August Bloom Day

The good news is that I have made three garden bloggers bloom days in a row. The bad news is that there is little else to show between the posts. However, I have three posts waiting in the wings, including my annual review of a dwarf sunflower variety. I will begin posting them next week.

Let sleeping bumblebees lie. The first dwarf sunflower variety is finisehd blooming, but the second one is now going full strong: Elf by Burpee.

This is Tiger Eyes marigold from Park Seed. There is something going on with this marigold that I have yet to figure out. It starts out looking bicolor like it supposed to. Then, it begins to change to a monocolor, maybe a little more yellow, then the bicolor, with larger bottom petals, then a deeper orange. I am thinking the environment affects its booms, like temperature, moisture, or fertilizer; or maybe all three. The plant is growing in three other locations, with one reseeded from last year. All exhibit different qualities at different times. (Note the red on the plant in the background.) Love these tough little guys though - sometimes so do the mites.

Rudbeckia hirti reseeds itself year after year wherever it wants to, and sometimes produces a few suprises like this one. Petals are narrower with a slight marking in the interior, and the color is slightly more orange than the others.

Leftover seeds were dumped in a corner of the front yard from this mix of zinnias. I don't remember a peach colored bloom last year.

The zinnia agustifolia love reseeding every year, popping up anywhere they please. I let them form a border. They are slow beginners, but really get going this time of year. The dead looking stuff is dill gone for the summer. I am an untidy (..lazy?) gardener in August.

Black Pearl ornamental pepper from the winter Seed Exchange forms a handsome color combination. Dark purple foliage turning green, shiny black peppers ripen to a scarlet red. Pretty enough to eat ... and incinerate your insides.

In front of the colocasia, the buddleia looks full and neat because I keep pinching it back during the spring. This also delays bloom a little.

One of the many visitors to the butterfly bush, a Great Spangled Fritillary.

For other garden bloggers bloom day photos, check out our host at blog May Dreams Gardens.

Noshing On The Buddleia

It's been a wonderful month of travel and exciting adventures that have kept me away from the garden and the blog. Summer continues on well past its end, so every summer fun activity continues, too.

Last year I wrote about the white buddleia that sprang from nothing [posted 2012.08.13]. Due to the inactivity surrounding this new plant, I questioned its nickname butterfly bush. It simply did not attract butterflies.

This year, the plant is fuller after being chopped close to the ground last winter, and grew to about 5-feet in height (1.5m) and width. It apparently became more attractive to several nectar-loving creatures. At first, swallowtails appeared for a group buffet. After summer forged ahead, other smaller and lesser known winged visitors would take their turn for a snack. In September, a new day tripper arrived.

A clearwing moth bobbed in and out of the tuberous flowers, at first scaring me into thinking it was a giant bee, then thinking it a small hummingbird. Clearwings are known as 'hummingbird moths.'

Buddleia are endemic to four continents, but not Europe. My Buddleai davidii probably has roots in China. The flower clusters are not as densely packed together as other varieties seen, leading me to believe those other varieties to be highly cultivated. My plant responds well to deadheading, and to pruning in the spring. I tried and was fairly successful shaping it into a nice bush this year. My hungry visitors appreciated the work, too.

A Budding Buddleia

Woah. I knew nothing about buddleia until I found one growing in the monarda order received from High Country Gardens. The story started in early February after it began springing up ahead of the new monarda clump planted in the fall, as detailed in my [09.03.2012] post entitled "Name That Plant."

Growth was fast with a number of vertical stalks reaching toward the sky. In their comments, Janet and eu.phorbia were spot on in identifying the mystery plant from the few leaves displayed in my pictures. Once I was convinced it was buddleia, it was moved to an area where it could spread its wings. I have seen some sprawling specimens that were out of control. After its first season of growth, this one is about 4-feet high (1.2 m).

Not wanting a sparse wild plant, I began strategically trimming it several times to encourage some branching and infill. It worked, sort of, but the trimming also delayed flowering so I did not know its color until last month. It still looks a little gangly.

So where are the butterflies? None here. They sure like my zinnias, though. I did not know the buddleia flowers were fragrant (to humans).

I discovered that the plant keeps on blooming since I have been trimming the dead blooms off. I also discovered that this is important to keep the plant from becoming an invasive. King County Washington outlines its Class B Noxious Weed classification.

"It can grow in very challenging conditions, such as cracks in the pavement and along railroads. Invasion of butterfly bush along riversides is especially problematic, because it forms dense thickets, crowds out native vegetation, and disrupts natural succession patterns. A study at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania found that a single flower spike produced 40,000 seeds. The germination rate of several cultivars was 80 percent or higher. Seeds remain viable in the soil for 3 to 5 years. Butterfly bush can re-sprout from the rootstock after it can been damaged or cut down to its base, and the cut stems can grow into new plants."

For The Record:   • Heavy clay soil with gypsum & organic amendments   • Partial sun   • No serious pests/disease   • Mildly sweet smelling blooms   • Continuous blooming Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: pink cosmos, mexican zinnia. zinnia, cleome, rudbeckia, rose, green coneflower, green nicotiana   • Harvested: 1 pepper, 12 tomatoes, 5 cucumbers