Alert! - Impatiens

Current news from plantsman Doug Green at Simple Gifts Farm (see sidebar for website):

 “Downy Mildew is currently wiping out Impatiens plantings and breeding work across North America and this article is intended to give home gardeners enough information to make informed decisions about this disease and the alternatives they have.”

 Here's the story -

http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/downy-mildew-impatiens.html

 I will miss all that color in the garden and in pots!

 

Vacation – Party Time for Weeds

A quick post before I leave for vacation. I have a feeling the weeds will spread enthusiastically while I’m away.

Bonus plants.

In May, I planted three Super Elfin Lipstick Impatiens in front of Coleus Mariposa. All the other impatiens in the picture are self-sown from last year’s plants. I’ve had impatiens self-sew before but never in such profusion. I should have divided them but never got around to it. This part of the garden gets morning sun and bright shade in the afternoon. Must be an ideal spot for germination.

I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks. I think a little R&R will do us good – and give my sciatica a rest too. I’ll be checking in and reading my favorite blogs while I’m gone.

Let the weeds be damned.

Independence Day

The Flag
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by Kelly, age 10
Submitted June 26, 2002
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The Flag that waves through hard tough times,
the flag that sparkles with light,

and hope flows through that flag

in the sun rain or at night

that is our flag shinning bright

(Posted by http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/poetry.html )

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HAVE A GREAT FOURTH OF JULY!

Pinkfusion

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Somehow this year my garden got the pinks. As I worked in the garden this week, I noticed there is a heck of a lot of pink out there.

The coleus cuttings turned out to be many shades of pink and pink accents. A neighbor gave me a left-over flat of pink impatiens so I paired them with the pink coleus.

In pots

and in the ground.

Other annuals - pink cosmos and cleome .

Even the pot of zinnias Giant Flowered Mix and California Giant is predominately pink.

The perennials I’ve planted over the years are many shades of pink. A lot of them were gifts from friendly gardeners.

Saucer sized hardy hibiscus (from a neighbor)

Cone flowers (from a neighborhood school plant sale)

Garden phlox (from a friend)

Mum Clara Curtis (actually bought this one myself).

Crepe Myrtle (from another neighbor).

Pink everywhere. A happy accident.

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - October 2008

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Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts a monthly Bloom Day. On the 15th of each month, garden bloggers post comments. The comments link to pictures of gardens posted on their blogs. It's a great way to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

This is my first ever post for Bloom Day.

Since we have not had a killing frost here, annuals as well as fall perennials are blooming. The past weeks have been cool and sunny. Perfect fall weather.

As I worked on fall garden cleanup, I was surprised at the number of blooms I found. But, I know it won’t be long until we’re raking leaves. First frost in zone 6 is usually between the 15th and the end of October.

I've posted some pictures of my blooms.
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Marigold ‘Safari Yellow’ & Petunia ‘Rose Madness’

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Aster Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome’ - A dark, spectacular aster prone to a little mildew. This plant was "pinched back" effectively by some critters this year.

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Coleus - may be ‘Solar Sunrise’ or ‘Atlas’


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Coleus 'Pele' - I know it's not really a bloom but the colors are great!

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Pink impatiens ‘Super Elfin Lipstick’ and Bloodleaf. A re-seeded impatiens 'Bright Orange' pokes out of the right side in the picture.

This is the same area last year with an orange theme.

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Zinnia 'Painted Daisy' - in need of dead heading.

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Volunteer mum

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Cleome - sometimes called Spider plant. My grandmother called them 'Lectric Light Plants because they reminded her of a chandelier.

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Another yellow mum volunteer

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Also blooming:

Garden Phlox ‘David’
Snapdragon
Zinnia 'State Fair'
Rose ‘Blaze’
Sweet Alyssum
Cana
Campanula
Nicotiana ‘Fragrant Cloud’
Hardy Geranium ‘Splish Splash’
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Japanese Anemone pink and white
Celosia

Wow! That's quite a lot.
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Container Plants

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The containers are finally planted! ¾ of the cuttings are in the ground. A week of rain has made trying to plant anything somewhat of an adventure.

Speaking of rain, the big yellow iris is completely schmooshed. The picture was taken a few days ago when the rain-schmooshing was just beginning. It’s sad that we won’t get to enjoy them this year.

I planted some vegetables in containers again – pole beans (Kentucky Wonder) and bush cucumbers (Bush Champion). Last year we had loads of beans. The bush cucumbers got mildewed and didn’t produce much after the first crop. (see 9/8/07 post) It will be interesting to see what happens this year. I'll try less plants to reduce crowding - 2 instead of 4.

I bought two Drip-It Pro watering devices from Gardener’s Supply. Hopefully, they will help keep the plants watered during the summer. I’ll let you know how they work out.

Zinnia (Burpee Candy Cane and Giant Flowering mix) and sweet pea (Burpee Streamers) seeds were planted in the large patio pot. Several other pots got various coleus, impatiens, cana, diamond frost and dusty miller.

The porch pot is a red, white and blue combination – Impatiens ‘Dazzler® Red Star’, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost®’ and a pretty blue plant that was a gift from a friend. I don’t know the name of the blue plant. It reminds me of lobelia. There won’t be much color for Memorial Day but I’m hoping to have a pretty pot by the 4th of July.

I mix the soil in a wheelbarrow and either wheel the soil to the pot or carry it in a bucket. Even though I put a few empty soda cans in the bottom, the pots are too heavy to move when full. Wooden plant dollies are under the pots on the deck.

I use whatever garden/potting soil I can find on sale. I add some soil from my dirt pile, a little sand and a bag of perlite. The mixture is usually light and fluffy.

I’ll be fertilizing with fish emulsion if it ever stops raining. I wish I could save some of this rain for August.

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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!

Garden Maintenance

It’s been a busy week in the garden. I’ve started taking cuttings from the coleus, impatiens and fuchsia for next year. I sprayed the amaryllis and brought them in to dry for the dormant period. (see February 24, 2007 post.) The poinsettia was trimmed, sprayed and also brought in. I finished mulching; dead headed cone flowers, hosta, astilbe, liatris and annuals that needed it; potted some plants for friends. I trimmed the overgrown alyssum, pussy willow and roses. Weeded and watered. I spent a lot of time enjoying the garden.

Last year red/white impatiens made a nice bright spot beneath the red bud tree. This spring I planted some orange variegated coleus and salmon impatiens and the spot is even brighter.

I plant annuals in this spot to hide the daffodil leaves after they bloom. It’s fun to change annuals and see the difference it makes. It depends somewhat on the color of the cuttings I’ve grown over the winter.

Annuals

Many years ago I started digging up the yard for gardens. Each year I bought spring blooming bulbs to plant in fall – tulips, hyacinths, daffodils. Since I couldn’t afford a ton of perennials, I bought annuals to mask the bulbs fading foliage. I continue to use annuals even though I have added many perennials.
If I had to pick my three favorite annuals -

The top of the list of would be coleus. Bright, cheerful and a Joseph’s coat of colors, they brighten shady spots. Some can take sun. They are all almost care free. They are also easy to propagate so I save a lot of money raising cuttings.






Second on the list is impatiens. The colors pop in the shade garden. The New Guinea impatiens is great for the sunnier areas.




There are some annuals that have a special meaning for me. Cosmos is planted for a special young lady whose birthday is in October. Cleome reminds me of my Grandmother’s garden. The tall, spectacular, ever-blooming habit looks great in large groups at the back of the garden.





Whoops, that’s four. I wouldn’t want to be without any of them as well as dusty miller, sweet alyssum, marigold, zinnia, petunia, wax begonia, snapdragon, sweet pea . . .

Garden Success and Failure. I'm sure every gardener has her/his share of success and failure in the garden. We learn from our mistakes, right? mmmmm

I'm posting a few of my successes and a few of my failures. Any comments would be welcomed. Misery and joy love company!


Failure:

Tuberose -Double Flowering Tuberose Polianthea Tuberosa. I bought a few bulbs early in 2004. I potted them and put them outside in May. They never flowered. I brought them in in fall and put them out again in May. No flowers. Last fall, I brought them in and let them dry back - treating them like the amaryllis. I re-potted them and put them out in spring. 2006 again no flowers. This year I put them in the garage to dry and overwinter. In spring, I'll plant a few in the ground and some in a pot. 2007 may be my last year for the Tuberose!

Sweet Pea - Ferry & Morse seeds. This may be partially a success story. I don't have a lot of full sun garden areas. I planted seeds in May in a spot next to our fence where they would get the most sun. But, I let them climb on the cleome for support which gave them more shade . I had only a few flowers. Next year I'll try some sort of trellis or plant them in the middle of the yard.

Seedbalz - Cosmos & Bachelor Button. There were no Bachelor Buttons. I think the few Cosmos that came up were seeded from last year's plants.

Impatiens cuttings. Each year I lose a few cuttings. This year I lost all of them. They start out fine, bloom & look great. Then they get tiny white spots and eventually the leaves curl up and the plant dies.

There were a few more failures - but let's not dwell on that. On to better things -


Success:

Coleus Cuttings. I had 8 flats to plant out in May (including some impatiens & begonias). Coleus have become my favorite annual. I used them in pots, in dry/part shade and to accent perennial color or form.

Canna (pictures posted October 16) - The original tubers were a gift. They grow easily and have a tropical impact on a long blank garage wall - and they multiply like rabbits!

Euonymus - Variegated Emerald Surprise (I think) - upright shrub. I conquered the dreaded scale. A few years ago the bushes were sparce and one of them bit the dust. I've been spraying regularly with water/baking soda soap solution and this summer they were full and healthy.

General Garden Design - I really like the way the garden looked this summer. But - the best garden is always next year's.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND HAPPY GARDENING!

Cutting Disaster

Garden Help! Cutting Disaster. The impatiens cuttings are beginning to die off. If you can see it on the picture (click to enlarge) there are tiny white dots on the good-looking plant on the left. Eventually, I assume, it will get to look like the plant on the right. I plan to spray again today with the baking soda solution (see Oct. 16 post). The coleus cuttings don't seem to be affected. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

On a brighter note - the Halloween topiary arrangement was made at the monthly flower arranging class at Patti's Petals on Third Street in Bethlehem. The class is great fun and, despite my lack of talent, produces a really nice take-home arrangement.