A Walk through the Back Yard Gardens
On a mid-August morning I went for a walk in the back garden, enjoying the flower beds, vegetable gardem rockeries, and borders. Along the way I took a few photos, some of which are a shared here.
I collected coneflower seeds (Rudbeckia hirta) in the fall. In late winter I stratified the seed and after 4 weeks I planted the seeds into flats. After some growth time, they were transplanted into small pots. Some were planted into the vegetable garden (rows of young perennials are also developing there). In late spring many were planted into flower beds. The first ones were flowering in August. Some are still in pots and may be overwintered in the vegetable garden, and some may be planted in the fall.
Rudbeckia is a herbaceous perennial in the asteraceae family. Sometimes called brown-eyed Susan, it is valued for its bright display and long-blooming periods. We will enjoy these until the frosts of fall.
Crane’s-bill is a low-growing perennial on the front part of a perennial border. It flowers over a long period of time. If we deadhead the spent blooms, we get a later summer bloom. There are many varieties of crane’s-bill, some of which are award winners. Ashy crane’s-bill (Geranium cinereum) is a group of varietals that are native to the Pyreenees. It flowers off-and-on from spring to the fall and is easy to care for. It can be propagated by basal cuttings or divisions. We will do that in early spring.
Our tall honeysuckle vine (Lonerica flava) flowered in late spring. We deadheaded and did some light pruning and we were pleased to have some branches come back to provide more flowers in late summer. Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to the flowers, which are rich in nectar. Our vine grows up a trellis to top of the deck. It sheds its leaves in the fall, when we do a cleanup. It is easy to care for, but we give it a deep root watering in the summer heat. Orange honeysuckle (Lonerica ciliosa) is native to our area, found in middle elevation mixed forests.
Moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora) is an annual in the succulent family that thrives in sunny and hot conditions. We have several planted in gravelly soil with partial shade, but it has flowered continuously all summer. We have plants with pink, crimson, orange, yellow, whitish, and purple flowers. We deadhead and collect seeds for planting next spring, but the plants may self-seed and form a ground cover on a rockery slope.
Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflora) is a striking compact plant that provides bell/star-shaped blue flowers in succession. It is maintenance free if given the right location and the usual routines of care. The plants are a bit late to emerge, so marking the spot helps.
We have quite a few clematis vines growing up trellises in several areas. The rule of thumb for clematis is heads in the sun and feet in the shade,. We provide some shade and mulch for the roots and we do a deep water twice a month. This varietal is Clematis “Prince Charles”, a late blooming vine with pale blue-mauve flowers, pale yellow anthers and dark green foliage. It is a type 3 clematis, which we prune in early spring.
We plant scarlet runner beans (Phaceolus coccineus) around cages and a central pole. The beans make a tower and their red flowers makes a showy display. We don’t often eat the large beans, but we harvest them for next year’s planting. The young leaves, flowers, and the young beans are all edible. A must for the garden.
We have a garden bed that is only for annual flowers. Usually this means gazanias, marigolds, and zinnias. Gazanias are easy to grow and provide continuous flowering until the first frost. We deadhead to encourage flowering and it is an irrigated zone, but otherwise is maintenance free, but always stunning.
My next walk through the garden will feature other plants, with posts about 3x a month. Please check back for the next tour.
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