plus I have had one vacation and two long weekends since then. When I wasn’t away, I was working overtime at work. Feel like I am constantly trying to get back on schedule.

What was May like in the garden? Well not much as far as the Kitchen Garden was concerned since I was so late getting my seeds planted. The Flower Garden had more stuff happening, though. Here’s what it looked like.

The Flower Garden in May

Let’s take a walk through the garden gate and see what was blooming in May... 

Actually, before you walk through that gate, take a gander to the left and you’ll see my vertical garden and hanging ferns. I used this same idea here last year to dress up my fence that is falling apart.

The first thing you will notice as you walk through the gate this time of the year is the Wisteria.  You might actually smell it before you see it. I missed getting it at its peak bloom time this year. It was covered in lavender blooms, and covered with bees, as well!

I have mentioned many times that I have a love/hate relationship with Wisteria. May is love time. The rest of the year is hate. In fact, I just had to prune some Wisteria that had made its way through my upstairs window air conditioner unit into the bedroom! Yep, no lie, there was Wisteria growing in the bedroom.

The Wisteria tree didn’t do as well this year. I think maybe the tree next to it is shading it too much.

Azaleas and Clematis grow up against the shed/workshop. They are in their Sunday best in May. 

May is also baby bird time. I love watching the mommy birds feed their babies in the birdhouses that are on the shed. (Gotta fix those lights. Haven’t worked for some time now and no, they’re not leftover from Christmas. We keep them up all year round on the shed.)

The Weigela blooms in May, along with the pink Roses and Climbing Hydrangea on the arbor. Apparently cats bloom in the Flower Garden in May, as well.

I wish the arbor looked this pretty all season, but alas, it is just like this in May.

I never managed to finish pruning back my Roses this spring. I did some here and there, but not all. The Roses didn’t seem to mind too much and bloomed away, just maybe a little taller than usual. The Catmint is a true workhorse in the spring and the bees and Cabbage White butterflies love it.

I always forget about this yellow Rose until it blooms, then I can’t stop admiring it. It is a David Austin Rose called Graham Thomas.

This is another David Austin Rose called Abraham Darby.

I admit that I like Roses this time of the year, but they always start to look crappy not long after they bloom.

A view of part of the Flower Garden from the back porch steps.

Spring wouldn’t be spring without my purple Columbine.

It self-seeds, but I try to gather them up before they drop and spread them where I want them to show up the next year.

The purple Columbine plays well with this magenta Peony.

My one neighbor comments on the color of this Peony every year. He finds it amazing. It really is a bright splash of color.

One plant that didn’t do as well this year was my purple Siberian Irises. I really think they need dividing.

The bearded Pass The Wine Iris did pretty well, though.

I had planted this miniature tulip-looking bulb a few years ago – a few in the Flower Garden and a few in front of the shed. They did well this year. I wish I could remember exactly what it was called, though!

Part of the Flower Garden, as seen from the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

This is a view I don’t show very often. This is Winnie’s view of the garden (Winnie is the statue).

This is the path that I finished last year that goes from Winnie to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Rhododendron just last year, I think. It bloomed nicely this year.

It’s like I’m playing Where’s Waldo with my neighbor’s cats when I weed in the garden. You never know where you might find one. I almost weeded BJ (aka Stubby)!

Looking from the tree in the back towards the back porch.

My Tiarella Sugar and Spice (Foamflowers) did especially well this year. They are planted under the tree that is near the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Asclepia tuberos (Butterflyweed) on this side of the yard just this spring. Hoping it will attract more Monarchs.

In between the potted Boxwood are tall containers with Sweet Potato Vine and Cannas. If you look closely you’ll see a Molly growing from a pot inside the back porch. There’s and Izzy in there by the door, as well.

Here’s another shot of that Molly plant that grows on the back porch. It sure is a cute, fuzzy thing.

While we’re on the subject of pretty things on the back porch, I cut some Lily of the Valley and put it in vase on the back porch (where the girls couldn’t get to it, of course) and I loved how it filled the entire porch with its scent. Lily of the Valley is one of my mom”s favorite flowers. I can see why, with its dainty, nodding bells and marvelous fragrance.

Sage, Thyme, and Oregano grow along the edges of the porch. Makes it easy when I want some herbs with my dinner. I am also trying some Orange Mint in this area this year.

On the other side of the back steps is Chives, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint.

The Peppermint is a favorite in my iced tea and mojito!

Looking from the Kitchen Garden towards the Flower Garden.

The Kitchen Garden in May

Spinach that I planted last year! I have never had Spinach overwinter before. It still tasted good, too!

In fact, I was eating quite a bit of Spinach early in the Spring. Here I added it to my gluten-free pasta, along with tomatoes and asparagus (which were NOT from the garden).

I also had to make one of my favorite dishes, Scallops and Spinach with Gorgonzola. I posted the recipe in 2012.

One thing that comes back every year is the Sorrel. I sure do love Sorrel in my salads.

This year I made Sorrel Pesto, a new recipe from the book “Preserving By The Pint” by Food In Jars blogger Marisa McClellan. Bright and tangy and delicious.

I usually like to get my seeds planted under row covers by mid-April at the latest. This year it was more like the end of April - beginning of May. Much too late, if you ask me. April 23rd was my last night web design class of my certificate, which was a week later than it should’ve been due to snow earlier in the semester. I was so busy finishing my last project that I got behind with my gardening schedule by about two weeks or more. Therefore, things seem to be slow to come up this year - other than that Spinach and Sorrel, that is. 

My neighbor’s cats didn’t seem to care that I was behind with my gardening chores. They also didn’t seem to realize that the hose was on a timer and about to go off...

The Columbine and Peony in the Flower Garden seemed to be trying to hide the fact that there wasn’t much growing in the nearby Kitchen Garden yet. Thanks, guys!

There was stuff growing in there, I promise.

I have learned from my experience this year. I will never be so late getting my seeds planted in my Kitchen Garden ever again. I hope...I seriously hope...