No Care Mums

It’s true. Nothing was done to these mums this year.  They were not pinched back, though that might have made them more compact -- just the regular bit of compost and mulch and a friendly mother nature is all.

Shefffield Pink  is spectacularly large at over 3 feet tall. 

One little yellow volunteer appeared in my garden in 2007 and has almost taken over the bed. 

 

Great blooms following great summer weather.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2011

Sweet Autumn Clematis with Rudbeckia ‘Autumn Sun’


Few perennials are blooming in my garden this September 15. Mums, asters and anemone have not opened.  The annuals are carrying the day. 

As I looked around the garden for perennials in bloom, I had a thought -Carol’s Bloom Day Blog at May Dreams Garden is the perfect place to find other plants that are blooming now in other gardens and add them to my garden.

I can imagine planning a whole garden by following Bloom Day month by month. Of course, I would have to look for other bloggers in zone 6.  

Wouldn’t it be fun to create a virtual garden this winter from Bloom Day posts?

Here’s what’s blooming in my garden now.

Chrysanthemum ‘Clara Curtis’

Sedum Autumn Joy

Garden Phlox (pink pass-a-long and white ‘David’)

Hardy Hibiscus

Check host Carol’s Bloom Day posts and start your own virtual garden. 

Color Before the Frost

Last week:

Even though the Mums fell over in a windy rain, the bright colors remained.

Snapdragons were not about to give in to a light frost.

Hydrangea color lingered among bright green leaves.

Even the Impatiens held their own while waiting for the compost pile.

The Sweet Peas were happy in cool weather.

After the frost this week most of the colors are gone. A few Mums hang on but I see the beginning of what I call, “the season of brown.” Thank goodness for evergreens!

Autumn

As I slowly work on garden cleanup (who could rush in such glorious weather), I continually stop to admire the plants.

The mums in bloom, the grasses against a blue sky, the annuals bright colors and even the obnoxious beans on the locust tree grab my attention.

It’s hard to get serious about cleanup with all that’s still happening in the garden. Even the resident bunny is lulled into a leisurely, relaxed life.

Mums and Asters

The colors of fall.

Mums and asters are in bloom everywhere. The colors in my garden are mostly yellow to orange, a few pinks and a purple. The size varies from a diminutive button mum to the 3 foot high and wide yellow mum that was an Easter gift. (Yes, I did pinch it back.)

Chrysanthemum rubellum 'Clara Curtis' has been a real winner. This pink daisy mum, purchased in 2004 from Wayside Gardens, grows and grows and bloomed all summer. I’ve given away a few pieces of this plant.

Another winner in the hardiness category is Chrysanthemum koreanum ‘Single Apricot’. This daisy-shaped mum spreads and needs to be propped up. I use 4 sections of 24” or 32” Gard’n Border green round folding fence to make a cage. The fall color is a sweet peachy-pink. I purchased it in 2004 from Hickory Grove Greenhouses in North Catasauqua.

A spectacular show this year is the orange mum transplanted from my Mom’s garden several years ago. I don’t know the name but it produces a great bloom every year. This one also gets pinched and propped and grows 2 to 3 feet tall.

Aster novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’, planted in 2004, has a deep, rich purple color. I originally planted 2 but only one remains. I pinch the plant back lightly until the middle of June. I didn’t have much trouble with mildew this year – because it was so dry? It doesn’t spread (unfortunately) and is pretty care free if you can put up with the mildew. I would like to add a few more asters next year.

I try to plant mums in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot. They make good foundation plantings. In winter, I cover them with branches cut off when the plant dies back and some leaves or mulch. I try to shelter them from the winter freeze/thaw cycles. Sometimes I lose a mum but mostly they make it through the winter.

The hardiest of my mums: ‘Clara Curtis’ is planted in a sunny open spot and seems to do fine. I haven’t done anything to it – no fertilizer, no pinching, no cutting off dead branches. The ‘Single Apricot’ is under a dogwood tree but gets some sun. This one is pinched, propped, cut and covered. It spreads a lot so I end up with plants to share or plants for the compost. I just pull or cut them out when it gets too wide.

What a colorful way to end the summer.