Mum's The Word

I have been trying for years to cut back on my mum consumption, and I think this year I have taken a few steps forward.  I have only bought one so far Hannah Orange (Early).  It is that big ball of pinched blooms that almost doesn't look real, but it is the color of pumpkins so I couldn't resist.

Hannah Orange Mum with Carex grass and Vera Jameson Sedum

Cabbages, Pansies and Violas in the Shed Hayracks

Pansies by the veggie garden, clip off wilting flowers to keep them going throughout the fall.  I have added a little slug bait to the pots because the slugs love to eat pansies and mums.


Instead of mums I have put in more cabbages of various colors, grasses (on sale), violas and pansies.  More and more rudbeckias are coming on the market for fall planting, long lasting and sometimes return if planted in the garden.  Pansies are also a good filler for containers, however, I have learned through the years that if they are too small they don't have the time to mature in the colder climates.

I kept the Rush Mohawk Blue from the summer and added a faux pumpkin and willow branches.

As I ready my containers for fall I am surprised by Pink Promise Rose, a Rose of the Year a few years ago.  It has never looked like this and each year I consider pulling it out because it has never been really pink, plagued by rose midge and Japanese beetles just not a keeper.  It is very tall, a hybrid tea, and always wondered where it belongs.  It is fragrant and I guess it is telling me it belongs here!

Boltonia Pink Beauty is another surprise this year, looking more dainty than ever such a delight in a late summer garden!

 

Violas will fill out quickly if you deadhead the faded ones, a little slug bait and some liquid fertilizer, not super bloom this time of year.

Swiss Chard, Violas and Pansies

If you plant too late in the colder zones the plants will not have a chance to mature and fill out the containers.

I found a dwarf Sedum Sieboldi that looks like Vera Jameson and works well as a spiller and blooms a littler later.  These will come back if planted in the garden before the ground freezes.

Dwarf Sedum Seiboldi

Cabbages with Red Mustard, Pansies and Sedum.  I left the Euphorbia Diamond Frost for now but I may change this out, not sure it will look right with gourds and pumpkins.

The Cordyline and Dracena have been saved from the summer, faux autumn leaves with rudbeckia, cabbages and pansies.

Who am I kidding, I know I will buy a few more mums for the front garden!

Well, I did it Bronze Mums and a White Aster.  I do not have room in my garden to winter over mums and asters so I am not too concerned about my mum buying this year, three mums and one aster.

Please don't count the cabbages, pansies violas mustard and swiss chard!  However, all of the aforementioned do last longer than mums!