A Weekend in the Garden

For the past few years, the island beds have been filled with bright orange "Profusion" zinnias.  The bees and butterflies loved them and they had self-seeded in years past to the point of overflowing. I was rather surprised this year when I realized that although the cosmos and cleome had self seeded, the zinnias had not.

While I love the cleome and cosmos, I wanted some more nectar sources for butterflies. I've seen very few butterflies so far this year and worried that the reason might be the lack of their favorite flowers. Or perhaps not, but I decided that planting some zinnias to add diversity to the island beds couldn't hurt.

So on Saturday I headed out to my favorite garden center, Plants for All Seasons, and checked out their selection.  I came home with a flat of yellow, orange and cherry red Profusion zinnias, along with three Torinias and six Ageratum Blue Mist. It was blisteringly hot by the time I got home, so I set the plants on the patio in the shade and retreated indoors for the rest of the afternoon.

I got up early on Sunday to do the planting.  It was overcast and threatening to rain, which kept the temperature down a degree or two, but the humidity was at 90+ percent.  Sweat was rolling off me, but it felt good to have my hands in the dirt, pulling out the bermuda and nutsedge that is ever present in the beds, and planting the new additions.

My back was feeling much better since my fall on the tile floor a couple of weeks ago.  The gentle bending exercise seemed to do me good.  I tried not to over do things and paced myself - weeding or planting for 10 minutes or so and then sitting on the patio with a tall glass of ice tea to recuperate, and then back out to weed some more, or plant something else.

Last night we had an impressive Texas thunder storm and amazing light show, with approximately an inch and a half of rain. I hope the new plants show their appreciation by spreading and blooming profusely!

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The End of Summer and Even More Monarchs

Ooops - it's been a month since my last post! There really hasn't been a lot going on to share with you.  The Profusion Zinnias, which overflowed the island beds all summer are starting to go to seed and look a bit ragged, but the Gulf Fritillaries and other butterflies are still enjoying them.

Ditto the Cleome.  I collected lots of seeds from each of them, so I'll have plenty to share next spring :-)

The Salvia splendens took up the western half of the island bed and is still going strong.That's the first time I've had much success with salvia.  This variety has small red flowers that I have seen the occasional hummingbird taking a sip at.  I've never had luck with the blue/purple varieties though.

The Cosmos, which was just feathery foliage all summer is suddenly a mass of pink flowers.  I must never have paid attention to when it bloomed before.  I thought it was a summer bloomer, but it's here now and looks lovely.

But the most exciting thing going on in the garden at the moment is the number of Monarch caterpillars and chrysalides I have in the Big Cube  cage I purchased back at the beginning of the summer.

I've got a total of 16 in the cage - more than I had back in August! They have been eating me out of house and home but luckily I have some healthy stands of milkweed in the garden that I can take cuttings from.  I just have to make sure there aren't any cats already there when selecting cuttings!

I'm going to be going in to hospital for surgery on October 11th, so I hope I shall see some of them eclose before I go in.  Then my husband is going to take over the Monarch husbandry after that.

At least they should all have pupated by then, so he won't have to pick milkweed for them.  He'll just have to check daily for new butterflies and release them from the cage when they are ready.

I'm linking my post up with Camera Critters. Please take a few minutes to visit and see what other critters stories and photos people are sharing.
Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Back from vacation - How has our garden grown?

Eric and I were on vacation for two weeks, taking a road trip across Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, up to Montana and Wyoming where we visited the very moving Battlefield at the Little Bighorn, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

While we were away we were hearing about the torrential rains and flooding our area was receiving. I could only imagine what the garden looked like, especially as we have some serious drainage issues  since the house next to us was built.

But as it happened, things were looking pretty good. Okay so of course the grass and the weeds needed taking in hand, but generally speaking, if one doesn't look too closely in between the flowers, the effect is quite pleasing :-)

One of our island beds has a volunteer Vitex bush growing in it.  I was going to take it out, as we had a River Birch growing there.  But the River Birch never really thrived and ended up getting snapped in two in a windstorm, so I decided to let it stay.  I will just be more vigilant about keeping it pruned back to shrub form (if I can) rather than letting it grow tree sized like I did with the one behind it.

The daylilies are blooming beautifully.  I had meant to divide them but never got around to it.  I think late winter is the time to divide and replant them, so I will put some in the other island bed and I will probably have some to share.

The little Sam Houston Peach has some nice sized fruit on it this year, but unfortunately many of the fruits got damaged in the hail storm we had before we went on vacation.  They may still be edible, but just blemished.

 The other island bed had millions of zinnia seedlings which I thinned out before we went away. I also planted some native milkweed and some liatris,which are coming up, and some coneflowers, which didn't do anything. Last year's tropical milkweed, which I had trimmed back, is looking good, and the New Gold Lantana are flowering.  I also noticed lots of little Cleome seedlings coming up around the waterfall.

By the bird bath against the back wall, the Angel Trumpet that I keep giving up on has once again returned. I doubt I will see flowers on it, but I like the different texture of the big leaves against the holly.  In the containers, last year's Gaura and lantana have come back and some violas are still going from spring time.  There are self seeded zinnias in this area too and I've thinned them out and kept them where I want them for some color.

This has been a basic overview to catch up after our vacation.  I'll be back on my usual blogging schedule now and hope to take time to visit my blogging friends and see how your gardens are growing.



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The End of Summer

Well it may be Labor Day weekend, and officially that signals the end of summer, but don't tell the garden that!

This really is my favorite time of year in the garden. We're beginning to get increasing number of butterflies visiting and, of course, the hummingbirds are out in full force, emptying the feeders and building up their energy reserves for the migration ahead.

I know I've shown you this view before -- forgive me, but I just love sitting on the patio and looking across the island bed and waterfall. 

As always, you can click on each photo for a larger image.

The sound of the waterfall lends a gentle ambiance to the garden that makes it the perfect place to sit and relax (provided I'm in the shade!!)

The Profusion zinnias in this bed were all transplanted seedlings that had self-seeded in the other island bed.   It certainly lives up to its name - "Profusion".

Butterflies just love it, including this Buckeye - the first I have managed to photograph this year.

This Swallowtail was enjoying the zinnia too.  You can't see too clearly in this photo, but the photo below, you can see it had quite a significant rip in its left wing.

 
The butterfly didn't seem to notice anything amiss and fluttered from bloom to bloom quite happily.

At first glance, I assumed this was a Monarch nectaring on the Tropical Milkweed, but looking closer at the photo I realized it's a Queen. (Still regal, though :-)

 
While the zinnias are still blooming full strength, the daylilies seem to be winding down now, after blooming profusely through the heat of the summer.  This one is still going though. I don't think I've shown photos of it before. Of course, I have no idea what it's called as usual!

And finally, a couple of photos of our wonderful feathered friends, the hummingbirds.  We've seen six or seven in the garden at one time this week.  This female thinks the Crepe Myrtle makes a good lookout post.

 

We've got five feeders scattered around the garden, two hanging above the patio and three out in the beds.

The red dome over the feeder attracts hummingbirds and also helps keep them cool at the same time. It's all red color attracts nearby hummingbirds and the 12" diameter baffle blocks out sunlight which keeps the feeder underneath cooler. It's made by Songbird Essentials.  I have two of them, but would like to get one of each feeder eventually.  Perhaps next year...

What's happening in your garden this Labor Day weekend?


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Island Bed in Fall

I stepped out of the back door this morning and realized that the sun was just in the right place to really light up the Pink Muhly grass in the island bed, so naturally I stopped what I was doing and dashed back inside to get my camera.

I'm really happy with the way the island bed has developed this year.  The daylilies have been blooming profusely all year, after doing nothing at all last year. 

And the Zinnia "Profusion" has lived up to its name and self seeded generously throughout the bed, much to the delight of the bees.

I call the bed a "happy mess", but there are a couple of things I need to make decisions on, such as this mystery plant that has self-seeded in the middle of the bed. I have no idea what it is, but you can see it's crowding the Muhly grass and the Hamelia patens.

I was also surprised earlier this year to see a baby Vitex growing in the bed.  It's a couple of feet tall now, and blooming, but I'm debating on whether or not to let it stay there.  The Vitex in the back border is hugely overgrown and I do not want this one taking over the entire island bed, to the expense of everything else.

One of the things I love most about the island bed is that I can lie in bed on weekend mornings, and see it right outside the window of our master bedroom "retreat" :-)

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Here we are in July, and here I am posting on my SECOND contribution to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Since the last time I managed to post on time was in January, I'll just call this my semi-annual contribution :-)

We have some beautiful rich colors in the summer garden, but they are mostly concentrated in just a couple of areas.  With other areas already past their best, or not blooming yet.

Even while I battle the nutsedge and insidious bermuda grass in the island bed, the blooms, such as the marigold above, are glorious.  They seem to look at the blazing sun with a sort of "back atcha" defiance, and bloom on regardless of the heat and drought.  I've been deadheading them to encourage them to keep blooming and I've also been spreading the seeds in colorless areas of the garden.

 

Also in the island bed, the Profusion zinnias are blooming.. profusely!  I think I mentioned before that these self seeded and are living up to their name.  I really like them and will have to look out for some other colors in the future.

 

This is a "Little Lucky" Lantana I planted in a container a couple of weeks ago.  I believe it's "Lemon Cream" although I have another (out of focus) photo which shows a similar plant with more lemon yellow on it.  I like how compact these are.

This Purple Trailing Lantana shares the half barrel with a sweet potato vine and a Persian Shield (which isn't doing too well in the heat, it may need less sun).  I may need to trim it up a bit, to encourage bushiness instead of just a couple of long trailing bits.  I understand the butterflies love it, so I hope it does well.  I haven't had it in my garden before.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, the tropical Milkweed was looking rather puny, but it seems like, all of a sudden, it's all bursting into bloom.  We have a LOT of it, all along the back of the border at the front of the house, as well as around the borders in the back garden.  I've been reading about the low numbers of Monarch butterflies this year, but if they ever get here, we're ready for them.

The final photo is of a Turk's Cap I have in a container next to the Southern Wax Myrtle. I got it last year and it made it through the winter and seems to be doing quite well.  By the way, I played around with this photo a bit, blending in a photographic texture  to disguise the ugly cinder block wall.  I rather like how it came out :-)

That's it from me today.  It's 10 o'clock Central time, so technically it IS still Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Please stop by May Dream Gardens to see what's blooming on this date around the country.
  


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.