Blooms & Beyond: Year-Round Color for Your Garden

Wondering how to have year-round color in your garden?   I recently gave a presentation to the Grapevine Garden Club on this topic and the video was posted to YouTube.   Click HERE to check it out!

The plants mentioned in this talk are geared toward the Dallas/Fort Worth area in hardiness Zone 7/8, but if you live in other parts of the country, maybe it will inspire you to think through the seasons and how you can add color to your garden with plants that are hardy in your area.    Click HERE to see the plant list.

Below I've listed the garden centers and resources I mentioned in the presentation.

Here's to hoping you have something colorful in your garden all year long!

Toni :-)

Grapevine Garden Club
grapevinegardenclub.com

Stegall's Nursery & Plant Farm
stegallsnursery.com

Metro Maples
metromaples.com

Neil Sperry
neilsperry.com

aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

TCMGA
tarrantmg.org

Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
fwbg.org

What's Bloomin' - October 2013

 Welcome to my garden...

It's Garden Bloggers 
Bloom Day!

Let's see what's bloomin'

October is one of my favorite months in my garden.  It is like a second spring in Texas.  The blooms intensify in color in response to the cooler temps and a little bit of rain.

Here are a few wide shots of the front perennial garden to get us started.

 Above is my favorite view off my front porch.

Moving in a little closer...

Annual 'Cora' vincas in the hellstrip are still going strong across the sidewalk from the perennials... salvias, lantana, canna, purple heart, zexmenia, 'Lindheimer's' muhly grass, 'Katie's' Ruellia.

The blue Salvia 'May Night' in the foreground really seems to appreciate the milder temps of spring and fall.   The zexmenia, purple heart, salvias, and lantana behind could care less about the triple digits of summer.

My garden would not be complete without my favorite Salvia greggii 

exploding with hot pink blooms in the fall.   

 Leading up to the entry, more zexmenia and salvia greggii, along with 'Karley Rose' Fountaingrass, 'King Humbert' Canna, annual melampodium, and 'Henry Duelberg' salvia

At the entryway, the 'John Fanick' Phlox puts out the last of its blooms, Wood Ferns are hugging the fountain, and the 'Carolyn Wharton' Caladiums do surprisingly well in this area that gets more sun than I would think the caladiums would like. 

The 'Lindheimer's' Muhly Grass raises its tall plumes in praise of fall :-)

 Mexican Bush Sage has just started blooming this month.  I just planted another one in my garden this week because I just love these velvety purple spikes next to the bright pink salvia greggii.

I just transplanted a deep red Salvia darcyi (Salvia oresbia) near the Lindheimer's Muhly grass and Mexican Bush Sage.   I hope it survives the transplant!   I love the punch of red next to the purple blooms and gray/green foliage.

 Last fall I tried a little experiment and transplanted some garlic chives in spots where I grow daylilies.    I thought since the foliage is similar, I would try growing the two together to extend the bloom in these daylily areas.

I'm happy to report that the experiment worked!    

The daylilies bloomed during the summer, and the garlic chives put on a good show this fall.    I just recently cut off the blooms of the garlic chives as they were going to seed, and I don't want garlic chives all over the place.

Summer daylilies

Garlic Chives in the fall

I just could not be more pleased with the progress on the hellstrip plantings.

 

  

Fall aster is in full bloom this month.    

Such a shame that this plant does not bloom longer! 

The golden oregano is starting to increase in size.

 Earlier in the summer the 'Elfin' Thyme was suffering as it was trying to get established, but it has made a rebound this fall and has really started spreading around the flagstones at the curb.

The 'Helen von Stein' Lamb's Ear and 'Hameln' Fountaingrass 

add nice texture to the plantings

 In the backyard, a few red spider lilies popped up this fall.   I transplanted about 20 bulbs a couple years ago, so I was hoping for a better show.  

Maybe next year?

I have always grown Turk's Cap in my shady backyard, but I have started adding more of it to my front perennial beds as the trees are creating more part sun/part shade areas.    It certainly blooms better with a little more sun. 

 Another bulb, the Oxblood Lily blooms are short lived 

but cheerfully announce the arrival of fall.  

Another sure sign that fall is here 

is when the Mexican Mint Marigold begins to bloom.

The green beans I planted last month are blooming and have just started producing tiny beans.   I missed planting my spring crop of beans, so I am really looking forward to having fresh green beans for dinner soon!

The Cubanelle peppers produced like gangbusters this summer

 and are still going strong!  

How's that for some fall color :-)

Water lilies...

floating on the water below 

and sprinkled with water from the heavens today :-)

I am so grateful for the wonderful slow soaking rains we've had for the last couple days here in North Texas.   Should make for a nice wildflower show next spring!

To enjoy more blooms around the world, visit Carol @ May Dreams Gardens.

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Toni :-)

Of Moss and Men

Moss...

my mind wanders and I imagine a cool, damp garden 

draped in an emerald carpet. 

I am fascinated by moss.  Maybe it is because I don't have much of it in my garden, except on some rocks by my pond.

When we were in Georgia on vacation this summer, I visited Callaway Gardens.  The moss growing along the sides of the paths caught my attention.  This would be a rare sight during a Texas summer.

 

At our vacation cabin (which was on 8 acres surrounded by a river on 3 sides of the property) I saw lots of beautiful moss.

 

I took these mossy pictures as I went exploring the property. 

Note to self:  

Do not go exploring in the Georgia mountains again 

without putting on chigger repellent!!!

Don't these pictures make you just want to reach out and pet the moss :-)

I came across a wonderful website recently when I was on Blotanical looking for new blogs to visit.

David Spain and Ken Gergle are landscapers in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.  According to their website, they operate the only moss nursery in the United States.   They have the cutest little product called Moss Rocks!   Check out their website and blog to learn some interesting information about moss and see the beautiful moss gardens they have designed.

   Moss & Stone Gardens 

(Note:  I have no affiliation with this company or these men; I just was so impressed with their website and landscape designs in moss that I just wanted to share their site with you.)

I corresponded with David through email recently; and he assures me that I can, indeed, grow moss in Texas.

I am on a mission to grow moss; but I fear that come August, that cool, damp, emerald-carpeted garden of my imagination will be just that -- my imagination.

Cool, mossy dreams to you....

Toni :-)

P. S. Also, visit Deb at Deb's Garden to read a very informational post on how she has grown beautiful moss paths in her woodland garden.

The Bare Bones

Bare bones:   

"the basic elements or the essential structure of something"

I just did some winter clean-up of my garden to tidy things up a bit after recent freezes.   I cut most of the perennials to the ground, but left some for winter interest.   Basically my rule of thumb is, if it looks bad, I cut it to the ground.   If it still looks good (such as the ornamental grasses) or maybe has some benefit for wildlife (such as seed heads for the birds), I leave them until mid-February.

I leave some fallen leaves in the shrub/flower beds, but rake or blow any excess leaves onto the lawn and they are mulched with the mower and added to the compost pile.   

In my pond, anything that has turned to mush and has fallen down into the water is cut back and cleaned out of the pond.   The parrots feather that has grown out into the middle of the pond is raked back toward the sides to keep the water flow through the middle wide open.

And what is left behind after all of my trimming, raking, and mulching?  

Why, it's the basic elements and the essential structure of my garden. 

The bare bones.  

For the most part, the only blooms in I have in my garden right now are the pansies and violas in containers.  But I'm okay with that.  I think the garden (and the gardener) deserves a rest now and then :-)   I love this time of year to re-evaluate the bones of my garden to see where it needs tweaking.  Thankfully it just needs a little toe bone added here and there and it isn't in need of hip replacement or spine surgery :-)

Here is my garden all cleaned up...
                                            ...and down to the bare bones 

The backyard:

 

 

The front yard:

Here are a few specifics on my clean-up list:

Perennials cut to the ground:

Mealy Cup Sage/'Henry Duelberg' Salvia (Salvia farinacea)

Mexican Bush Sage (tender perennial -- mulch well)

Summer Phlox

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Loosestrife

Katie's Ruellia

Zexmenia

Mexican Mint Marigold

Turk's Cap

Salvia madrensis (Forsythia Sage)

Chrysanthemum

Lantana

Purple Heart

Canna

Wood Fern and Japanese Painted Fern

Hostas

Tropical Giant Spider Lily

Just gave these a "haircut":

Salvia greggii

Skullcap

Pond Plants:

Umbrella grass, Lizzard Tail - cut down to water level

Pickerel Rush, Water Lily - pulled out mushy stems, but left roots down in water

Iris - cut or pulled browned leaves

Left these alone (for winter interest)

(will prune in February, if necessary):

Ornamental grasses

Daylilies (I will pull dried foliage in the spring)

Roses

Oxalis

Columbine

Leopard Plant (Ligularia/Farfugium)

May Night Salvia

Russian Sage

Dianthus

Calylophus

4-nerve Daisy

'Powis Castle' Artemisia

American Beautyberry

Liriope

Hydrangeas

Pulled up annuals:

Periwinkles

Melampodium (saved seeds)

Holy Basil (saved seeds)

African Blue Basil

Salvia coccinea (scattered seeds back in garden)

Cosmos

Penta

Angelonia

Dragonwing Begonias

Caladiums

Blue Daze

Sweet Potato Vine

You can also check out my Fall "Diggin' in the Dirt" Newsletter for tips on how to care for specific perennials after a freeze.

For a fun look at garden bones, visit Casa Mariposa 

and find out how bony your garden is :-)

Toni :-)