Surprises in the Garden

Every year, I can count on not knowing what is going to appear next.

Last year I was surprised by the super-tall sunflower and strawberries in the flocks. The year before that, I had a volunteer tomato plant in with the flowers.

There is always something surprising.

This year has been a whole host of surprises.

First was the pink Impatiens plant in the flat of red flowers the husband picked up for me.

 

Pink in a sea of red.

When I planted these guys, I noticed the first one. The second one was a surprise because not all of the plants had bloomed. The third one was placed in the middle of the red ones on purpose.

The next surprise was a plant I had never seen before, certainly did not plant and did not recognize until I did a search only to find it at an Illinois wildflower site.

Evening Primrose

I thought this was a Joe Pie Salad plant. Wrong!!! But it is lovely just the same and blooms in the evening. That was a nice surprise.

The other day I was looking at a new lily I planted. Could have sworn I order an orange-colored flower. But this is what came up.

It is not a Surprise Lily but what is it?

 

I was expecting a different flower than this. Problem is I don’t know what I have. Oriental Lily, yes. Variety, not sure.

While I was pondering this, I looked up and noticed another surprise.

Cream Hollyhock

 

A pure cream-colored Hollyhock. My other cream-colored flowers has veins of color running through them but not this one. I think I know at least one flower I am showing at the County Fair.

Right before I put the camera away I had been trying to get a picture of butterfly. Neither one of us was very patient for that. However, that is when this bright patch of blue grabbed my attention.

Bachelor Button Blue

 

This plant is hidden in the Obedience Plant and another Hollyhock. But here is it, so deeply brilliant. Makes me wonder what I might see next week.

What surprises are in your garden?

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Tulips Abounding

Pink tulips waiting for the rain to end.

Watching the tulips blossom

Tulips in the Grotto.

has made this rainy spring bearable.

 

From yellow to pinks to reds, the color display has been wonderful.

 

All of these are favorites as I walk the dog around town.

 

The tulips in the grotto were picked because I love the way they ‘just happen’ to appear around the bases of these bushes – scattered and occaisional.  

Yellow tulips against a Sage green house.

Tulips dancing around the pole.

Around the corner from my house

 

 

 

 

The tulips at my house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do the tulips look in your neighborhood?

 

The Pink Mystical Tree

Every year for Christmas, my mother includes a few little projects in the box along with the presents and crackers.

Some year we get to it and some years we forget about it totally. Magic rocks, tiny sea monkeys, mystical trees have all come to the house. This year it was the pink trees called Mystical Trees.

Picture by Me

Instead of another year of the package sitting around,  my daughter decided she was going to get it done.

She opened one of the packages, made the tree, poured the special solution in the tray and put the tree in the tray.

At first, there was only white fuzz on the cardboard. But a day later it looked like this – pink and fuzzy.

Picture by Me

Maybe you can sit there and watch it grow. I noticed it last night looking a little pink. By this morning it looked like something you can find in a Dr. Seuss book.

In years past we have tried to leave the experiments on the dining room table. But then the dog would try to eat it. Is there anything remotely appetizing about this little science project? Apparently, there is to the dog.

This year our tree is safely hidden behind the dish drainer. Storm has to really work to get at it, requiring a step stool. I do not think he can do that quite yet.

Picture by Me

So now we have an inside mini garden that makes us laugh or smile and it only took a few minutes.

How are you getting through the winter doldrums?

The Garden’s End

The garden is at its end.

The Morning Glories

We have had a few frosts now and many of the annuals and perennials are done. The morning glories are drooping, the verbena has disappeared.

However, the snap dragons and Mums have stayed the course along with the pansies. The Impatiens on the side of the house are not as glorious but they have dropped off some.

The Impatiens are hunkering down.

What I will start doing this week is cut down peony plants and the Hostas. Most of the time, I leave the plants in the garden and top them with compost and leaves. Some years I cut the stems in the fall and other years I cut and clean out in the spring.

This year, I plan to plant seeds for next spring, cut back plants but leave the greens as a compost ingredient.

Some of my peonies have a white powdery covering. Mildew. These plants will be cut out and burned. I do not need that problem coming back and this is the best method of getting rid of that.

The Front Garden

Just a few weeks ago this front garden was glorious with Black Eye Susan and leafier sunflower plants.

Now, the Petunias are hanging on as the pansies prop them up, color-wise.

What I will do here is keep the Mums and the Sedum as they provide winter interest. The rest, including the sunflower plants, will be cut down.

Shade Garden

Remember that gorgeous shade garden from the spring? You can not see the limited blooms but it is nothing like it was earlier this year.

Here again I will cut down the peonies but leave the greens and cover the bed with compost and leaves rakes from the yard.

Hosta Garden

Hostas have never been my favorite plants. But I am trying to get some different varieties to make this patch more interesting. I am also planning to buy some tulip and hyacinth bulbs to plant for spring interest. Saw the idea in a magazine and I really liked the effect.

Can’t wait to see those results.

Late Blooming Cosmo

Now here are a few last-minute surprises. The Cosmo plant finally bloomed this week. In August, I was jealous of neighbors who had beautiful airy blooms. My plants had nothing. And then, about two weeks ago, I got buds. And now here is the flower. I am not sure it will open completely so I will take what I can get.

Zinnia

Here it is. The last new plant to bloom. A delicate pink zinnia. Whether seeds will come out of this plant is anyone’s guess. But it is a small piece of perfection.

How is the end of your garden?

The Last Planting of the Year

Side view of the front garden for better viewing

Yesterday, I put in the fall mums that will finish off the garden for the year. I made the placement of the new plants to contrast off the existing plants. I am considering getting one more to put in the left corner to balance the view from the front.

This is the last planting of new plants I will do for the year. Soon, I will remove the tomato frames that have held up the peony plants. After that I will cut down those and other perennials that are no longer green.

As the gardening year closes out I am looking at the cosmos plants that grew but never bloomed, the zinnias that are about to bloom, tons of seeds that never produced. I plant to put seeds in this fall that will be next year’s flowers before I put on the final layers of compost and dead leaves.

Sometimes what I will do is leave plants to be winter interest. Plants such as clematis and the peonies. In the spring I clean up the dried out remains that have also protected the bulbs I have layered about. I do put compost on some perennials and the mums in the hope they will come back.

This is also the time of the year I plant bulbs. When I was digging for the mums, I hit some of my tulip bulbs. So I took those out and plan to plant to move them to my hosta bed.

I saw an article this past spring showing how to make that hosta bed better looking in the early spring with a mix of tulips and daffodils. That means I am heading to the garden center with the intention of getting bulbs to make the least loved garden space a little prettier.

Here is my list of plant in the garden this year. Now I can start thinking of what to plant for next year to compliment what is already there.

Bachelor Buttons/Cornflower

Black Eyed Susan

Blackberry Lilies

Buttercup

Clematis

Columbine

Cosmos

Crocus

Daffodils

Four O’Clock

Grape Hyacinth

Hollyhock

Hosta

Impatiens

Lavender

Lilac

Moonflower

Morning Glory

Mums

Narcisus

Pansies

Peony

Petunia

Phlox

Pink Flowering Dogwood Tree

Pinks/Dianthus

Purple Cone Flower

Purple Obedient Plant

Red Salvia

Sedum

Snapdragons

Spider Wort

Star of Bethlehem

Sunflowers

Trailing Geranium

Tulips

Verbenna

White Cone Flower

White Obedient Plant

Zinnia