And...goodbye August and hello September! Where did summer go? I only wish summer had been as long as our winter was. I feel like the summer season went by in the blink of an eye. And I am not sure for you, but for me it feels like my garden never quite settled into a growing cycle-- it was as if it was playing catch up all summer long, thanks to a winter season that extended into early May. This is probably why, unintentionally, it seems that the majority of my gardening this year has been in containers. Which is not something I have done much since I lived in an apartment many years ago. But here we are, and it all seems to be working out.
So, what has been happening in the growing department. The containers in my front porch really suffered towards the middle of august with the heat wave we had and this week I replanted a few of them. I have two flower beds in the railings of our porch that were beautiful most of the summer but the sun killed some of the flowers. The heat was too much, and so I added some additional greenery for a lush look. I added ‘Aurea’ Gold Moneywort (also known as Golden Creeping Jenny) for some contrast and because of the hanging growing habit. This one I know I will have to probably thin out or divide as it grows. I also added Beacon Silver Dead Nettle also for contrast with it’s silvery leaves with green edges.
In a larger container I added some transition flowers, including two Kamome Red (Flowering Kale) which will change colors as the weather gets cooler, and the coolest ornamental pepper plant that will fill in nicely the size of the pot.
When I lived in NC I had an entire fence covered in ‘Confederate’ jasmine that I got as a small plant and it was the most amazing thing to sit out in the yard on a summer night and the scent of the jasmine just surrounded you. That little plant grew incredibly fast and healthy. Here in Minnesota, it is a bit harder to grown it but I have a small one in a pot that really is just ‘meh’. Its healthy but I’m not sure what is happening. It flowered once and then stopped, so I have to do more research. Can you tell this was a “on a whim purchase”?
But without a doubt, the queens of my garden this year are the roses. Holy obsession! This was my first year growing roses and I was freaking out when it came time to plant bare roots. I knew that is what I would get but I still freaked out when I received them. Thankfully, David Austin provides fantastic detailed instructions on how to plant them.
I chose to plant them in containers because while they say they’re hardy up to zone 4, I do not think that means Minnesota zone 4 where it typically get to -18F in the winter. This will allow me to bring them into a protected area when winter comes. This has brought me much joy this growing season and I feel an obsession coming. As my husband rhetorically asked me: “this isn’t going to stop at three rose plants, is it?”
Alnwick
Scepter'd Isle
And while the roses are thriving, the ones not doing too hot are the dahlias, especially the light colored ones. They are getting eaten by corn root beetles. They are getting destroyed. And it is only the light colored ones. They have come to the darker ones but its minimal damage. So, I’m wondering if I am destined to a life without light colored dahlias.
I also found slugs in the plants for the first time in three years… so yes, they’re giving me a headache. I am seriously considering if I want to grow them again next year. We will see. But for now they continue to grow and will continue well into the end of fall/early winter.
And this is the state of my gardening as we approach the end of summer. How are your gardens doing?
There is change you can find me in these link-up by other fantastic plant lovers: August Garden Party, In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, Garden Blogger's Bloom Day (15th of the Month), Home Sweet Home, Floral Bliss, Home and Garden Thursday, End of Month View(31st of the Month), Harvest Monday, Blooming Friday, #MyGloriousGardens, Gardens Galore, Six on Saturday, Pink Saturday, Sundays At Home