And Cut Some More!

My geraniums have had a hard time this year, just when they would begin setting buds or break into flower the rain and heat would hit.  When cutting geraniums don't just snap off the flower heads - prune all the way down to where the flower stem joins a main stem.  You will set flowers faster, and don't forget to feed them.  Geraniums are cold tolerant so will last into fall and past a light freeze.

Heuchera Villosa Purpurea is my favorite, not the showiest leaves but more floriforous than any of the others.  Keep trimming off the dried blooms and it will keep going all summer into fall.

Heuchera Southern Comfort has performed well in its first year.  Home Depot has had lots of this one at a reasonable price.

Flowers of Southern Comfort Heuchera

Cutting the daylilies back after blooming will give you a fresh green groundcover for the remainder of the summer into fall, no brown leaves.

Sedum Autumn Joy will flop with too much moisture.  You can cut it back in the spring but the flower heads will be small.  It is too heavy to tie up now, but it can be put in a circular open cage in the spring.  I don't like using too many supports, but I will definitely do this for an upright sedum.  Sedum Autumn Fire is similar to Autumn Joy, stays upright but the flower heads are not as impressive.

Amaranthus Love Lies Bleeding can be pruned so that it forms many pendulous flowers.  Mine has never looked like it should because I planted it too close to the miscanthus.

I cut the Unique Hydrangeas down to about two feet high in the spring and they still grow to about seven feet tall.

The Unique Hydrangea flowers are beginning to turn to that rosy pink that I love, so I will be cutting them this weekend.  You can leave them on the shrub, however, they do not hold up as well as Limelight over the winter months.

Keep Cutting!

As I walk through the garden each morning, I snip a little here and a little there.  It has really paid off in this very hot summer with continued blooms from my top performing plants.

Phlox Blue Paradise has been a real winner this summer.  I just keep cutting the spent blooms and it puts out more beautiful blooms.

Phlox Eva Cullum has never been a favorite because it is more prone to mildew.  However, this year it has outdone itself, less mildew and more blooms.  It doesn't seem to make sense with all of the heat and rain!

This is Phlox Laura.  I put it in last year and it really did not bloom very much, but it has been a strong performer this year showing no mildew so far.

Henryi is a Type 2 Clematis (just trim a little each spring to cut out dead vines).  However, this year after blooming I cut it to the ground to revitalize it after becoming very woody.  It has grown to about six feet tall and is reblooming.  So don't be afraid to cut back overgrown or woody clematis in the Type 1 and Type 2 categories.

This is my daughters Autumn Clematis which is a Type 3.  It is cut back each year to the ground and this is the growth it puts out.  I see many that are not cut back and just put forth top bloom above lots of old wood.

I cut my Heliopsis Lemon Queen down by half after its first growth spurt usually when it is about a foot tall to control the height.  As you can see, it is still about seven feet along a narrow walkway - not the best placement but nowhere else to place it!

Mango Meadowbrite Echinacea has been my best performing coneflower this year.  If you cut off the dead blooms it will continue to flower up until frost.  It is a more delicate looking coneflower but it seems to have more blooming stamina than many of the stronger looking coneflowers.

Rozanne Geranium went a little crazy this summer and crawled over everything in this bed, so I went a little crazy and cut it to the ground.  I am not sure it will rebloom this fall, but it is rejuvenating and looks a lot more normal.

Since this is getting a little lengthy, I will keep cutting around the garden moving into the front garden on my next post.

Fall Is Just Around the Corner

This is a fall grouping by my garden shed, mums in baskets, faux pumpkins, faux Reggie, Vera Jameson, Bronze Sedge, Rudbeckia (peeking out) cabbage, superbells, pansies, curly willow all with a background of still blooming summer perennials.

The concrete urns on each side of the garage are planted with deep colored cabbages, Vera Jameson Sedum, Bronze Lights Swiss Chard, rudbeckia, purple pansy, faux grass which has been separated out to give a more natural look, and marine varnished faux pumpkin on florist stake.  I used to use real pie pumpkins but the squirrels climbed up on my container and made a big mess.

I have tried to use my summer plantings whenever possible.  I  left the Creeping Jenny and the Profusion Orange Zinnias and added some violas and Coffee Twist grass.

I used smaller different colored cabbages along with a red swiss chard with orange and blue pansies.  The pansies are small this year so I hope they grow fast so we can see them.

I kept the cordyline from the summer as a backdrop and added peacock cabbage to the brown ceramic planters.

The cast iron containers are out in front with a very tall blue green grass from the summer plantings.  It looks very nice with the blue-green cabbages and frosty looking sedge.

Becky Rudbeckia is an annual in my area but I have had luck with Prairie Sun up in Wisconsin coming back three years in a row.

Fall begins next week, so I will be adding some gourds and small pumpkins  to the containers.  Halloween is a big holiday around here, so I will get to put out some big pumpkins and spooky things! 

Around The Garden

Pretty soon there won't be much to see around the garden except for sticks and mulch!

Heliopsis Lemon Queen

Boltonia Pink Beauty

Boltonia Nana is a light blue and blooms most of the summer (much shorter than the other Boltonias)

Phlox Miracle Grace (this phlox bloomed in the container for two weeks before I planted it)

Laura and Franz Schubert Phlox (still blooming if you deadhead)

 Plumbago and Marigolds planted when Becky Shastas were cut down

Cinco de Mayo has bloomed very little this summer, eaten alive by earwigs and japanese beetles,  happy to see it back for a grand finale!

One lonely Becky Shasta has come back

Mango Hibiscus (getting much deeper as the weather cools)

 Coleus Redhead

The above coleus is not mine but a planting at my local nursery.  I will definitely be looking for this one next year.

Coming Fall Containers (I'm working on them)

Have a great weekend!

Amaryllis and Paperwhites

Each and every fall for many years I have grown amaryllis and paperwhites for the holidays.  They are very easy to grow in a good potting soil. I am really a fan of the Christmas Amaryllis because it blooms in four to six weeks rather than the eight to twelve of the regular amaryllis.

Rock 'n Roll Amaryllis

Merry Christmas Amaryllis

Razzle Dazzle Amaryllis

Paperwhite Ziva

There are double and single Christmas Amaryllis and I find that the red twig dogwood stems sold in many nurseries around the holidays are great for holding up the stems of both the amaryllis and the paperwhites.

It is time to order both bulbs now and keep them in a cool place until ready to plant.  http://www.johnscheepers.com/ or http://www.vanengelen.com/  I better get going as I have already ordered my spring bulbs but not my holiday bulbs!