August Garden Update

Until mid July the garden was looking pretty puny.  But somehow, in the middle of a heatwave and with ungodly amounts of watering, it all took off and now we have plants aplenty. 

Impatiens and coleus did fine at the edge of the driveway where the house gave them a little shelter, but in the front beds it was really, really hot for them.

On the other side of the drive, the alyssum and dianthus got full sun all day long (and less water than everything else since the hose doesn’t like to stretch that far!), and they really stood up to the heat and full sun. 

The petunias in the front and the black eyed susan vine devouring the shepherd’s hook were both started from seed in my kitchen this spring.

The front curve of the garden never really did fill out.  Next year I’ll plant something bushier through here.

Japanese beetles really hit the roses hard, but the zinnias behind them bloomed like crazy.

This little corner on the side of the house gets just a little afternoon shade, but it was enough to keep the coleus and impatiens happy.

Now that I know what grows well in our garden, I’ll do things a little differently next year.  Here are some things I don’t want to forget when it’s time to start shopping for plants this spring…

• Salvia attracts lots of moths, butterflies – and bees. These were like giant bushes and there were always a lot of critters buzzing around them.
• Endless Summer hydrangeas bloom on new wood AND old wood… this winter I’ll leave the sticks so there will be plenty of blooms next year.
• Vinca really takes the heat and sun and never droops.
• Impatients and coleus don’t take the sun… they need to be in the little beds beside the driveway and on the north side of the house.
• Our soil stinks!  Before the mulch, we’ll lay down a thick layer of manure to give the garden a kick in the spring. (It’ll still stink but at least the flowers will get going before July.)