Garden Maintenance–Late Summer and Fall

Spent a couple of hours in the garden this past week doing the tidy-up. 


Late Summer is a good time of year for some simple maintenance and gives the garden a fresh look.  By removing all the brown, what is left is the green foliage, and blooms that were buried in the debris.


Here some coneflowers and Joe Pye Weed got some help standing tall. They were weighed down by the heavy heads and new bud that are forming. By propping them up, sun light and water can get to the plants, and freshen up the foliage.  Also removed some weeds that were hiding.

 


As I have said before, we lost several large trees last year, and this Caryopteris is liking the extra light.  New shoots and some great blue blossoms are a treat. The Liriope and it’s pale lavender spears are just beginning to bloom.
 



Yesterday, I trimmed back behind the rock border Sweet Woodruff.  The pathway was getting smaller and
needed to be groomed. 


Late summer is a great time to divide perennials.  Here I moved some daisies that were in another bed that is getting turned into lawn.  They do not look fresh at this time, but by keeping them moist for the next couple of weeks, the roots will take hold and will turn into a nice stand of daisies next spring.

Daylilies are another plant that divides and transplants well.  This area is where a Blue Spruce once stood, and is gradually getting filled in with my new plan for a border.  We also put some daylily root sections in these two red containers.  I hope they take hold and survive winter.  They may need some added winter protection which I’ll discuss later.



This is the Solar Eclipse Redbud we planted last spring.  A rainbow of orange, peach, lime, and gold are present in the new leaves as they mature.
The green border of the mature leaf here is certainly living up to my expectations.





Maintenance of the late summer garden includes providing water.  Yesterday, this hydrangea was drooping and blossoms were hanging low.  After a good drink, today this side of the garden is perky and vibrant.


This pile of debris is from the front garden where I cut back Spider Wort, Tradescantia, and dead fronds of daylilies. 


The pathway is visible once again after Lamium was trimmed back.  Just another bit of tidying once in a while.

 
This rose is the Sunny Yellow Knockout® rose.  I choose to leave the rose hips on the shrub.  It is a bit of color in the winter, and besides, pruning it is just one less thing I need to do on the fall maintenance list. 


The spent blooms of Hosta have been trimmed off.  I’ll wait till the rest have faded to remove them.  The Astilbe in this bed will get to keep their seed heads through winter.  As I told a fellow gardener recently, I’m a lazy gardener, and if I can keep from one more chore I will and call it ‘winter interest’.


These tarps of debris will get added to the compost pile.  With visions of future ‘black gold’ ready for the garden in spring.
This large amount of debris is really misleading as to the time and effort it took me to gather it.  Over several days I spent less than two hours in the garden removing the brown and renewing the garden for a few more weeks of beauty.

Watering took a day of moving sprinklers every hour to cover the whole yard.  Even though we have had some more rain this year than during the drought of 2012, our area in Ohio is still about 4 inches below average rainfall for the year. Trees, shrubs, perennials, and lawn all needed this supplemental watering at this time.  And if the rains remain scarce, I will continue to water through the fall and into early winter until the ground freezes.

Thanks for stopping by today.  And enjoy your time among the plants.

New Landscaping Ideas

A Landscape for Our Current Needs

The madness is not really mad – disappointment and realism, maybe, but not madness.  Let me go back – twenty years or so.  I had recently been down-sized from my job, and Hubby and I down-sized, as well. We moved here and with my days more unstructured, I set out to design a great garden.

Skip forward twenty years…..and looking forward to the next chapter in our lives.  This chapter is still being written, but the elements have lined up like this.  We are older.  The backs and knees do not appreciate the bending and stooping.  The income stream is more streamlined. The grand kids want to kick soccer balls, and play tag. So we planned a new backyard design.

We are reverting the large perennial beds back to a more manageable endeavor.

  
Many coneflowers and penstemons have been moved and creeping jenny has been sprayed with an herbicide.  (I’m still scraping some out.)  The raised bed with daylilies, and  plumbago has been dismantled.

And we needed a few design ideas. The yard landscape is changing.

The edging stones have been rearranged to create a more manageable border along the back property line.





As you can see, the design is coming along.  The cleared soil areas shown here are going to be seeded with grass in mid-to-late- August.  Just waiting for cooler nights, and hoping for rain to resume. 

This decision has not been made easily.  I LOVE to garden.  I really do, however, most folks do not find 2-3 hours a day, 15-20 hours a week, in the yard something they want to be obligated to do.    And the prospect of selling this house, to down-size once again, means we needed to rethink the yard design so that the gardens and lawns are less imposing.

The fussy plants are gone.  I've kept the easygoing guys – yarrow, coneflowers, daisies, Hosta, and grasses. 

Still more to do, but I’m confident this new backyard design idea is on the right track. I find these changes are bringing a calmness and the landscape is more reflective of who we are now and is meeting our current needs.   

Drought Tolerant Plants–Very Pretty

Perennials That Need Little Water

Perennials that can stand the heat can help redeem the otherwise scorched landscape.
Stunning may be exaggerating this season considering the heat and drought.  However, as I inspect the garden, several areas seem to be holding their own.
.
Silver Scrolls, Heuchera, is vibrant.  Located in full shade seems to be ideal.

The blue fescue still has a great color.

The Lavender, Hidcote, is right at home in the dry, hot south side of the house.The blooms have faded already, but may rebloom later in the fall.

  
This silver leaf of the Lungwart still looks fresh. 

Sedum is thriving.  The silver succulent loves this weather. Two varieties here, with one blooming yellow. 

These Hosta get watered regularly and they are hanging in there.

Lungwort, again, gets water.  They tend to wilt and get powdery mildew, but they are surprisingly resilient.

The Russian Sage has full sun this year. We took out an ash tree last year that had been shading this area. So the Perovskia atriplicifolia, or Russian Sage has never looked better. 

Liriope , Silver Dragon, is stunning.  This silver/green grassy plant is drought tolerant and looks ‘cool’. 

The Painted Japanese Ferns in shade, do get supplemental water. The silver fronds and deep burgundy veins are a favorite of mine.

Shasta Daisy and Daylilies have a cheerful attitude!

Yarrow, Achilliea, and Coneflowers, Echinacea, make a great pair.  Even better since their need for less water is the same.

The Monarda, Bee Balm, (unknown variety) is hanging in there with some powdery mildew, and blooms that are reemerging after a good drink. 

The white allium is just blooming, as is the Casablanca Lily.  The white is refreshing in this heat. The lily has an awesome aroma as an extra bonus.

The Sedum, Autumn Joy, is blooming several weeks earlier than usual.  It’s pale pink will deepen into a dark rose by autumn.  This, too, does well in low water situations. 
Heat and water have really been issues this summer, but with minimal supplemental water, these plants will serve us well. 

Native Coneflowers-Challenges and Remedies

Native Coneflower Stands up to Challenges

Echinacea, Purple Coneflowers, are a heat resistant, drought tolerant native plant that is a staple in my garden. I have divided them around the garden for so many years, that I’m not sure of the cultivars anymore. 

Being a native, this group of plants has overcome threat from insects and diseases.  However, that does not mean that coneflowers don’t have some challenges. 
Insect pests that can affect coneflowers include caterpillars, Japanese beetles, grasshoppers, aphids,  mealy bugs, spittle bugs, and thrips.

Aphids are sucking insects that can weaken the stems.  Usually a firm spray of water from the hose will dislodge them. 

Japanese beetles can chew a blossom to shreds in a very short time.  Hand pick them (I use gloves!) and pinch or drop them into a soapy solution.
Mealy bugs and spittle bugs are easy to spot.
 
The mealy bugs are soft-bodied wingless insects look like fuzzy cotton. They feed by inserting long sucking mouthparts, called stylets, into plants and drawing sap out of the tissue. Damage is minimal when only a few pest are present. However, at higher numbers they can cause leaf yellowing and curling as the plant weakens. Mealy bugs feeding is usually accompanied by honeydew, which makes the plant sticky and encourages the growth of sooty molds.
A strong water spray will dislodge mealy bugs, and is usually all that is needed.  If further control become necessary, spray with a soap/oil mixture if the water alone doesn't do the job. Mix 1 tsp. insecticidal soap, 1/2 tsp. horticultural oil, and 1 quart water in a spray bottle.
 

Spittle bugs suck!  Even though they look icky, the really do not do any harm to the plant. They hide in the bubbly secretions seen on plants.  Control of mealy bugs is using the water spray as well. Spray the underside of leaves where the spittle bugs hide. 
Other pests that attack coneflowers are rabbits and deer.  The young plants are often targets.
 
Some pests are not quite as obvious as the deer or rabbit.  The microscopic Eriophyid mites are such pests.  As these mites feed, the plant produces  tufts of growth on the flowers. 
The mite will over winter in debris or the plant crown, and will infect subsequent years growth.  No controls are called for, but a plant can be removed to prevent spread of the mite. 

Other than insects, Echinacea can get a couple of diseases.  One is stem-rot.  This usually occurs when over-watering occurs, or the planting site does not drain well.  Compost added to the soil will allow water to drain, and will keep the roots of the coneflower from staying too wet. 

The Aster yellows is a disease the is transmitted by insects, particularly leaf hoppers, or poor growing methods.  Aster yellows is a viral-like disease and is caused by a phytoplasma (previously called mycoplasma-like organism) and is spread by aster leafhoppers.The densities of aster leafhoppers, and incidence of the disease, can be strongly influenced by the occurrence of certain host weed species. These weed species include quackgrass, plaintain, chickory, knotweed, pineapple weed, stinkweed, wild asters, lambs quarters, sow thistle, ragweed, Kentucky bluegrass and wild carrot.

  
Plants with Aster yellows have distorted, green flowers, and stunted growth. This one is in my garden, and I’m planning to dig it up and throw it.  Aster yellows is not treatable and spreads quickly. 
Black spot, a fungal disease is seen on coneflowers occasionally.  Black spot usually set up during, cool, moist periods. Powdery mildew can also infect coneflowers.
  For the most part, diseases can be prevented by utilizing proper cultural practices such as variety selections, plant and soil nutrition, irrigation and humidity management,  pruning, and row spacing. Air movement is key to reducing these fungal diseases.  Water only when needed, and avoid wetting the leaves.  Remove debris since the spores from these diseases can linger in the soil. 
Once black spot or mildew are observed, the steps to control them are less effective.  Pre-treat susceptible plants before the fungus are seen.  Mix 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon baby shampoo, and 1/3 teaspoon baking soda in 2 cups of water. This solution comes right from the kitchen!
Compost tea as a spray is a good option too.  In a five gallon pail, soak a scoop of compost for up to 24 hours.  Strain and spray. 
Echinacea is a long-lived perennial, and thrives in a sunny location.  Soil can be average to poor.  Plants have a  long taproot, to find moisture deep in the soil.  Hardy to Zone 3-8, coneflowers bloom for long periods during the summer. Many cultivars are being developed to extend the sizes and colors.
    Fancy Frills
Doopleganger

  Razamatazz
Hot Lava
Meringue
Echinacea is a native that has many attributes for the landscape.  Prairies or sunny borders, this plant holds it’s own. I feel the coneflower is definitely a keeper in my garden.
 
Thanks for stopping by today.