The Month is October, the Year is 2022, and I Believe That Fall is Just Around the Corner
The Month is October, the Year is 2022, and I Believe That Fall is Just Around the Corner
Of course, who knows what weather will be doing these days. It has been a hot summer, not only in beautiful Athens, Georgia but almost everywhere in the country. We were teased with cooler days and nights a week ago but, then it got hot again – but that’s what September does. However, I know that fall is coming because the box store sand garden centers are overflowing with fall mums. Like the Internet, if the box store tells me it is fall, then it must be so.
The author’s garden in early October with Impatiens and Caladiums among a coral bark Japanese maple and Deutzia
Of course, who knows what the weather will be doing these days. It has been a hot summer, not only in beautiful Athens, Georgia but almost everywhere in the country. We were teased with cooler days and nights a week ago but, then it got hot again – but that’s what October does. However, I know that fall is coming because the box stores and garden centers are overflowing with fall mums. Like the Internet, if the box store tells me it is fall, then it must be so.
Speaking of fall mums:
I have no problem with those cookie cutter mums; they are usually well grown, colorful and functional. I will buy a couple of small ones to replace tired plants in my window boxes and may even buy a large one for the front door. “Real gardeners” tend to complain a little about being overrun with them, but they provide a solution for people who want instant color. And that is most of us. I have no problem with the fact they are treated as throw-away plants; so are poinsettias at Christmas.
However, fall flowering hardy mums are something I look forward to every fall. They are planted like any other perennial, and flower every year in late autumn. Unfortunately, hardy mums are almost impossible to find locally in the spring because they are not flowering in that season. If you do find some now, enjoy them this year and then for many years to come. There are many choices out there, but I love 'Apricot Single', aka ‘Sheffield Pink’, and those under the “Ryan” name, such as ‘Ryan Pink, named for the outstanding designer Ryan Gainey.
And what about my favorite fall-flowering Salvia:
Oh my, ‘Phyllis Fancy’, named for Phyllis Norris at the U.C. Santa Cruz Arboretum, is doing her thing. At well over five feet tall, she will flower in late September to mid-November, or when the frost comes. I apologize to my friends in Ohio, probably not hardy north of USDA 7b. But so what, if you cannot grow it as an annual, get it as a spectacular annual?
Let’s talk a little about bulbs:
I recently visited my friend Faye Beck in Knoxville, TN. She is what I would consider a Super gardener; defined by one whose thumb is so green and garden so interesting that people make pilgrimages to her home – Susan and I just did.
Not to diminish her fabulous garden design, but it was the wonderful fall-flowering bulbs she had planted that caught my eye. Naked ladies, colchicums, and cyclamen were all vying for eye-time - and when I went around the corner, I spied some wonderful oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) in flower. Not a mum in sight. To be sure, her temperatures are not as cold as Cleveland or Quebec City but don’t overlook what fall flowering bulbs can do for your garden.
Of course, since it is fall, don’t forget to order and plant your spring/summer bulbs like daffodils, alliums, lilies and blue star flowers (Ipheion). It is not too late. Dr A has great information on all bulbs in his App, Armitage’s Great Garden Plants and Brent & Becky Bulbs supports the App and is an excellent source of bulbs for your garden.
Native Plants and Nativars, again:
I recently spoke at one of my favorite venues, The Perennial Farm, in Glen Arm, Maryland. You may be familiar with their online store that I recommend for perennials (www.perennialfarmmarketplace.com). I was showing off many native plants to garden center owners, growers and large landscapers and once again, the question arose “Do nativars attract as many pollinators as the straight species?” I quoted test results from Mt Cuba Center in Delaware (www.mtcubacenter.org) that have shown few differences time and again with different genera.
And as much as I admire what Mt Cuba has done, I am every excited to share a paper recently published in a refereed scientific journal, (PeerJ) by Adam Baker (Univ of Kentucky) and his colleagues. In this study, they determined pollinator activity (butterflies, bees) on native species of milkweed as well as numerous nativars (eg. ‘Cinderella’, ‘Ice Ballet’, ‘Soulmate’ …). The bottom line - essentially, there were no significant differences in number and types pollinators between a species and any of it nativars. The paper can be found below and makes for very interesting reading.
Some more good news:
My son and family visited recently, and my granddaughter Avery loved smelling, touching and cutting flowers from the garden. One of her favorites was the tiny forget-me-not. And oh my, she made vases and filled the birdbath with all sorts of flowering goodies. The garden is a little barer, the birds are a little thirstier but granddad is smiling from ear to ear.
More Good News, The App
Be sure to open the Armitage App (Armitage’s Great Garden Plants) as it has been completely redesigned. The same in-depth information, lots more information on Solution Gardening, Deer Problems and Pollinator’s - all for a single price, and no advertisements.
I am telling short plant stories on our local NPR station. Believe it or not, the station is getting good feedback.
A Few of My Favorite Things:
Follow me as I share with you a few of my favorite things, a plant, a book and a Place. The first one can be found in my previous posting with many more to follow. Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter be the first to get news from us.
Won Gold medal for doubles and Silver medal in singles at the GA Senior Olympic Games this week, held in Warner Robbins, GA.
Qualify for Nationals next summer.
This old guy is still out there whacking away in the garden and on the court.
Find Me
Please follow me so you know when the next adventurous walkabout will occur. All walkabouts up to now can be found on my website under walkabouts.
YouTube videos are being posted fast and furious, hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy rambling on about plants and such.
The Month is July, the Year is 2022, and I am Glad There is No Such Thing as Global Warming.
There is always something to look forward to in the garden, even though my mop-head hydrangeas are wilting and my hosta leaves are getting crispier by the day. However, my coffee cup and I are still walking around the garden in the cool of the morning and Susan and I are still sipping wine from the deck in the cool of the evening. We have enjoyed the views of the Georgia mountains and loved the time on the dock at a nearby lake, but home -heat, cold, warts and all - is where we are most content.
Man, it has been hot – and dry. As I look over photos of snow on the ground in February, I even yearn for winter again, nah not really, maybe for fall. I just wish these hot, dry, humid days would moderate a little so my garden could take a breather – and my water bill could be paid without installments.
The author’s Garden, June, 2022
Ah, what the heck, we always complain about the weather. And since we can’t do anything about it, let’s enjoy the fact that Covid has not taken us out; we are upright and reasonably happy and we can admire a noble oak, a handsome maple or an eye-catching phlox.
There is always something to look forward to in the garden, even though my mop-head hydrangeas are wilting and my hosta leaves are getting crispier by the day. However, my coffee cup and I are still walking around the garden in the cool of the morning and Susan and I are still sipping wine from the deck in the cool of the evening. We have enjoyed the views of the Georgia mountains and loved the time on the dock at a nearby lake, but home -heat, cold, warts and all - is where we are most content.
I have been remiss in writing this little essay and have missed sharing a number of travels with you. I have been to the New Plant trials in California, where many of the new plants that appear at the Garden Center are introduced. How about that Delphinium?
Delphinium ‘Red Lark’ from Darwin Perennials
I have been to Keukenhof Gardens in Holland, without doubt the greatest bulb garden in the world, and to the spectacular Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. So who I am to complain about the weather.
Keukenhof, 2022, Kuekenhof Gardens, Holland
Maine, 2022, Coastal Maine Botanical Garden
Turns out June was Perennial Plant Month, so I hope you celebrated with the newest and greatest coneflower, phlox or aster. Combine those with some fine annuals, a shrub or two and a few trees and you too have an excuse to drink more wine while getting exercise traipsing about your green space.
As we move through the dog days of summer, let’s rejoice in a few plants that help get us through.
Some excellent perennials
A few brilliant annuals
A few cool shrubs
A few cool small trees
Find Me
Facebook Live walkabouts: Pleas follow me so you know when the next adventurous walkabout will occur. All walkabouts up to now can be found on my website under walkabouts.
The App: Armitage’s Great Garden Plants app has a new look, at least for Apple phones. The content has been updated, and it is even easier to move around than ever. The sections on deer, pollinators, natives and solution gardening are better than ever. No ads, no nonsense, just good info, all for the price of a bad burger doodle, $4.99
YouTube videos are being posted fast and furious, hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy rambling on about plants and such.
While June was Perennial Plant month, it also included the birthday of my fabulous coworker, Kelly Garcia. I would like everyone to celebrate Kelly’s special day – if you order any of my books and use the discount code KELLY, you will receive free shipping, domestic addresses only. You can thank Kelly later.
Fall will be on our doorstep before we know it, so let’s enjoy sweating in the garden a little longer. Now, if we can get a little rain.
Let There be Bulbs
The world’s greatest bulb garden in Keukenhof, Holland
This spring, I visited one of my favorite European cities, Amsterdam. As a tourist, I enjoyed much of what Amsterdam has to offer, but as a horticulturist, I knew I had to visit the cut flower auction in Aalsmeer (Let There be Flowers) and the spectacular bulb garden at Keukenhof Park in Lisse, just outside the city. With the famous horticulturist, Jack de Vroomen, as my guide, I knew it was going to be even better. Having been there before, I more or less knew what to expect, but the people with me were blown away.
How many tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, muscari, crocus and friittiarias can one person possibly handle? I hope a lot because at Keukenhof over seven million flower bulbs are planted every fall. This may actually sound a little boring, like touring two acres of pansies in the spring - it is anything but.
Bulb growers and breeders plant specific areas of the park and each display seems a little better than the last. The main attraction at Keukenhof is obviously the color but the park itself, with its stream, water features and beautiful beech trees is a wonderful place to walk and eat a picnic lunch.
As expected, this is a spring display, the park being open from March to mid-May. It is a must see for every gardener, plant lover and horticulturist. I have no other words to describe it.
This fall, buy as ton of bulbs, make yourself a mini-Keukenhof.
