The Hunt Is Over!

As I pulled out the plants from my back concrete planters, they came out like a plaster object from a mold.  Dirt and all with fully tangled roots were inseparable so into the yard waste bag they went.  I was determined to find my cabbages today and a few other goodies that would add to the fall effect.

My first stop was Home Depot because I always check them out first just in case a new truckload has arrived.  No cabbages yet - I can't believe it!  But, they had lots of other plants and look at the prices, unbelievable!

Agastache Blue Fortune

5 Gallon Container $12.98

Volcano Phlox

I did not know much about Volcano Phlox, but I am finding out it is a special variety because of its floriforus nature and resistance to mildew.  Here is the link giving the history and attributes of Volcano Phlox. http://www.tesselaar.com/plants/volcanophlox/

Sedum Autumn Fire (does not flop)

Heuchera Southern Comfort (can you believe $4.98)

Mona Lavender

I bought this a few years ago, very lovely, can't see from a few feet away - it's an up close plant!

Asters

Huge pots of Millet for $6.98

Just remember the birds will sit in it until it is all gone!

Knockout Roses

$9.98

A Wall of Caladiums

These will not hold up in cool weather

This looked like a great daylily for $4.98

Diamond Frost Euphorbia

This is an annual but will hold up to the colder weather $2.98, can be brought in the house to pair with pointsettas.

I bought two great looking perennial Rudbeckia Denver and Sedum Vera Jameson which will make great additions to the planters.  I always add some perennials and then in late November winter them over in the veggie garden.  So far, I am been very lucky having them take root this late in the season.  The cabbage is an ornamental annual, but that's okay because they will last until December if you can leave it alone.

Rudbeckia Denver

$4.98

Sedum Vera Jameson

$4.98

My next stop was a small garden center/nursery near my home.  They grow many decorative flowers (pointsettas, lilies, etc) and annuals in their greenhouses, some perennials.  I got talking to one of workers that I have known for years and didn't take any pictures.  But, guess what - I found the cabbages, big ones, little ones, yeah!

Well, I was really in the mood now to complete my design so onward to the next family owned garden center.  This one does not grow any of their plants, but they are knowledgeable and stock high quality materials.  This is the center that has their own garden show each year with reps from all the nurseries who supply their center.

Wow!  Look at the size of these mums!

Swiss Chard

I had to have some of this.

Orange Pansies

I had to have these also.

Bronze Sedge

How spooky - can you see this on top of a pumpkin?

I bought it!

Petunia Black Velvet

Decorative Peppers

They do not hold up to the cool weather.

The pots are still one of the best attractions at this Garden Center.

There are lots more inside.

What I have noticed is that the nurseries and boutique-type garden centers are finally trying to compete with the big box stores.  They all order from the same suppliers at this point, Proven Winners, Hampshire Farms, etc.  These are automated growers with the planting, watering and fertilization being done by computer. 

Home Depot has not bought plants with their own money for the last few years.  All of their plants are on consignment with employees from the growers actually working at Home Depot.  This way they control their losses and the supplier has a stake in keeping everything in good condition.

My conclusion is that I think there is a place for all of these different types of plant destinations.  If you are a seasoned gardener I see no reason why you cannot shop the big garden centers and look for bargains.  If you are somewhat knowledgeable shop your garden center and semi-nursery with knowledgeable staff.  If you are a beginner start out with a growing nursery where they have a knowledgeable staff, and grow most of their own plant material and understand the requirements for each plant.

One factor that I feel is very important is to ask what is your guarantee?  Home Depot offers a 100% guarantee on all of their plants for a year.  There are some nurseries that offer no guarantee, some offer 50% and some offer 100% non-advertised guarantee, only if you ask.

Deadheading Revisited

Some posts back I talked about the importance of deadheading if you want rebloom on many perennials.  Phlox is a great recipient of deadheading and responds with a new flush of bloom.

Franz Schubert Phlox reblooming after deadheading

Blue Paradise reblooming

Laura getting ready to rebloom

I am also a proponent of deadheading plants that do not necessarily give you new blooms but do put up a flush of new green leaf growth.  It prevents that tired look at the end of the growing season where everything turns a shade of brown.

Arnie's Choice Daylily sprouts new foliage after being cut to the ground, plumbago, a fall blooming groundcover underneath.

Becky Shasta Daily sprouts new foliage after being cut to the ground.

Certain plants, at least in my zone 5 area benefit by being left to stand during the winter.  They can be deadheaded but should not be cut to the ground as we do with many other perennials.  Agastache and Centranthus are more reliable if they are not trimmed to the ground, lavender also should only be trimmed in the spring to new growth.

Agastache Rosita benefits from deadheading all summer, continual flowering.  Leave this plant standing for the winter, cut down a little for neatness but do not cut to the ground.

Agastache Blue Fortune

Centranthus Alba can be deadheaded all summer for continual bloom, trim in fall but not to the ground.

Gaillardia Mesa can be deadheaded all season for continual bloom.  This plant can be trimmed low in the fall.

The above plants are all waterwise and are some of the plants from the alley garden.  They have done very well obviously because they do not require much water and love the heat.

Most other perennials and grasses can be trimmed to the ground in the fall without any ill effects, unless you want the winter interest of seed heads.  I would not recommend leaving the Miscanthus grasses up for the fall and winter.  They do not hold up to the snow and become quite messy and labor intensive the following spring.  Even my Carex on the north side of my house is a major problem to cut back if we do not do it in the fall - it becomes mushy..  Panicum Northwind is the exception in that it turns a tan in the fall and stands very well through snowstorms and most of the winter until March.  This grass is not a problem cutting down in the spring.

Panicum Northwind can be left standing for the winter.  It becomes tan in the fall and can withstand snow and ice until March.

Miscanthus Udine will flop if not cut down in the fall.

Pennisetum Hamlin does not need to be cut back for the winter.

Carex Ice Fountains requires cutting back in the fall

If you have hydrangeas that bloom on old and new wood you can leave them dried on the stems for winter interest and cut them down in the spring.  Limelight, Endless Summer, Unique, Pink Diamonds are just a few varieties that bloom on old and new wood.

A Sunday Cabbage Hunt

Well, I was not just looking for cabbages but I thought that if I could find a few more of my Let's Dance Hydrangeas at one of my favorite nurseries I would also pick up some large decorative cabbages.  My concrete planters in the back of my home have put on quite a show this season, but they just couldn't keep up with that western sun in the afternoon.  They look really spent so I thought I would just put in some cabbages if I could find them.

There are areas of containers, benches and fencing throughout the entire nursery.

Well, we arrived mid morning and hardly anyone was there so one of the salespeople spent quite a bit of time with me trying to find a plant that would replace the one I had asked for  (which they didn't have).  I finally thanked her for all of her time and expertise and went in search of my cabbages.  I spotted a frilly tall one in a container but was told this was the only one they have received so far.

I love these tall pots in the middle of a very casual garden.  They are unexpected because they look so modern and streamlined.  A garden should always have something unexpected!

More great containers and ironwork

Mums were on two long tables, tightly budded and from a Minnesota grower.  They looked wonderful, softly mounded and just a peek of the color ready to explode.  I dismissed them because I know if this weather continues mums will be a plant of the past by mid September.

This was a great display of Miscanthus, plenty of room!

I have frequented this nursery for the past twenty-five years, and it is a nursery, as they grow most of their own plants further west and truck them into this location.  They also buy some of their shrubbery and perennial stock from Proven Winners and of, course, their annuals are also bought from a distributor.  Although, they do grow some unusual annuals each year like Amaranthus, Love Lies Bleeding and Nicotiana Alata and many others that are difficult to start from seed.

There were many gardens labeled with the types of plants that would do well under certain conditions.

Pond Plants

Great dog items in both concrete and ironwork

I have purchased decorative iron fencing here as they are one of the few places that I have found locally that stocks a wide array of fencing, arbors and gazebos.  No cabbages this weekend but it gives me an excuse for another garden trip next week!

Summer's Last Stand?

Don't we hope?  Ninety-six degrees today, watering wilted and shriveled plants, mostly in the containers and the baskets to no avail.  The children are going back to school, the the pools are closing, oops - our pool was forced by the community to stay open until labor day, and jackets were the mode of attire in the morning hours a year ago.

The border has done well even in this heat, however, the roses have taken a break - very short on bloom this year.

I did get the boxwood trimmed somewhat.  I had to be careful not to cut off the coleus.

My poor Amaranthus Love Lies Bleeding trying to survive under the Miscanthus.  This was not a good choice for this lovely plant.

Euphorbia Diamond Frost is an annual and has really taken off in the heat although it also will survive in the cooler weather.  It is a great plant to bring inside and pair with Pointsettas for the holidays.

Corydalis has bloomed all spring and summer with the Wintercreepter on the north side of the house.  It is somewhat invasive, but I left it alone this year for the color it added to all of the green.

Normally, it would be too late to trim annuals, but you know what, I think I am going to go for it.  Who knows, we may have this weather for another three months.  You cannot put in mums and cabbages in this weather.  I'll bet Home Depot will hold back on their big deliveries this year.  Costco had a small sampling today, and I wanted to tell the lady buying the huge pots of mums that they'll be done in a week with this weather.

Dicentra Eximia growing on the north side under Solomon's Seal has been blooming all summer.

The New Guniea Impatiens in my concrete planters have performed better than ever in this heat.  Of course, they also like water every day!

Echinacea Mango Meadowbrite

I am having a fireplace screen installed on Monday, because it gets so cold in our family room with the downdraft, what do we need a fireplace for?  Right now I am turning the ceiling fan up a notch in the same room.  This is the time of year that I usually have the furnace man make a visit to check things out, but I am wondering if we even need a furnace!  I know the heat is really getting to me, but it is hard to imagine coolness after almost fifty days above eighty, nineteen of them above 90.

I hope you enjoy some of the flowers that have survived.