Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – August 2015
Wow, the year really is slipping by. Let’s try not to think about the coming change in seasons and enjoy what we have.
I think we’re in a little bit of a lull at the moment, until the Rudbekias are fully out and the roses have another flush. Ragwort is providing lots of colour, although it is now beginning to finish and I will have to cut them back soon before they seed everywhere.
This year I’ve added a few new plants I’ve never tried before, all sown from seed and I think I might well grow them again in future. The Zinna, Tithonia and Salvia are all new this year and a pleasant surprise is the Sanguisorba blooming for the first time since I got it… OK so when I bought it, it had blooms on it but since then I’ve never had any. Only the one stem, but better than nothing!
You’ll be seeing plenty more of these Dahlias in the future… I apologise in advance.
Orange is by far the dominant colour in the front garden at the moment. That is if one doesn’t look up, as there’s also plenty of pink roses around.
I must bring some Buddleja blooms indoors to enjoy their perfume… Although if I’m honest I’m in love with the Sweet pea perfume instead. It never ceases to amaze me that just one little flower is enough to perfume a room. Honest. At times I’ve had just one in a small vase and sure enough I can smell it.
Another return this year is the Echinacea, I thought it had died just like all Coneflowers do here. But sure enough, after a hiatus it’s decided to pop up again, only a couple of blooms but I’m happy regardless.
Hot lips Salvia is taking over the pot… I know. Honest. Usually it isn’t this large. I think it’s really benefitted from the care and attention I’ve been giving it as I’ve been working hard to keep the pots and baskets well watered this year. I really ought to have it in the ground really. But for this year I’ll forgive it swamping the other summer bedding plants.
Today we’ll finish with slightly wider shots of the Aster border which is the focal point in late summer as the Aster, Persicara and Sedum will bloom. Grasses also help to keep late interest (most are not in the shot).
Copyright 2015 Liz.
All rights reserved. Content created by Liz for Gwirrel’s Garden
Gwirrel's Garden 
Seeing plenty of your garden is a treat Liz especially those dahlias!
Hi Donna,
Thanks very much 🙂
Ive been far too lax in updating this year.
Lots of lovely colour in your garden, love the new Sanguisorba! Your Salvia Hot Lips is doing so well in its pot, do you keep it going from cuttings or do you bring the whole plant in for the winter?
Hi Pauline,
I’ve had the Salvia in that pot for around 4-5 years with no problem overwintering it. I hadn’t realised actually that it isn’t expected to survive? The only problem I’ve had is due to underwatering it as usually those two pots are by the front door where I tend to forget them. So this year I brought them round until they mature and intended to take them back again. Well I’m enjoying them too much where i can easily see them from the kitchen.
All looking great Liz. As soon as I saw those Dahlia flowers I knew you’d be keen to photograph them. They are very photogenic don’t you think.
Good on you keeping your pots going, I’ve deliberately done very few pots this year as I guessed that I’d be pushed for time with the grandbaby coming.
Hi Angie,
It’s funny, as I always preferred the singles and cactus Dahlias, but the pom poms are amazing to photograph! So now I’m not sure which I prefer… if only their blooms were larger, perhaps I have some dwarf types or all pom poms are smaller than the cactus types? I can feel a new obsession coming on.
Normally I’m no fan of pots; after living in various houses with small terraced back yards I had to container plant and now I’ve grown lazy and used to rarely having to water the plants. So usually the pots are forgotten; especially those by the front door. I really ought to have succulents in the front pots and more high maintenance in the back where I see them more. Really the pots are mainly used for spring interest. But this year with my intentions to definitely, finally, absolutely to get the house on the market I wanted to ensure the house looked ‘dressed’ but life happens and yet again I was too scared to get someone round and tell me how much I’ve lost on the house. So we’ve set ourselves a deadline of at minimum having estate agents round by February aiming to be on the market in march or around easter.
Great pots! I love that nice, soft pink zinnia. You asked about my butterfly bushes – they are supposed to be even more dwarf than they are. Buzz Purple is supposed to stay 2 feet by 3 feet and is at least 5 feet tall. That’s better than 8 feet, though. Lo and Behold ‘Blue Chip’ is staying about 2 feet tall and wide. Miss Molly is so tall and skinny that it looks a little odd – 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide. I will be cutting them back to the ground for sure this winter.
Hi VW,
Are the blooms on your Buddlejas in proportion to the size of the plant? I can’t imagine a tiny shrub 2 foot wide having 30cm long blooms on them like my massive ones do?
I may have to try some dwarf ones, because after 8 years I’m bored of having to chop the Buddlejas back twice a year. They produce so much garden waste.
Tee hee – I keep apologising about dahlias too! I love the pink of yours – do you know the variety? I have a recent sanguisorbia too but no sign of any flowers yet so perhaps I will need to wait another year too…
Hi Cathy,
I think Dahlias are really becoming more popular at the moment with many bloggers now having them. But they’re just so pretty and have such huge flowers when everything else at this time of year is small or in a lull. Like Asters with their small, daisy-like flowers. So it’s nice to see large blooms like Dahlias.
Do you mean the pom pom type Dahlias? Erm, I know I have it somewhere… Let me check. It’s Franz Kafka. Its blooms may be much smaller than the others but boy does it make up for that in just how floriferous it is.
Although I don’t think I would want any of the really HUGE dahlias…!
Your containers look really pretty, as do the rest of your blooms, great stuff
Hi,
Thanks very much. I think we’re missing some colour, but the Ragworts are adding a lot of yellow and making it seem far more colourful, and for that I am much grateful.