August was pleasantly surprising this year with ample rain and only a few unbearably hot days I arise early and do my gardening in the cool of the morning or before dusk .
Yes, Virginia, those are violas blooming in August. They love my semi-shady woodland garden.
I planted Rudbeckia, yarrow and Lantana in the wildflower garden, all purported to be " deer resistant. " I also added two burgundy leafed semi-dwarf Crape myrtles 'plum magic ' at the rear of the bed.
My boulder garden is filling in well with Nepeta 'walker's low ', Japanese flag iris, Scarlet sage, veronica, iron weed, 'chocolate chip ' ajuga, creeping verbena, asters and the jinormous elephant ears which my neighbors are coveting. This month I added some Maiden grass and a pyracantha to the back border and a Carolina jessamine vine to twine around my deck so I can catch its wonderful fragrance in the Spring.
To the bed that borders the woods facing the front of my house I added Sweet woodruff, lantana, ligularia, climbing hydrangea, cone flowers, and coreopsis. This area is beginning to fill in nicely as well . Three dwarf 'diamond dazzle ' white crape myrtles adopted from last year's Fall clearance have started to bloom.
As chance would have it during my gardening activities passers- by would comment on how lovely my wildflower garden which fronts a busy heavily travelled road looked . One lady in particular stopped to chat and she said I should join the local garden club. I told her I'm not interested in joining if its just a bunch of ladies that lunch but she assured me it wasn't and invited me to go along with her to the next meeting. Turns out she was the past president of the club. ME and my BIG mouth ! But she just laughed it off and said I wasn't the first to say that which made me feel somewhat better. Reckon I'll be going to the first meeting next month.
I hope to get my backyard fenced in this Fall so that I won't have to worry about deer and rabbits. I have plans to add a vegetable plot, plant an Asian pear to go along with my other two fruit trees -a Japanese persimmon and a Nectarine .
The garden centers have already started stocking Fall bulbs. I have big plans to add a lot of Spring-flowering daffodils, more Hellebores , Primrose and violas.
Farewell August, hello September.
I hope to get my backyard fenced in this Fall so that I won't have to worry about deer and rabbits. I have plans to add a vegetable plot, plant an Asian pear to go along with my other two fruit trees -a Japanese persimmon and a Nectarine .
The garden centers have already started stocking Fall bulbs. I have big plans to add a lot of Spring-flowering daffodils, more Hellebores , Primrose and violas.
Farewell August, hello September.
