Cut flowers

My little balcony doesn't have space for a lot of plants that could produce flowers for cutting. But roses work! And this one was getting all spotty so I starting hacking off the most affected branches...ta da...cut flowers!!!!

Ha! One Snuck By!

A couple of months ago I bought a packet of Coreopsis seeds and scattered them in my pots. Then I promptly forgot about them. Recently I thought about the seeds and cursed the nursery for selling me bad seeds that were probably expired and didn't germinate.

Yesterday I looked down and there was a cute little Coreopsis blossom in one of my planters. Then  I examined the leaves and realized I have been very deliberately weeding Coreopsis plants out for the last couple of weeks. This one snuck by, because it is just so freaking crowded in that planter that I didn't notice it and thereby didn't murder it!

 

Coreopsis



Anemic Petunias

Wow, something has sucked the color right out of my petunias. I am not horribly bothered by this - they have an antique faded quality that I kind of like. But I would sure like to know what has done this to them. Have researched it and the two culprits seem to be heat and soil ph. Since it has been really cool, I am leaning towards ph. Also, I fertilized with regular old Miracle Grow about 2 weeks ago.

This Morning

 

Last Month

 

 

Next summer I will run experiments with different types of plant food in different pots of the same color! Will produce a lab report when I have finalized the results....

 

The really exciting news is that Ramona is covered it little buds. I think she is actually going to do it and have a fall explosion despite her war of attrition with the Heuchera! Yippppeeeeee!!!!! 

at least i got one!

Well, I was hoping for the Ramona to do her thing. She put out two flowers this summer. One in July and one in August. I have decided that it must be the coral bells she is fighting with... I stupidly put them in the same pot. They are going to get one more year together, since last year the Ramona did well. If next year is another bust, then that is it....they are going to have surgery to separate their roots. I am going to need sedatives to perform the operation!

 

One crazy faded Clematis Ramona blossom

Back in Love

All it took was a few days in the 70's and I like my flowers again. Also, I did a little rearranging. That is always fun, to see them with new companions. The petunias had a haircut a few days ago and already ready to pop again. I love this technique. Next summer I am going to fill several flower pots full of them and give them haircuts on a rotating schedule so there are always petunias blooming! There are clematis blooming and new buds arriving! All I had to do was wish for it!

This is how I cope with August. I start planning next summer! I like my white roses again and have figured out my design dilemma. I will buy another white rose, and the low down pots will be filled with white, pink and purple. The window boxes will be loaded with vibrant oranges, yellows and some more purple. Can't wait!

I moved some coreopsis so it is right outside the screen door. I love it. Here is the window box shot through the screen.

Mistakes!

Okay, so here it is the dog days of August. No more purchasing for the garden this year. (A personal rule) I am left reviewing the choices I made and watering, watering, watering. All that watering some how makes me focus on the things that are driving me crazy. I know from experience that in September when the garden work load decreases and the tapped out, wasted plants start a new flush of flowering I will experience renewed pleasure from my flowers. Right now all  I focus on is their flaws...signs of mildew, yellowing leaves, poor color combinations and on and on....Kind of like 6:30 pm when you are tired, on your feet cooking dinner and all your children are whining!

Mistake #1
Bad color combination. Ick! I keep thinking how amazing this would be if the million bells were any color but pale pink...Yellow, purple, fuchsia - anything but that washed out pink with the orange portulacas.

 

 

 

Mistake number #2

 

Putting flowers that are only open part of the day into a window box. What a boring window box this is by 4pm! The portulacas and the ganzania are all snapped shut. This, by the way, is the window box that was entirely created from dividing and propagating flowers from other locations (except for the ganzanias). So except for some new soil, this box cost only $2 to fill this year. So even if it is tired by 4pm, I am still pretty pleased with it. Next year I will do the same thing, but put them in containers lower down that don't grab your attention quite so much. That is clematis weaving its way behind the flowers...Would it be too much to hope for some more buds in Sept???

 

 

Mistake #3

An all white window box...this seemed lovely in theory, but in actuality it is deadly boring and doesn't work aesthetically with any of my other choices. Never again!!!!

 

 

 

 

Mistake #4

 

Chosing a white rose based on the notion that white window boxes would be lovely! Will have to figure out how to work this rose into my conception for next year.

 

 

 

 

 

I guess this is one of the things that makes gardening so much fun...It's never finished. There is always room to make it better. For now I will just keep watering....