The Fallen

With some heavy rain and a touch of laziness from the owner for not staking again this year, the hydrangea has once again succumbed to its own success. The large blooms of what I believe is 'Incrediball' have fallen down and cannot get up. I now support the peony before it also goes down, and keep thinking that I will do the same for the hydrangea when it starts to peek out of the ground. But since I cannot find any support system large enough, I need to make my own, and that involves some involved work. Maybe next year.

These rudbeckia mentioned in Bloggers Bloom Day love the location against the masonry house. Nice and warm in the winter, and beautiful non-clay soil thanks to years of fallen leaves where ivy once roamed. They are taller and more robust than in any other of my gardens. Taller means easier to bend over.

Another reseeder is the nicotiana: white in the back, and green in the front yards. The white species grow taller and always flop over, and I always let them. The green nicotiana don't do this to the same extent maybe because they do not grow as tall. Maybe because they get full sun and the whites don't, or because they are just a different shorter variety.

Native Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) is now blooming and down it goes. The plants tend to support each other in the center of the cluster, while those along the perimeter take a bow like in this photo. The dark leaves turn green when the yellow blooms appear in summer.

Not yet down is the yellow-flowered plant I picked up at a plant swap. I think it is a type of helianthus or coreopsis. It bloomed in late summer when about 3-feet high (90 cm) and proceeded to bend down. This year it is about 4-feet (120 cm) tall at the moment, with some buds appearing. And so far it is standing tall.

When the weak fall, it is difficult to get them back up permanently, so I usually let them lay.

Fall Color For Gray Winter

It's the middle of winter, and there is not much to record in the way of gardening. In looking at some past photos that were not posted to the blog, a few noteworthy autumn items for the journal were found. First, there is the gooseneck loosestrife (lysimachia clethroides).

The leaves this year turned a vibrant golden yellow in the fall. The color stayed around for about two weeks before fading into brown. I believe the memory has been fading too, since I do not remember this color on the loosestrife in the past two years of growing it [22.6.2008]. I can think of three reasons:

1. In previous years, the plants were rather sparse, so maybe the increased density this year created a more solid blob of color that simply got noticed.
2. This fall had the right conditions to create the color, much like the conditions affect the leaf color in the trees from year to year.
3. The plants were healthier during the year, since I was trying to get them to fill in and spread (which they did.)

The color was a welcome surprise.

There is a small oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) planted in the spring that did not grow much during the summer. The few leaves it had rivaled the maples in fall color. Since this was its first year in the garden, it is not known how prevalent this red color will be next autumn, but I am hopeful. Researching online indicates that the plant is known for its intense red fall colors.

Mushroomed

After waiting a few years for something to happen, several ornamental plants have mushroomed into large showy displays this year. Now in its third year, the gooseneck loostrife (Lysimachia clethroides) [22.6.2008] have spread into a tough, formidable, low-growing bush. Two years of tender loving care and manure/humus have encouraged it to begin its notorious spreading. For the first time, I have been pulling up rhizomes in the spring.

The concrete hostas [10.8.2008] growing in full sun have flower stalks that rivaled the bearded iris. Such a mass of blooms from my deck looks like a solid lavender cluster. The same plants in the shade are less conspicuous, not as large, and do not get their leaves crisped.

The coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) [10.6.2007] have now grown into a firm bush. Goldfinches no longer need to balance on the tops, swaying under their weight. The number of stalks support each other. They are the highest - standing tall in the front garden.

After three years, the obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) [1.8.2008] has decided to produce clusters of flowers on branching flower stalks instead of flowers along one solitary stalk. This feat allows the flowers to bloom for a longer period of time, and gives a thicker display of blooms.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: Cosmos, obedient plant, hostas, nicotiana, loosestrife,     coneflowers, daylillies, cleome, liatris, phlox   • Harvested: broccoli, lettuce   • Progress: tomatoes 1"; peppers 0.5"

Noose Neck, Loose Life

Of course, when you want a plant to spread, it will not. Some neighbors had an unidentified low-growing ground cover lurking in the shadows of their backyard. It was only described as 'easily spreadable'. Sounds like butter. It had no pests, it got no sun, it received no care, and it grew in clay soil. It required an annual aggressive extraction to keep the spreading in check, since its underground runners were marathon winners.

After some research, they discovered it was gooesneck loosestrife (lysimachia clethroides). Their sleuthing was very impressive, as this is not a common plant found in may places. Yet the bizzare multi-syllable name was impossible to remember. Noose neck moose life? Loose leaf goose mite? Loosey-goosey light? Yes, goose strife exists on Google.

The landscape architect friends also warned me of its evil spreading ways. Internet sites claim that its cousin the purple loosestrife is an invasive noxious weed wrecking havoc across the country. With a bit of apprehension, the neighbors offered up some cuttings (actually some handfuls yanked out of the ground) for the black hole under my tree where nothing grows. The 1-foot high (30 cm) loosestrife was planted last year, and provided some light green in a dark corner of the yard. Although preferring moist conditions, it is happily growing and blooming this summer, but with no spreading. Could there please be a little spreading?

For The Record:   • Heavy dry, clay soil   • Shade, some afternoon sun   • No fertilizer Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: calendula, salvias, nicotiana, monarda, cosmos, coneflower, asiatic liliy, daylily, first tomato blooms