A little bit of gardening in the little bit of light after work

The time has come for cleaning up the yard a bit.  I made my first cuttings of the season so the coleus can make it into next year's garden.  I put a few other plants in the garage so they don't get hit by frost until I can cut them back and take them in.  I always soak them through to make sure I don't bring a mouse family into my house again.

The light is growing short after work so I have to get things done a little bit at a time.  With the remaining light I had after the other jobs I did tonight, I started cleaning out the flower garden.  There are still some everlastings that will take a bit of cold so they get to stay.  The zinnias were still blooming so I cut a large vase of the best flowers.  I have opted to purchase seeds next spring and get just the two varieties I liked the best,  Benary's giant and cactus flowered.  Both are multicolored varieties.  The benefit of pulling out the zinnias and cosmos that have gone to seed is now you can really see the flowering kale that I planted behind all the rest.  The plants have grown up to two feet tall and are really starting to color up with the cooler weather and shorter days.  The wedding flower garden has taken on a whole new look by pulling out the brown and mildewed stems and letting a fall crop take the limelight.  I will have to add a photo when it is light enough to take one!

Wedding flowers on the way!

I got up early with my buckets and scissors and headed out to the garden yesterday morning.  I carefully selected and trimmed each flower and tucked them into my buckets.

The best of the best went to Belle Fiori for their addition to the table and church arrangements.  Zinnias were definitely my go to flower for this was my most heavily planted as well as the most seasonally select in my garden.  The hydrangea bush still had a few blooms on it with a nice pink blush so those went in as well.  I had some statice and Mexican torch flowers that added to the bright colors my daughter desires for her fall wedding.  To round out the selection, I tucked in some previously cut and dried hare's tail grass.  Michelle did not like this from the seed catalog description, but I ordered it any way.  When she saw them hanging in the basement, she had to agree that they were going to be sweet additions.  The women in the flower shop were most intrigued by the grass of all the things I brought.

I get to see how things all came together tomorrow morning when we pick them all up.  I can hardly wait!

Flower gardens are on the rise

Picture 1

The flower gardens are really coming into their glory right now.  I have LOTS of zinnias in several varieties and colors this year.  It is so much fun to see all the things that started as seed in my basement become leggy beauties in the flower beds.

The goal of the flowers was to have some additions to the wedding flowers to give it the personal touch.  Some of them will find their way into vases to celebrate the shower that is being given by her sister.  I have also enjoyed some fresh bouquets in the kitchen.  Zinnias have some real staying power in the fresh cut flower arena.

The cactus flowered zinnias are interesting in that they have a much more pointed petal as you can see with the bright pink flower in the lower right corner of this picture.

I have also been pleased to see the mono-colored Polar Bear and Green Envy are quite nice.  You almost can't see the green zinnia in the flower bed but there it is in center frame of the second picture.  I think they will show up more in a bouquet.

Anise hyssop

One of my pleasant surprises was some of the new herbs I added to the garden this year.  The anise hyssop has been blooming for weeks and still looks as beautiful as it did when it first opened.  The bees love it and so do I.  I love to run my hand over the flowers as I pass by (it is right next to my stairs) and enjoy the scent that comes back to me.  I have to do a little more research on this one to see how I will be able to capture that as a dried herb or seed later on.  I also have two of my stand-by plants.  Pineapple sage and lemon verbena are a must if only to crush the leaves and breathe deeply.  I also keep around several citronella scented geraniums for their scent as well as their ability to detract mosquitoes in the yard.  (Yes, they really work especially if you cut up a few leaves and let them lay in the grass around your chair.)   There are also all the regulars which are just as pleasant to touch and smell as all the others.

Now this is a plant most people stop to look at.  I bought a four pack of all eight varieties that Milegar's carried this year.  The smaller one got lost in the pot but the rest are blooming beautifully.  They open with spiraling petals and some are even double.  This is the lisanthus I consider a must buy in the spring.  It is not for the home gardener to start from seed unless you can keep them warm and free of fungus gnats.  The seeds are very small and the plants stay in an almost microscopic state for so long (which is why fungus gnats can take them out so easily).  Purchased as plants in May are a much easier option for me.  I also get a nice variety to try out.

The cosmos are just starting to bloom, so they are pretty green yet.  I also have no Mexican sunflowers (tithonia) yet and the Prairie sun coneflowers are struggling against the slugs.  Lots of rain has kept up the numbers on those.  The cerinthe has grown well and the foliage is beautiful,  The small tube like flowers are not easily seen with their turned down heads.  I am hoping that they make a good bouquet filler.

The dried flowers are doing well.  I have Celosia cristata, statice, and hare's tail grass.  The grass is blooming in the sunny spots and doing well but without flowers where the shading is heavier.  I may have to start cutting and hanging some of the full blooms to dry to keep the plants blooming through fall.  The coral gardens variety is very bright for the Celosia.  The statice is more of a pastel shades.  

I will have to fertilize the beds soon to keep the blooms going as long as possible.  If I want to have flowers in October, I will have to give them everything I can.