Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - September 2008

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day here at May Dreams Gardens!

What a mess August has made of my September blooms! Well, it isn't all of August's fault, some of the blame lies with the first two weeks of September, too.

Oh, and June and July have to own up to what they did, too. And just yesterday Hurricane Ike, or what was left of it, came through and tried to blow everything away.

Here's what happened...

I mostly remember this summer as starting out very wet in June, then being very comfortable and enjoyable in July with moderate temperatures and rain when we needed it. Then in mid-August, the rain disappeared and didn't return until this past week.

I've never seen plants dry up so quickly and the lawn seemed to go dormant almost overnight.

My excuse theory for why the plants dried up so quickly is that they got all lazy with the plentiful rain in June and July and didn't grow any deep roots looking for water. The water was always right there. Right there at the surface.

Then when the rain stopped and the water wasn't right there in the first few inches of dirt, the plants had no deep roots to go after deeper reserves of moisture and therefore just dried up.

What do you think of that excuse theory? Let that be a lesson to all on what happens to lazy plants, and people, too.

But now the rain has returned and the plants are growing and flowering again, so all is not lost and I have high hopes for fall.

The Verbena bonariensis pictured above has been blooming for a few weeks. I generally let it self sow a bit and come up here and there in the garden becomes it blooms late when not a lot of other new blooms are around.

I'll have to remember that the August "lilies" (Hosta) provide a good show in September, too.

And they still have a sweet scent to them!

Notice that the lawn has turned green again? It was very tan a week or so ago before we got some rain.

I have sedum (Stonecrop) all over the place, partly because it is an easy plant to dig and divide in the spring and I keep moving it around, dividing it each time.
This is probably a Sedum telephium, variety unknown, or possibly Sedum spectabile. Or it could be Hylotelephium telephium or Hylotelephium spectabile, which are the new botanical names for these sedums. Or we could go with the other common name, Witch's Moneybags. I don't remember where I got it or how it came to be in my garden, but I like the dark rosy pink blooms.

Nearby is Sedum erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn'.This is supposed to have variegated leaves, but it has mostly reverted back to plain green. And it has gotten all floppy this fall, whereas the other variety has not. I suppose, by the way, that like the other sedum, this one, too, could have a new botanical name. Let's just call it 'Frosty Morn'.

My best blooms this month are these Colchicums. Where have these been my entire gardening life? Thank you to Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening for sending them to me last fall.

I especially like how they come up through the sedum groundcover. It makes it less obvious that there is no foliage, just flowers.

And now the nearly complete list of blooms...(subject to updating!)

Stonecrop Sedum (see above)
Variegated False Dragon's Head (Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata')
Chrysanthemums (they have a new botanical name, too, Dendranthema morifolium)Shasta daisies (just a few)
Marigolds
Zinnias
Impatiens
August Lilies (a passalong Hosta)
Veronica bonariensis
Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum 'Aureum')
Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)
Chocolate Mint
Spirea 'Limemound'
Hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro'
Tall Phlox, white, pink, white with pink center (Phlox paniculata)
Potentilla fruticosa
Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes)

What's blooming in your garden? I'd love to have you join us for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. It's easy to particpate. Just post on your blog about your mid-September blooms and then come here and leave a comment so we can find you.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!