September Blooms....

I was going to run around and snap pictures of my blooms . Then I realized it would be mostly Asters  ! Sorry Asters  I do appreciate you.
So, instead I have two new blooms from my resent trip to Cistus nursery ! They are still in pots , which is highly unusual , I like to get things in the ground straight away  !
Monardella macrrantha 'Marion Sampson' , I'm not sure where Marion would be happy yet ! She likes VERY  good drainage
But likes a little drink in summer. Zone 7 , so no problem . 

Salvia pachyphylla also still in it's pot , I'm really slacking ....
Happy Gardeners Blooms day !
Thank you Carole  at May Dreams Gardens.

September in the garden...

September is always a much better gardening month in my dry garden. For one thing I can rest the sprinklers and  watering cans a bit. Though it's been awful windy and with only one day of rain in  (my neighbor  says sixty days ) seems like longer.  

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I was just about to dead head some of the Fennel  seed heads , then I noticed it was full of tiny birds .

The best plant in the world ! Helene Von Stein has had not a drop of water.

I'm not sure Rosie's that impressed with my efforts . I think she would  prefer a lawn .

 A  big green  lawn would be much nicer !

These are my happy Panicum grasses . On the South/West  side  Miserable dry Panicum will shortly be joining  them.

Rodgersia has had enough of this heat , wind , SMOKE , no rain summer ! I  yanked most of the crispy leaves out , I think the rest will  go tomorrow .  

The tan and white cat taking it's leave . No joy on the hunt today !

September also allows me to plant up this nice big bare patch .

Late summer seed sowing...

On one of the too hot to be outdoors that we have had recently. I stayed in and scanned all my favorite seed sites for late summer /Autumn seeds to sow.  I ordered quite a few .                                                                                            Antirrhinum majus'Tetra mixed' was simple , just sow on damp compost , but in a polytene bag  and set in 68 to 86f temps. It's been too hot out side some of the time so I kept them indoors .
I now have a pot of Snapdragons !
Erysimum cheir "blood red' was next ,  it likes even cooler temps , so indoors they stayed . These came up in only a few days !
Eryngium varlifolium 'Miss marble' needed the chill , so it's been in the fridge for 3 weeks .
Alstroemeria ligtu needed the chill as well, it's had it's fridge time, now it needs 70f , so too hot out doors this week ,  on to the windowsill for you. too.  Looks like it could take a month to germinate. I've heard they do not like to be disturbed Echinacea paradoxa 'Yellow coneflower' went directly on moist soil , but they may need to that chill if they refuse to come out soon ...or I could just wait till it get cold out .

August in the garden...

You can just make out the sprinkler in the photo . I had hoped I wouldn't need to water much this summer. We had plenty of rain this winter . I didn't plant many new things this spring . But, when the rain stopped and the temperature kept raising  and raising for god nows how long now . I find myself sprinkling , or carrying watering cans all day , everyday . 

I got fed up with this area under the plum tree . So, the other day I dug out all the E. 'Miss Wilmots' . I enjoy her in the sunny open areas of the garden. But here she takes over , and then turns silver, which is nice . It's when she too early goes autumnal. I'm not ready !
So, I'm looking for new plants....

'Miss Wilmot' can stay here. She fits in , it's all golden .

The shade garden did pretty well though the heat. I do turn the sprinkler on every day for a short time though. I 've been cutting things back and pulling spent bloomers out .  

My big dry sunny area I cleared of lawn two years ago , has filled in nicely . I've had to dig up and save a few suffering plants . 'Miss Wilmot' you are welcome here as well.

My corner with all the recovering ... I hope. Plants that I've saved from heat exhaustion.

Back to my mother's garden..

I did a post on my mother's garden many years ago. I think she had just turned eighty.  She's now ninety!
 The garden upkeep was becoming  to much.
Well I found her a great hands on gardener , and he managed to keep things from getting out of hand .
Unfortunately he's now buggered off to North Dakota! .  

So , I am once again head gardener ! So much to do , Those islands are full of"Ugly grass" ...ugh .

The Landscapers have not been trimming the edges when they mow the lawn.

My mother likes to strangle the Crocosmia  1

Her obsession is clover in the grass . I'm sure she had the gardener spend all his time picking it out of the lawn.

She is  a master at bare hand snatch and pull  that dead stuff !

This is what I've been working on...digging out all the "ugly grass". Claggy clay soil is not so easy, especially when wet !
My brother won't be pleased...he just pressure washed the patio .

This was my first job !  I should have taken a before photo.
It was full of "ugly grass". So I lifted all the stones out , they're only moulded cement blobs , not to heavy.
 Down went weed fabric this time round , I'm not messing with this again ! Looking at this picture, I need to move a few of those stones around !

July in Bloom .

We were sitting out last night, when I reminded Philip of todays Bloom day. His first reaction was "You've got shit loads!"
Then as he scanned around ..."Oh you're  F...ked "
I 'd just spend the day pulling and cutting down all the early bloomers, which leaves me short till the Asters and Heleniums     . 

Still there are plenty of blooms . The first of the pint sized Glads.  from 'Old house bulbs' . This must be 'bibi' .

Looks like : Heleniums, Echinacea , Eryngium agavefolium, Bronze fennel, Feather grass  and my mother's Phlox. 

Eryngium "Miss Wilmotts Ghost' with Inula Orientalis and Asclepias tuberosa . Not sure how that combination came about .

      A collapsing Santolina with Allium sphaerocephalon . 

My camera battery ran out , so lastly Echinacea pallida , which I grew from seed a few years ago and has really taken off.

The garden this morning..

After the boom, boom of last night. There was peace in the garden early this morning .

I've been lacking big projects this summer.

Then I decided the old Philadelphus should go.