Fast forward


While certain things about this speeded-up season have been slightly disturbing (lilies mostly over by mid-July, etc.), overall I have found it kind of fun. I have always had a mid-season-maturing garden, so with enough annuals and tropicals to back it up, I find that I’m getting more consistent fullness and color this year—earlier, and I hope just as long.


Plant of the month: rudbeckia lacianata “Golden Glow.” It’s kind of like a really tall (5’ and up) and better-looking mum. I have only seen it offered from Select Seeds, and much prefer it to the Goldsturm and the Herbstsonne, which was my previous favorite.


And these lovely herbs, a gift planter from Buffalo gardening guru Sally Cunningham. You can see borage and oregano flowers, with the fabulous houseplant plectranthus “Mona Lavender” in the background.

In front of the house (top), the fusion impatiens have achieved shrub status, while the colocasia are attempting tree height.

If I depended on perennials for my summer impact, I’d be nowhere. No matter how the season goes—speeded up or slow—if you have annuals and tropicals , you’ll always have some kind of drama. And I’m all about the drama. Especially on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I wish my elephant ears looked like yours. June in Seattle was very cool, so everything here is behind. Heat loving things are only just now starting to grow and bloom. I have flowers in my garden,but I'm really more of a leaf gardener. leaves do their thing way longer than flowers, and like your elephant ears, can be quite dramatic.

Deirdre
Rose said…
Those impatiens are amazing! I agree about perennials this time of year--all mine are looking as tired and droopy as I am:) Thank heavens for annuals.
Noel Morata said…
aloha,

that rudbeckia is a standout....love your potted plants on the patio, they are quite striking too!
Rebecca said…
The more I learn about gardening, the more I see that I may need to "break down" and supplement my beds with some annuals. I am reluctant. But every spring, when the perennials look so promising, I forget or tell myself I don't need annuals.... I need a little drama here in mid-August.
Diana said…
Love that -- all about the drama! Me, too. (And not just gardening - tee hee.) You're right, though, it takes the right mixture of plants and successive blooming to make a fabulous garden and you definitely have the art and science down perfectly. So glad I got to see it up close and personal. Happy GBBD.
Commonweeder said…
Elizabeth - it is amazing that you have so many hydrangeas in your garden but they are worth the space. I love your Golden Glow. I was visiting a friend recently and admired a huge clump of brilliant flowers and though they were helianthus of some sort. My friend said, "Oh, I don't know what they are. Golden Glow, but they have been here for a hundred years" The family has been on that farm for about 200 years! She promised me a clump in the spring.
That Golden Glow is something else. It doesn't even look like a rudbeckia! So nice you're having a long season with those annuals.
Love the look of those herbs..and the rudbeckia. Looks like things are still going strong in Buffalo!
Kathy said…
As Commonweeder intimated, Golden Glow is really an heirloom plant, surviving in a lot of farmhouse gardens without much help from anybody.

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