MY FALL BLOOMERS

I've been waiting and waiting for some of my favorite plants to burst into bloom. Some of my plants have been in bud form forever, it seems. Each day I look for even the slightest hint of an impending flower. Do these plants realize they are growing in Michigan! Don't they know we're now into September and first frost could come any day now.
These are some of the plants that are teaching me patience:

Mexican Bush Sage is not hardy in my zone 5. I have it in a pot and although Mexican Sage is drought tolerant I water it daily. I can see hints of brilliant purple peeking out from the gray-green lance shaped leaves. Its normal bloom period is September through first frost.I'm anticipating another purple bloom, Tibouchina (Princess Flower, Glory Bush). This plant is a native of Brazil. While waiting for Tibouchina's beautiful flowers I'm appreciating the uniqueness of its multiveined, silvery green leaves that look like velvet.
Every year I cross my fingers and pray that we have a fall that is warm enough for the Pineapple Sage to bloom. Hummingbirds love the firey red tubular flowers of this herb. The consolation for the lack of flowers is, of course, the intense pineapple scent of the leaves. I have used fresh leaves of pineapple sage in fruit drinks and iced tea. I've read that the flowers can be used in flowers and desserts.
Asked to name a fall blooming plant and the probable answer would be Aster. I have New England Asters, most are purple but some are pink. Oh yeah, some are white and look a lot like tiny daisy.
My over-wintered Brugmansia has been blooming for a few weeks now. The flowers are huge and pale yellow. However, the "Brugmansia Collection" I ordered in the spring are not blooming yet. One plant does have lots of dangling buds. I'm anxious to see the different flower colors of the new plants.
Turtlehead, Chelone, produces spikes of pink flowers that resemble the head of a turle. Hence the name. My Turtlehead is not planted in an obvious place so I need to remember to look out for the blooms.
The purple leaved Cannas have not bloomed and possibly will not bloom. But that's okay because the flowers of the green leafers are much more interesting and beautiful.
Canary vine (Tropaelum peregrinum) has little bird-like yellow flowers. It's a native of Ecuador and is related to Nasturtiums. So far, the vine has made it's way up the trellises and has wrapped itself around neighboring plants.

CONFESSIONS OF A PLANT ADDICT

I don't remember planting that. Whatever happened to ....? Where did I plant....? Those are my gardening season laments. Only a true plant addict could understand the planting frenzy that takes place in my garden between last frost in May and first frost in October.

There are the plants from the garden centers that I can't resist even if I have no room for them. There are the "pass-alongs" that I can't say no to. And the volunteers, who would toss out a plant that elected that special place in your garden to take up residence. Why can't I keep track of what's growing in my own garden and why don't I know the names of every plant.

I've tried keeping a garden log. That lasted about one day. I kept a journal for about one week. I tried taking pictures of each plant as I planted. Aha, I never matched the photos with the plant tags. I've come to the conclusion that I'm unable to keep track because knowing exactly what plants reside in my garden beds is just not that important to me. I love surprises. I have no interest in the predictable or the mundane. I don't mind (too much) if Black-eyed Susans pop up in the middle my beautiful pink Turkscaps. Do I need to know the name of a plant to appreciate its beauty. I consider it fun and a challenge to search out the identity of the inevitable mystery plant.

Added to that, I like wildflowers, Chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, Milkweed, Goldenrod . Weeds, maybe to some, but I like to include them with my cultivated plants. Oh, and then there are the exotics. I love Brugmansia, Banana, Canna, all of the summer bulbs, anything unusual. Of course the exotics and bulbs require handling and care after the outdoor growing season. And then there are the houseplants, some of which are cuttings from summer annuals. Would you believe I've even collected a few Orchids.

Oh no, it's now becoming clear, my passion for plants is getting out of control. I'm becoming a four season plant addict. HELP!!

SUMMER BULBS

SUMMER HYACINTH PINEAPPLE LILY MEXICAN SHELL FLOWER


Most people are familiar with spring bulbs, lovely tulips and daffodils; fragrant hyacinths. These are the bulbs we plant in the fall and wait patiently to see bloom in the spring. If you're a gardener who likes more immediate gratification, you might look into summer bulbs. Summer bulbs are planted in spring and are usually in bloom by mid to late summer. Everyone looks forward to seeing the first gladiolus. Visitors to Farmers Markets can't seem to resist buying those tall colorful blooms available at many of the stalls. Dahlias are also popular, especially those with huge showy flowerheads. Cannas bring a wonderful tropical look to the garden. Caladiums are grown for their colorful foliage. BUT, have you seen Mexican Shell Flowers (Tigridia pavonia); Summer Hyacinths (Galtonia candicans); Pineapple lilies (Eucomis); or my favorite fragrant bloom, Peacock Orchids (Gladiolus callianthus). All of these are delightful and bring unusual flowers and colors to the garden as it's starting to wind down.

EVENING PRIMROSE

If you have never watched an evening primrose flower unfurl, you have missed a real treat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiODdt8l108. I am willing to bet no matter what your age, you will get a "jaw-dropping" thrill from watching this phenomenon in person.

The Evening Primrose, Oenothera biennis, is mainly pollinated by the sphinx moth. It's a night bloomer that emits a delicate perfume to attract the moth. The pale yellow flower produced measures about two inches across. It has four petals, prominent stamens , cross shaped stigma, and a long green calyx. The flowers remain open from evening to early morning. The Evening Primrose plant itself is rather ugly, tall and weedy. To keep from pulling this "weed" out of my garden of cultivated plants, I have to keep reminding myself of its impending amazing show.

THE SUMMER GARDEN

poppies. mimulus ,crocosmia. lisianthus

We're well into summer now. At this point in the season most of my garden flowers have bloomed, are blooming or are about to bloom. Some of the flowers were outstanding this year, poppies, crocosmias, dames rockets. The fragrant shrubs, lilac, mock orange bloomed like crazy and and did a good job of perfuming the air. On the down side, my heliopsis are infested with red aphids again this year. (I tried a strong water spray but think I'll need to get out the Safer Soap.) My favorite annuals, lisianthus, are doing very well. I purchased a flat of them in May and distributed them among my many containers. The mimulus or monkey flowers are blooming much better than last year. These flowers are so interesting, with their cute little faces. Nicotiana, tobacco flower, self seeded and the white tubular flowers are perfuming the night air. Another "fragrant at night" plant is the jasmine. It overwintered successfully and its smallish, star-like flowers are just beginning to open.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

I just read an article about plant names. It wasn't about the fancy smansy or cutesy names hybridizers use to identify their new crosses. It was about the old fashioned names "just plain old folks " called their common, everyday plants.

"Kiss me over the garden gate"...how do you think Polygonum orientale earned that moniker! My research shows this plant is from China and was first grown by Thomas Jefferson in this country. Hmmm, is that a clue? Was Thomas Jefferson responsible for the name? The plant is described as having large, heart-shaped leaves and long, drooping spikes of rosy blooms that arch gracefully on stately, tall plants. Can you picture it draping itself over a peeling picket fence?


"Lady's Mantle", Alchemilla molis, was originally called "Our Lady's Mantle" because the scalloped shape of the leaves, were thought to resemble the mantle (cloak) of the Virgin Mary.


"Queen Anne's Lace", Daucus carota, is so called because the flower resembles lace; the red flower in the center represents a blood droplet where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace.


"Moon Flower", Ipomoea alba is so called because it blooms in the evening; the flowers open quickly at dusk and remain open til morning sun. The white moon flowers are pollinated by night-flying moths. A close relative of moon flowers are "Morning Glories" which open in the morning so they can be pollinated by bees and other day-active insects.


Then there are all the "wort" plants, such as spiderwort, lungwort, leadwort, St John's wort. The "wort" indicates the plant has medicinal/healing purposes for the condition or complaint mentioned in the first part of the name. If you're wondering about St John's wort, here is the explanation, it was used to ward off evil by hanging the plant over a picture in the house during St John's day.

GOOD DEEDS

“No good deed goes unpunished”. Who came up with that saying? If we all accepted that quote as the absolute truth, I doubt we’d ever perform any charitable deeds or contribute to any charitable cause. But we do raise our hands and volunteer to join this committee or that board. We do reach into our pockets to contribute to this school activity or that scout fundraiser. Perhaps those are not the types of good deeds for which we are punished. The good deeds that come back to bite us are the silent, less obvious to the recipient deeds. You volunteer to work Christmas Eve so your co-worker can spend the evening with her small children. You mow your neighbor’s lawn when you learn he’s been hospitalized. You invite a friend to dinner because she sounded a little depressed when she called. Lo and behold! Your co-worker accuses you of depriving her of overtime hours. When your neighbor returns home, he comments about the hack job someone did on his lawn. Your depressed friend calls the next day to tell you she thinks she has food poisoning. But you were only trying to help!