Catching up 2

A sunny border of Perovskia Russian sage, Sedum Autumn Joy, orange annual cosmos and yellow chrysanthemum just about to bloom.

The moon flower was worth the wait this year. Here it is trailing through a climbing rose around the paper lantern.

                                         Moon flower by moonlight in late September.

Catching Up

A short tour through the 2013 gardening season, beginning with the Jack-in-the pulpit, transplanted from New England, which took two years to bloom.

  

Then the mist of forget-me-nots which seeded themselves nicely, wrapping the little stone owl in blue.

Purple allium, yellow pansies in a pot, bleeding heart just blooming.

These bright tulips took advantage of the early spring sun in the back of the border which gets total shade in summer.

 The bronze cat guards a late May tangle of grape hyacinth, sweet woodruff, pulmonaria and ferns.

A tree peony flowering behind the bench.

Clematis

By June the forget-me-nots are still blooming. In back of them are two large-leaved wild mullein which seeded themselves nicely along the path from the arch.

In the shade garden the wonderful maidenhair fern, and to the right the dark, glossy leaves of European ginger which I am hoping will spread, forming a carpet (will take a few years probably).

 More shade garden views

 Late June purple Japanese iris, echinacea, phlox paniculata and geranium"Wargrave pink."

July sunny border

Late July explosion of Monarda,  Echinacea, and day lilies

The blue is agapanthus in big pots which live in the garage in the winter.

Cyclamen

 Last winter I received a lovely cyclamen, filled with blooms. It was happy in a North facing window, blooming for several months. I was determined to have it bloom another year so once the mild weather arrived I let it slowly dry out under a table in the garden. All the leaves fell off and the corm, the bulb-like structure that stores its food and produces the leaves and blooms, rested unwatered until early fall. I brought it into a cool dark place and watered just a bit - and waited. After several weeks a little curled up leaf emerged. I brought the plant into the house by a north facing window. Weeks went by and more leaves unfurled. Then in early December tiny buds emerged. I continued to water sparingly, careful not to let the soil get soggy which would rot the corms, putting stones on the bottom of the dish so extra water would drain out.

By the beginning of February the buds began to slowly open. Definitely worth the wait I think. I like how it looks in its second year. Fewer blooms giving the whole plant a more delicate, natural feeling. Cyclamen hederifolium can be grown as a perennial outdoors in warmer climates where it will spread under trees.