In and Around the Garden

The end of August is nearly here and the garden is shaping up for its conclusion.  Hopefully it will be a spectacular finish where the flowers bloom out and blend with the foliage as it turns into flaming reds, oranges, and yellows.  That may be the proverbial pipe dream as the weather has been strange this year and we don’t know how well the trees will retain their foliage and what colors they might display. 

Cherry tree leaves

We’re already losing the leaves off of the cherry trees.  They tend to be the first to drop leaves in the fall.  The sassafras trees are beginning to change their coloring as well.  Next week I’ll make an announcement about the Fall Color Project that I host each year here at Growing The Home Garden. You’ll be able to see autumn foliage from around the country and even in other countries!  For now though let’s meander around my garden and I’ll show you a few things.

I haven’t showed you the patio area I built a couple years ago in a while.  The biggest issue we’ve had is keeping it well weeded between the cracks.  I use boiling water to kill off the weeds periodically.  A tea pot and a stove top do make an effective organic weed control method!  I need to find a good method for storing all those hoses to the right of the picture. The gladiolas on the left need moved and replanted somewhere were they won’t be an issue for people walking along the pathway.

We have most of our perennial herbs planted along the sides of the patio.  Here we have some Greek oregano.  It spreads very fast and grows so easily from seed that I have to weed the plants severely a couple times a year.

Sage and thyme are across the path from the oregano.  The thyme decided to spill out onto the patio and actually rooted along one of the stems.  I’ll have to remove that and replant it in another location.  The herbs kind of give the patio a Mediterranean feel which is neat but they also repel insects to some degree. I love to use sage in the kitchen!

Here’s an angle with both the thyme and the oregano.  Next the oregano on the left is lemon balm and to the right where you can’t see it is catmint.  Behind the oregano is a witchhazel.

Next to that witch hazel is a patio peach tree (Prunus persica ‘Bonfire’).  It has beautiful burgundy foliage in the spring that fades slightly in the heat of summer.  The peaches aren’t really for eating but the plant is a good low growing ornamental perfect for adding color to an area.  Flowers fade and lose their color. Flowers also attract bees which isn’t the best thing for a patio area so having foliage color is a better choice for patio areas.

The self-sowing garden near the arbor is looking nice this time of year.  Included in the self sowing garden are cosmos, celosia, salvia, coneflowers, rudbeckia, poppies (in spring), Russian sage, and several other annuals and perennials.

Another zinnia bloomed this week.  This one is a very clean looking white zinnia that would look great mixed together with some purple flowering plants.  I know it has a name somewhere but I’d have to go look for the seed package to find it!  I save seeds from zinnias each year and spread them around to other gardens.  They don’t always turn out the same way.  Some are double, some aren’t, some flower the same color, some don’t, but they always do a great job of adding color to the garden!

We have a reblooming white iris that is showing off right now.  This is probably its last set of blooms for the summer.

A friend in a garden club gave me this large white flowering hardy hibiscus.  It was just a seedling last year and didn’t bloom but this year it has been a blooming powerhouse!  I really need to propagate a few of these for other spots in the garden.

The black-eyed Susans (rudbeckia) are still flowering along.  You can tell this one is on its way to losing its petals and producing seed for the birds.

The pyracantha (firethorn) has some berries that are ripening.  It’s a beautiful plant when covered with berries – assuming it isn’t hidden behind a large birch tree!