I was visiting Bogie’s blog, trying to catch up on some of my reading. Things have been hectic here so I’m several days behind on blogs. I was delighted to discover that she is a gardener. She’s farther north than I am, so she’s begining to get her gardens ready for winter. I have about a month to go before I start putting the gardens to bed. We’ll be having a bridal shower here a week from today, and I want the grounds to look their best, so I’ve been spending a lot of time weeding, watering, feeding, pruning and generally cleaning up the grounds.

Last summer a large order of iris came in from Cooley’s Gardens in Oregon, just as we were leaving for a two week vacation. My mother potted them into two shallow plastic dishes to hold them over. I got one of the dishes, maybe six iris, planted last year, and wintered the second six over in the garage. I kept meaning to get them planted, but we went through the bloom season, and into July and then into AUGUST before I managed to make a place for them. I plan to water this weekend to be sure they are settling in. I want them to have great root structure to get through the winter, and then I expect gorgeous flowers next year.
I tried a number of new plants this Spring, and for the most part they have done well. Prairie Mallow (Sidalcea, I think) was one of them. I thought it might be a taller plant. It’s possible that it will gain some height next year. It was disrupted during a weeding session and it probably needed more watering to get it established. Have you ever planted something and then forgot it was a keeper when you were weeding? Usually the first year I leave the plastic tag near it to remind me. That way I have some time to learn the names, and recognize it’s growing habit.
I tried a perennial verbena this year. I think it’s “Homestead” purple. Those three little plants were planted late by my standards, and I figured that they wouldn’t amount to much. Darned if they aren’t close to being the most spectacular plants in the garden! They are rivaled by three good sized dahlia plants that are new to the garden this year, too. I’ll have to dig up the dahlias in a month and research how to winter them over.
I thought my lavendar had sucumbed to the crazy winter weather and started to cut it back. I discovered that it was still alive at the stem, so I pruned it severely and gave it some TLC. I was surprised to see it come back. I added two or three plants, so next year I should be inundated. Unfortunately the shasta daisies planted next to the lavendar look like they have died.
I know there are other plants to tell you about, but I’ve just hit bottom. It’s been a long day, with a lot of unusual exercise, and a lot of brain strain. Remind me to tell you about the roses, black spot and cornmeal. It may be a tip you’ll value.
Have a sweet night, all!