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Summer Plumbago
Normally plumbago starts blooming sometimes at the end of August, beginning of September. I am not surprised to see its bright blue flowers, because they fit in harmoniously with the rest of the late summer bloomers: solidago, daisies, mums, coneflowers... The sedum will ripen any moment now.
Cool Salvia
Did you know that this aromatic herb belongs to the mint family? I didn't:)
The garden displays unexpected plant combinations that blend monardas, daylilies, and goldenrods in the same picture. Tall Casablanca lilies counterpoint the image, heavy with vanilla scent.
The first time I passed them by I thought my nose deceived me, but I got closer and their much darker stamens really look and smell like vanilla beans.
Something about this unusual landscape reminds me of the old woman's perpetual garden in the story of Snow Queen, where all the flowers bloomed continuously and non-seasonally, all flowers except the roses. Not to worry though, they are all alive and well, just taking a little break for now, they are not very fond of the heat.
I lower my head gently to pass under the lily, yes, it is a foot or so taller than me and it arches gracefully under the weight of its many flowers, striped with yellow and smelling of vanilla beans. A little cottontail jumped unexpectedly at my feet, I almost stepped on it.
Beloved
It is such a joy to watch the healthy garden thrive after a deep watering! The long drought is finally over, a normal amount of moisture came back together with reasonable temperatures.
The little bunches of fruit on the tomato plants are still green for the most part, for them the summer is just beginning. Every veggie and flower unfolded extra compartments to make room for more food and water. The always thirsty cucumbers unfurled broad leaves and sprung up countless curly cues to secure their attachments to the supports. Speaking of veggie personality, you can't ever give too much water to the cucumbers, these sponges will absorb any quantity and grow insanely fast.
Reasonable weather surprised the delicate pea stems and they shot up immediately, happy to produce more pods, even though technically this is not their time to yield fruit. Fuzzy eggplant leaves tower over low sprawling squash, basking in the warmth of the long growing season.
Water drops were abundantly dripping off the edge of the balcony when I stopped to admire the healthy garden. The water landed right on the top leaves of the tomatoes, as every gardening book recommends to avoid, but the tomatoes beamed with good health and condescendingly ignored the potential for black spot.
The vegetable patch reflects the pampered assurance every beloved being returns to its caretaker, and does so beautifully and without pretense. After years of puttering around in your garden you can feel its moods just as easily as those of a loved one. It has its dusty scratchy days, its dull days, its splendid and awe inspiring days, its warm and welcoming days, its shrugging under the rain days, its crude and sharp days, its bountiful days, its wonderfully surprising days, and its chaotic days. Today was a "look at me, am I exquisite" day.
Field of daisies
They are considered very easy going plants and for good reason. Daisy clumps grow large, bloom abundantly and are very tolerant of dry conditions and heavy soils.
Surprisingly enough, mine grow better in half shade than they do in full sun: they look healthier, don't become leggy and keep their flowers longer. I haven't figured out why, it must be the larger amount of nutrients and the moisture. Daisies for shade?
Lobelia
Such a charming ground cover! Don't be fooled by its fragile appearance, this is a full sun plant and will not thrive unless it has six to eight ours of direct sunlight. They do need plenty of water, though, otherwise their delicate flowers and foliage will be burned by the heat.
Lobelia comes in many shades of blue, pink, lavender and purple, but the bright blue variety is the most representative for the species.
The Weekly Gardener - 2011 ©
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