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Friday Finds, Garden, Plants

Friday Finds: Moments in the garden

August 31, 2018

Serkan dahlias and Nicotiana

Well here we are, on the eve of Labor Day weekend in the U.S., the date many people think of as the end of summer. Well there will be none of that here! The garden is still going strong (although everything is a little beat up after our heavy rains) and I have a lot of “real” gardening left to do, including some planting if I can find the plants. Heck, the sad fact is I still have not gotten a ripe tomato out of my vegetable garden since everything was planted so late. If you think I’m going to call it quits on summer before I eat a ripe tomato out of my garden you are sorely mistaken.

And there are still some lovely moments in the garden, a few of which I’m sharing here because they aren’t anything more complicated than that. Just nice things I’m seeing when I stroll through my garden.

I’ve been growing Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’ from seed for several years and for the first time it is starting to pop up in unexpected places, having sown itself around. It is dead easy to pull (or smother with mulch) where I don’t want it, but it’s always fun to see where such things land. And this plant that popped up in the path to the garage has charmed me into earning it’s spot this year.

Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' self sown in path

Another spot in the garden bringing me joy is a section of the circle garden that has filled in quite nicely. Here I grow Bobo hydrangeas, Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ and a lovely spreading coleus whose name I cannot recall. I could only find about five plants, which is not really enough for such a big area, so I pinched off a few branches and just stuck them in the ground. It’s hardly a fail-safe way of propagating plants, but coleus is pretty easy to grow and I figured it might work. It was a good bet as you can see from how this section worked out. 

Bobo hydrangea, Hakonechloa 'All Gold' and coleus

With the abundance of dahlias this year, I’ve been playing around with bouquets, including this one with ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘Creighton Honey’ dahlias with Thai basil flowers. It might be my favorite of the summer. 

Labyrinth and Creighton Honey dahlias

Speaking of basil, I planted three ‘Wild Magic’ basils that I ordered from Annie’s Annuals in July, just to test it out. I’m completely enamored and will absolutely grow this again next year (although I’ll seek out seeds so I can inexpensively grow it in mass quantities). I haven’t tasted it yet; it’s all about its ornamental properties for me.

'Wild Magic' basil

And this next bit is just for fun. I needed a backdrop for a photo for a giveaway on Instagram (stay tuned to my Instagram for that) and I raided the ‘Serkan’ dahlias. The next thing I knew I had cut a bunch of flowers, picked a few Nicotiana flowers and I was making a flower “quilt” out of them. It was so pretty I left it on the outdoor side table for a few days. 

Serkan dahlias and Nicotiana That’s it for bits and bobs from my garden. I’m looking forward to the long weekend, which will certainly involve some gardening and hopefully filming a video tour of the garden, because I’ve been a bit lax on the YouTube videos this summer. 

What’s on your agenda for the long weekend?

basil circle garden dahlias Friday finds garden
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
12 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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previous post: To a gardener, the sound of rain on the roof brings complicated feelings
next post: Three water systems to establish new plantings

Comments

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says: August 31, 2018 at 5:55 am

    The shot of your circle garden is looking good. I really like your litttle bouquet of dahlias. I always think it is fun when plants pop up where you least expect them. We have had no rain lately so I am not doing anything in the garden but watering.

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: August 31, 2018 at 10:41 am

      Still no rain for you? I’m sorry, that’s a real drag. I’m not sure which is worse: not enough rain or too much rain. Can’t it just be the perfect amount all the time? That’s not too much to ask, is it?

      Reply
  2. Kristin says: August 31, 2018 at 6:36 am

    We are heading to Denver to celebrate our son’s birthday with him and to move him from his summer housing to his University apartment. No gardening for us, but planning to hike and to go to the gorgeous Denver Botanic Gardens.

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: August 31, 2018 at 10:40 am

      Sounds like a busy weekend, but fun too. Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Kathy Menold says: August 31, 2018 at 7:53 am

    I wish more pop up plants would show up around my garden. I always have lots of poppies,cosmos and dark purple perilla along with black eyed Susan vine and a few Mexican sunflowers but would love if some of my salvia and nicotianas would self seed . I think it is such fun to find these little free plants.

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: August 31, 2018 at 10:40 am

      It is fun to see what pops up where. For some reason it has taken a number of years for the Nicotiana to start seeding itself around. The Verbena bonariensis does it well, but I often end up weeding it out accidentally.

      Reply
  4. Misti says: August 31, 2018 at 8:37 am

    No gardening for me this weekend despite it being sorely needed. Beach weekend!

    Have a great long weekend!

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: August 31, 2018 at 10:39 am

      The beach calls! That is a great excuse to not do any gardening. Enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Linda Brazill says: August 31, 2018 at 12:09 pm

    A fabulous Friday post. That basil is gorgeous and I need to think about maybe trying it. Wish those things could self seed here. And your bouquet and flower quilt are stunning. That quilt in particular is worth copyrighting!

    Reply
  6. Kristin says: September 4, 2018 at 8:38 am

    I love the coleus bed- that is gorgeous and it is obviously very happy there! I have grown Cafe Lait dahlias the last two years and have yet to get a bloom. I usually start them in pots in my greenhouse in late March and the best one I have is quite large but no blooms yet- any secret?

    Reply
  7. Maggie Morish says: September 8, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    I hope you and your family had a nice long weekend. That one Nicotiana of yours did an excellent job of helping itself get settled. It really is funny and interesting when plants grow somewhere you don’t remember planting them especially when they find their perfect spots.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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I had a rather unpleasant realization last night w I had a rather unpleasant realization last night when I remembered that I’d not yet ordered tomato seeds. And I’m not going to rectify that until I dig into my seed stash, because I don’t go through tomato seeds quickly so there are definitely some lurking down there. 

I never used to grow tomatoes from seed because there are great varieties to be had in garden centers (including many heirloom varieties). But it’s almost non-negotiable for me now that I’m a convert to dwarf tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with the #dwarftomatoproject championed by @nctomatoman and others, these are heirloom varieties that are crossed with dwarf varieties to create plant that produces all the flavor and interest of an heirloom in a short (usually less than 4 feet) plant. 

They are particularly great in my tall raised beds. Of course I leave room to try new non-dwarf varieties every year (I loved Sun Dipper from @panamseed last year and I’ll grow it again).

Last year was a good tomato year and the photo shows some of the varieties I harvested in one day. I hope this summer will be equally good for the tomato harvest. 

One of my favorite questions to ask gardeners is: What is your favorite tomato variety to grow? So have at it in the comments because inquiring minds want to know!
And this is why I leave my winter containers assem And this is why I leave my winter containers assembled until at least March. A dusting of snow gives them a whole new look (even if it’s shades of gray). Also, I think I love my Limelight hydrangea even more in winter. Fabulous winter interest!
I’m going to look for opportunities to add more I’m going to look for opportunities to add more ferns to my garden this year. They are such interesting plants and often real problem solvers, bringing texture and color to places that many plants aren’t interested in. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ grows well for me in part shade (even pushing a bit into part sun) and looks great next to Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled o Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled on) foliage, and texture galore. I can’t wait to have moments like this again. The star, by the way is Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ which looks so good with the bold foliage of Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ next to it. 

With the new path, this area will be getting a small revamp. It’s the next spot I’ll be focusing my planning on.
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