Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October 2010

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A few more things still flowering outside this fall Bloom Day. This may be the last outdoor Bloom Day until next March, but that will depend entirely on the weather. If it's like last year I may still have some plants flowering in mid-November but we've already had a few light frosts. We'll have to see how that goes though.

But this month... There's quite a bit that's still going. Sure there's a lot the same as I had flowering in September but it's still nice to have this much still going in the garden.



My Pink Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) is still going strong. I'd never even noticed the way it branches and flowers lower on the stems. I wouldn't have noticed either but I was chopping it back to make room for my Rhododendron. By the time the main flower stalk has finished though so have most of the side shoots. I think it's more "Oh that's interesting" than anything practical. The flowers are actually kind of ugly strange. There's not that much else that's as reliable for fall flowers though and the leaves are actually a very nice dark glossy green.


This little Pansy seedling has popped up on my patio and (other than being eaten by earwigs) is doing well. Of particular note is that this seedling is identical to its parent. I need to try to collect some seeds from it for next spring.


This volunteer Morning Glory comes from my neighbours yard and is growing through and around my Honeysuckle. The Honeysuckle's still flowering with lots of buds to open, and I know there's at least one open today (I can smell it) but couldn't see it for a picture today. It's nice though because by the time this has started to flower the Honeysuckle is mostly finished with only the odd bloom here and there.


And because I love it so much here's my Red Rose again, this time with the seeds of my Miscanthus 'Little Kitten' - the smallest Miscanthus I've ever heard of.

Also still flowering in my garden but not pictured is my Toadlily (Tricyrtis hirta 'Tojen', Sedum 'Lynda Windsor', there's one or two flowers on both my Clematis 'Rebecca' and my Hall's Honeysuckle and just missing Bloom Day are my Mystery Aloe (x Haworthia?) and Echeveria, both of which have moved inside the house for the winter. Plenty of African Violets and the like too, but maybe we'll be looking at more of those next month?

Kniphofia 'Papaya Popsicle'

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Picture from work. Nice colours on this variety. Not ad nice in the picture ad in real life. It's too bad the leaves always look so terrible on these because the flowers are so cool.

In slightly related news my mystery Aloe should be open soon. The flowers look at this point much like the buds on my Haworthia but with some orange colour to them. Maybe it'll be open by Bloom Day? Should have an Echeveria open by then too.

I also managed to get all my perennials (including my Rhododendron) and bulbs planted today and most "tropicals" brought inside for yet another frost warning tonight.

Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki'

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Another picture I took at work. The spotted varieties have been growing on me though I'd still say I prefer the plain one I already have.

Miscanthus purpurascens

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"Flame Grass" has never been a favourite of mine, the plumes are not as nice as a lot of other Miscanthus varieties and the fall colour has never blown me away. Here it is though looking about as good as it ever does, which is actually not too bad. I guess it's nice too for its slightly narrower shape than any other Miscanthus.

Heucherella 'Solar Power'

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Just got some of these at work and they are stunning. And I thought 'Golden Zebra' was nice...

In other news sorry about not posting as much as I'd like but not much new has been going on with my plants so there's really not been all that much to talk about. I've also had a pretty bad cold that I'm mostly over now too so I can hopefully post more now. We've gotten a few interesting things at work as well I've taken some pictures of so there's at least that I'll be able to post over the next couple of days.

Just in: Hydrangea 'Little Lime'

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We just got these in at work and I wish I had a spot for them. Just like 'Limelight' but only growing to 3-5' tall.

We've also gotten Hydrangea 'Bella Anna' which should be like an improved 'Invincibelle Spirit', but it's not in bloom so doesn't look much different from a regular 'Annabelle', just in a blue Endless Summer pot.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2010

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Lots flowering again this month. Many earlier flowering plants are repeating, and all of my fall flowering plants are going. And some have never really stopped.



Actaea (Cimicifuga) simplex 'James Compton' is one of my favourite plants. It is matched on the other side of the yard by the equally lovely 'Hillside Black Beauty'. It is rare for either of these to flower before September making them a real fall flowering plant. The buds start to form in mid summer so there's a lot of expectations on these once they open. A. simplex is faintly fragrant with a sweet candy like scent. Do not try to smell A. racemosa though!


Tricyrtis 'Tojen' is another star of the fall shade garden. I had a picture of the flower a million times better last month but this better shows the massive number of flowers this can get. At each axle the plant will produce a branched flower stalk with between 10-15 buds, which open over an extended period. It starts in August but will not stop flowering until snow. This year as well there were no lily beetles to ruin the look so it'll be looking its best all fall.


Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' is repeating in its corner. Apparently with a little more light it would be more of a continuous bloomer, which would be nice, but I'll take what I can get. My Clematis 'Rebecca' is reblooming as well. It was hit hard by the unprecedented heat waves of this summer and does not look too good in pictures right now!


Persicaria affinis started flowering in May and has not stopped. There's a better picture in the link but this shows the effect later in the season as the older flowers have darkened to a nice pink colour with more white flowers opening constantly.


My Bougainvillea is also still flowering well with little sign of stopping.


My NOID Red Rose. I can't say enough good things about this plant.

There's even more flowering inside but I imagine that soon enough I'll be posting those exclusively so for now enjoy the late season garden.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked seeing some of what I have flowering this month. And as always head over to May Dreams Gardens to see what's flowering for other Garden Bloggers.

Another new bulb - Iris bucharica

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This sort of jumped out at me today and I had to pick one up without hesitation (or any research).



Iris bucharica
(Photo by Michael Wolf used under CC license from here.)

The leaves are so un-Iris-like I'd have never guessed it was an Iris, if it weren't for the flowers anyway. I was musing about using Iris reticulata 'Cantab' in the warmest part of my back yard (along with the purple crocus and Snowdrops) but I think this will take that position.

This spring it should be interesting to see all the new plants and bulbs start to flower and fill in.

'Tis the season... for bulbs.

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In my front yard around my Hosta 'Captain Kirk' I'll be planting this combination of bulbs.


Iris reticulata cvv.


Crocus chrysanthus 'Romance' (I've planted this one before and been very impressed with the show it puts on. I think I had it mixed with an even lighter yellow/white that I may also try to track down again.)


Galanthus nivalis - Snowdrops

Most likely Iris reticulata 'Harmony' towards the back of the garden. This will keep the taller leaves away from the hosta and help keep it a little tidier looking. I'll have several groupings of the Crocus chrysanthus 'Romance,' possibly interspersed with a light yellow/white variety. Towards the front (all over the place ideally) I'll have the Snowdrops. I also have just gotten a purple Pasque Flower (not planted yet) and a Primula marginata ‘Mauve Mist’ that may decide to join the party. The colours should all work together so I'm looking forward to seeing how that all works together.

In my back yard I have a space under my Clematis which is probably the first reliably snow free spot in my yard. I've got a handful of dark blue NOID Crocus there already that I've just transplanted this year. I will add a few more purples, maybe some 'Harmony' and a bunch of Snowdrops.

I can't see myself doing too much other bulbs planting this year but we'll see. So far nothing else has really caught my eye but of course we'll have to see. I may also just pick up an extra bag of Snowdrops and tuck them around in different places.

Clematis 'Rebecca' in Steroescopic 3D

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Just a quick post today. I first saw this technique used at Plants are the Strangest People and have wanted to try it out since.

To see the picture in 3D you'll have to cross your eyes so the pictures overlap.




I'm happy with how it turned out and I'll definitely be playing around with it again.

Outdoor Plants at the Toronto Zoo

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Many of the outdoor plantings at the Zoo don't really take off until around this time of year. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday.



Some sort of Pennesetum, possibly 'Little Bunny'.


Large Castor Bean plants outside the front gate, along with large Sunflowers, large Cannas, and really nice "annual" Fountain Grass.


Lobelia cardinalis


Probably Asclepias curassavica?


Natural wooded area near an unnatural waterfall near the Mayan Temple display.


Some sort of Miscanthus, even more of these will start to really put on a show as we get later into September.

Dictamnus alba...

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Now I just have to decide which colour I want, or how I can make room for both. Maybe it's time I retired my 'Becky' and went for something more interesting...

Perennial Plant List finished

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Last night I finished up my Perennial Plant List. It's longer than I expected. It includes everything hardy on my property that stays outside year round whether in the ground or in containers that I'm growing on purpose.



Iris 'Starship Enterprise' - one of a surprisingly high number of Irises

There are 97 distinct plants (I guess I didn't actually include bulbs... Daffodils & Crocus bring that to 99).



Sempervivum NOID (Large) - one of 14 hardy Hens-&-Chicks

The largest groups are Sempervivum with 12 (plus two Jovibarba), 11 Irises, 7 Sedum, and 7 Hostas.

There are 9 woody plants and a decent number of evergreens (especially if you include Sempervivum & Jovibarba) - only 2 "traditional" woody evergreens, my Boxwood and Euonymus.



Sedum hispanicum minus 'Blue Carpet' - one of 7 Sedum varieties.

The largest plant is my Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk'. I imagine that Sedum album 'Faro Form' is the smallest, but it's close.

Sedum 'Lynda Windsor' Flowering

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I'm going to have to see this plant next summer to see how it behaves for me. So far it's a little floppy but naturally it's also in its first year so who knows what it'll do next year. If it's floppy next year it's getting replaced by 'Chocolate Drop.'



Sedum 'Lynda Windsor'

Even floppy it does give some nice leaf colour year round and the flowers are an interesting colour too. More red than a lot of my other not-quite reds without being so different it doesn't fit in.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, August 2010

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My garden is slow to get started in the spring, but as you can see on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day it definitely makes up for it now when most gardens are slowing down. Many of my favourite plants are actually those that flower in late summer.



Streptocarpus 'Laura'


Monarda 'Fireball' - to be honest I'm a little bit disapointed. I expected it to be red but it isn't. If I were going to be planting a pink Monarda there are nicer varieties, more compact varieties or frankly varieties that aren't even pink. Like 'Purple Rooster' or 'Raspberry Wine'. At least the colour matches my Clematis (The petals turn more pink/red as they age) and Bougainvillea.


Tricyrtis 'Tojen' will continue to flower for a long time, and will soon be joined by an even more hardcore fall flowering perennial, my Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua).


My Red Rose only has a few flowers on it right now, but many buds getting ready to open any day now. It's rambled its way up into my so called "dwarf" Banana (I'll post a picture once the rose starts to open - hint, it's gotten huge).

In the front yard my Hydrangea seems to be holding down the fort, while my Roses out front and my 'White Clips' Bellflower have a few flowers off and on.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the plants I have flowering this month.

Tricyrtis 'Tojen' flowering

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Tricyrtis 'Tojen'

My toadlily is flowering around the same time as usual, apparently, even though I always think of it as a fall flowering plant. Shh, fall isn't that close...

This year it hasn't even been plagued by lily beetles so it's stayed a very attractive plant up to where it starts flowering, and of course just a little bit bigger and more impressive than ever.

Pictures from earlier this year

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Three pictures I'd taken earlier this spring but never got to posting.



Digitalis 'Pam's Choice'


Acer japonica aconitifolium - A really cool tree. Wish I had space.


Belamcanda chinensis

More shade container combinations.

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I love how this container has come together. The Impatiens are fairly boring, I'll admit, but I mostly just added them (two cell packs) for a bit more colour and they've filled in very nicely. It was also my first time using 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia which has also impressed me. For perennials I used Heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver', Carex 'Evergold', Athyrium otophorum ‘Okanum’ (I should have used a larger plant, it's grown in well but hasn't been able to keep up with the Impatiens so it's sort of lost in the whole thing), and a Toadlily (barely pictured here) to replace an Astilbe that had finished flowering. I think there's some Ivy in there somewhere too.

Monarch Caterpillars at work

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One benefit to carrying Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ‘Soulmate’ at work is getting to see this as it happens. I hope I'm able to catch it emerging, it should be any day now.

Geranium seeds

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Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' seeds

I was doing some planting a few days ago and happened to glance over at my Geranium and saw these really cool seeds. I've never noticed these before but they sure are cool.