We’ve had several frosts now (Indian Summer, where are you?) so the garden is a mishmosh of dead and alive right now. Some things are looking great and so much else is looking terrible.
I’ve been trying to take some mental notes for the future. I went heavier on the annuals this year than I would have liked, in part because I hadn’t decided what I wanted to plant in some areas, but the downside of that is that the garden looks really quite terrible right now. The annuals that are continuing to withstand the frosts are getting gold stars and mental notes for future years.
Verbena bonariensis, which I grew from seed, is still looking good (even with a little Halloween flare thanks to the cobwebs).
And good old Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’ is still doing its thing. As though I needed a reason to love that plant any more than I already do.
Vermillionaire cuphea was so wonderful again this year (planted en masse to woo the hummingbirds, a mission that was quite successful), but it has pooped out with the cold. But Artemisia Makana Silver, a new plant from Terranova Nurseries that will be available next year, is just fine and, damn, it’s a looker.
The coleus, of course, is absolutely pathetic. If I don’t find time to pull it out soon I might lose my mind.
And the dahlias are so sad.
Thank goodness for hydrangeas, the floral stars of fall.
But a few plants have both newer white flowers and blooms turning pink.
The new Japanese maple (I made a video about planting it and redoing the bed it’s in that you can watch here or at the bottom of this post) hasn’t started changing color, but I was surprised to find a very cold monarch butterfly in it the other day. Poor guy was trying to warm his wings, but I fear he may be starting his journey to Mexico way too late.
And of course the monkshood is just starting to really get into its bloom now. It’s so beautiful but I don’t dare bring it inside because it’s highly poisonous and I don’t want to take any chances with the cat or dog.
Whenever the the garden looks a bit unsavory, I can always just look up for a dose of color.
What’s the state of your garden these days?
Here’s that Japanese maple video:
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