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The Garden Appreciation Society Week 15 –Show us your blooms!

August 21, 2013

Week 15 of The Garden Appreciation Society! Can you believe it? I  What’s even more amazing to me is that for 15 straight weeks I have had beautiful fresh flowers in my house. I will miss them so much in the middle of winter. But let’s not think about that, now. We have to savor every single moment of summer while we can.
After last week’s riot of color in a tiny bouquet, this week couldn’t be much different. It’s a much larger bouquet and a little wild too. I think for me this is when the Limelight hydrangeas are prettiest. They still have a lot of chartreuse in them, which I think is a stunning color in a flower. I added in several spikes of Russian sage, which has completely flopped over and needs to be cut back anyway. The little blue flowers are dropping all over the table, but I forgive them because I think they are pretty.
So pretty, in fact, that I couldn’t resist a bunch of close-ups.
The Garden Appreciation Society, The Impatient Gardener, Limelight hydrangea + Russian sage
The Garden Appreciation Society, The Impatient Gardener, Limelight hydrangea + Russian sage

The Garden Appreciation Society, The Impatient Gardener, Limelight hydrangea + Russian sage

The Garden Appreciation Society, The Impatient Gardener, Limelight hydrangea + Russian sage

Speaking of enjoying summer, I get the feeling that you are all enjoying it quite a bit because you’re not doing a very good job of appreciating your gardens in new ways. Come on, gang, make this week the week and link up!

There were three lovely bouquets last week and it’s amazing to me how different they all are. A good reminder that all of our gardens at at different stages. Libby’s hydrangeas are already at the end of their season and have taken on that gorgeous dusty pink color. Susie has some gorgeous hydrangeas just starting to bloom. But I think my favorite from last week comes from Kate at Heir and Space whose bouquet is a good reminder that sometimes simple is best. She always puts her bouquets on a piece of furniture that she’s done an amazing restoration or reinvention on and I love how the rudbeckia on the table (in a perfect aqua jar) look like they were just plucked from the bed right next them. Great job, Kate!

Photo by Kate at Heir and Space

Now it’s time to link up! I know you all have a garden full of blooms so let’s see them!

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Garden Appreciation Society hydrangea
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
7 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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previous post: The Garden Appreciation Society Week 14 — Link up now, gang!
next post: The garden will keep, summer will not

Comments

  1. Bootsie says: August 21, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    I also own a Russian sage, it's young (planted this year) and it flopped over too. It's the little spire version… and wondering if you know whether this gets better as it ages. Don't see the ones out West flopping over like this. sigh…

    Reply
    • Erin Schanen says: August 22, 2013 at 4:17 pm

      That's interesting. I actually ripped out all my regular Russian sage and replaced it all three years ago with 'Little Spire' because of the flopping problem. Unfortunately, not only is 'Little Spire' not really all that much smaller than the old stuff, it also flops just as badly. But I do see Russian sage standing proud in other gardens so I have to think something else is going on. Mine is planted along the house under the protection of the eve, so I don't think it gets a lot of water (part of the reason I picked it, actually) and I don't take as good of care of the soil there as I do in other places in the garden. I'm not really happy about it at all so I'm trying to resolve to really baby it with lots of supplemental watering and some fertilization and see if that remedies the situation. If not, they might have to go because while the flowers are beautiful, the floppiness is not.

      Reply
    • Bootsie says: August 26, 2013 at 6:06 pm

      Don't know if soil supplements are it, the reason I say that is out West they are planted in nothing but dry ol' dirt half the time… it's a tough plant and great in drought. Maybe we're being too nice to them?

      Reply
    • Bootsie says: August 26, 2013 at 6:08 pm

      Maybe we're being to nice to them? They're a tough plant, and great in desert climates… half the time they're planted in nothing but plain ol' dirt from what I've seen.

      Reply
  2. Nantucket Daffodil says: August 22, 2013 at 12:42 am

    I have a terrible memory and I am so glad I am getting to this before summer ends!

    Reply
    • Erin Schanen says: August 22, 2013 at 4:17 pm

      Beautiful bouquet!

      Reply
  3. Kathy says: August 28, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    I think Russian sage needs hot, full day sun and dry, or at least free draining, soil. That's why it does so well in gas station plantings, with the asphalt radiating heat. Every time I try it, it rots in my clay soil. I really love it in your arrangement with the hydrangeas. I often cut the droopers and floppers for my vases. The crooked stems add interest to an arrangement, and removing them actually helps the look of the outdoor garden.

    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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