Worth the Wait

This azalea was on the opposite side of our yard six and a half years ago.  I moved it ... ahem ... I told my father and my husband to move it the week after I gave birth to Rosie.  For some post-partum, hormone-influenced reason, it had to happen.  In August.  During the worst drought in years.  No one dared to voice any complaint.  We had a delicate balance to maintain.

After they lifted it out of the ground, my mother directed them to a spot under the oak tree and instructed them to dig a hole large enough to accommodate the huge root ball.  She followed behind them planting all the small, spindly suckers that she had removed from around the larger azalea.  None of us thought any of them would live but why not try.

The large azalea and all the little babies have survived, and survived with style.  The spindly suckers are now 2' by 2' shrubs.   And the flowers are breathtaking.  However, this azalea family seems to have developed the biennial habit of blooming every other year.  Last year none of the transplanted azaleas bloomed.  Not one bud developed.  This year however ...





It was worth the wait.

A Final Fall Favorite: Nippon Daisy

This flower has been blooming in my garden for a good month now. It is a cheerful, sunny spot in the fall garden. However, I am struggling to keep it compact and shrubby.

I have this daisy, also called the Montauk Daisy in two spots: one part sun, one full sun. Both spots get decent moisture. Last year both were in part sun. I tried pruning them back in May in order to make it bushier and fuller. Alas, by October I had barely a bloom. The problem may not have been when I cut it back however. This site indicates that one should prune it by half in mid-summer. I wasn't sure what to do, so I moved one to a full sun spot and did not prune either.

This year, lots of blooms on the full sun daisy, but leggy and sprawling. And on the part sun daisy? Nothing ... and leggy. This week I am moving the part sun daisy into full sun and I will cut both back by 1/2 in midsummer. I want these to become small semi-evergreen shrubs in the perennial bed.

For a nice round-up of October flowers, check out Adrian Higgins' article in today's Washington Post. I think I'm going to pop by the garden store to buy some asters!

A Fall Favorite: Physostegia

By early October these vigorous bloomers (Obedient Plant) have started to fade, however they are the stars of my garden for all of September. When I say "vigorous," you know what I mean, right? Be careful where you plant them!

I devote one section of the perennial bed to them and then rip them out without mercy from everywhere else. They spread but grow well around lilies and help stake them up. Their toothy foliage makes a great backdrop and I like their shade of green in front of the zebra grass. I'd love to try the purple, white, or variegated varieties.



They thrive in sun, but handle shade as well. Physostegia has never seemed to be a picky, thirsty, or temperamental plant. So if you can spend some time controlling it's spreading -- try this out for a fall bloomer. Stop by for divisions in November, I always have some to give away!

For some beautiful October plant ideas, stop by Nancy Ondra's fabulous blog: Hayefield.

Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! Oh Pampas!

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted some of this fairy-tale-esque grass in my garden. Finally, after a spring trip to Colesville and very little attention, here are the plumes!

dwarf pampas grass (cortaderia selloana)

Her beauty makes up for the nearby "struggling border" -- next summer this wildflower patch will be alive with butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, but for now, I hope, seed, and water.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - July 2008

It's my first Bloom Day post! In my enthusiasm, I photographed every living thing in the garden. Then I had to cull. Here are the blooms that bring me joy right now. This is how I'm "praying with my eyes" and with my nose in regards to the jasmine and lilies!

I've been received some intense aromatherapy from the white oriental lilies and the jasmine by the patio. The late evening perfume is delicate yet powerfully affecting.

I found a little zinnia poking out of the crocosmia -- when will the crocosmia bloom? Must I wait much longer?

This Pentas was one of the plants I bought when blueberry picking to fill in spots after my manic culling of the ugly. I wonder if it will survive the winter since I'm not technically a zone 8, but some zone 8s winter over for me. It will be interesting to see what happens since I like having it here.




I find playing with the whites and greens so soothing in the mid-summer Virginia garden. When temps rise to over 95 degrees, the variegated foliage of the yucca and the simple whites of the phlox and the hydrangea paniculata are like a tall glass of limeade.

Before we left for our trip, I threw some old Scarlet Runner Bean seeds in the alley by the gate. They are running for sure now! Over the spent astilbe, the roses with black spot, and the struggling clematis. I'm going to do this every year, the spots of red are a nice focal point all the way in the back of the garden.

Rosie is growing these cosmos in her garden. As with the runner beans, these are old seeds from the basement fridge. What an incredible orange color.

The giant rudbeckia are a good 5 feet tall. No staking needed yet. I can't wait for the goldfinches to start flocking.

The globe thistle is fading, but it is still one of my favorite garden plants. Gorgeous in the garden and in flower arrangements, it's worth the staking. Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy the pictures!

A Spring Favorite

I was given a hardy orchid (or bletilla striata) as a pass along from my mother about 8 years ago. They've always done pretty well but I've never had a year this good. A late frost usually burns the leaves and the blooms that followed were never anything to crow about. But this year with the mild, moist winter ... oo la la!

Do you have some moist semi-shade in an area to receive some protection from a late frost? If so, this is a plant worth having.

How Green are You?
I'm greener than some, but not as much as I'd like to be! That's what I learned from the Greendex Survey. Now, unlike Garden Punks or our dear friends the Farleys, I don't think I'll ever get down to 5 kWh/day or running off solar panels (remember that big tree?). But I know that I could switch my computer off at the surge protector to stop the phantom drain and walk to pick up the kids from school more.

Luckily, being a vegetarian helps as does living in Central VA where we have delicious local fruit and vegetables (and tofu!) for most of the year. We decided not to grow veggies ourselves this summer since we belong to a great CSA (we do have alpine strawberries, blueberries, and figs in the garden). Instead we'll be focusing on putting in a great fall/winter veggies garden in August and munching on yummy homegrowns during the "off season."

Green it up, folks!