Thursday, September 20, 2012

September in the Side Yard

The plants on the east side of the house survived the hot, dry summer.  Most of the area gets watered from the underground sprinkler system, which I ran more than I would have if we hadn't had only certain days we could water, because I didn't have time on those days to water by hand.  I am hoping to be finished putting in new plants soon, so that the whole yard won't need as much watering.


The asters are opening their blooms now.


Now that I know the ziz zag goldenrod I took from this clump transplanted well, I plan to move the rest of this to the front yard in the spring.


I'm thinking this is called river oats.  It reseeds a lot, so I'm thinking about putting something taller in this spot next year.  The egress window well is next to it.


It's getting late, so I'm just going to show what's growing, only pointing out a few plants, and if there is something you want to ask about, I'll get back to you.


I headed north, taking photos from different distances.


The goldenrod, 'Witchita Mountains' has been one of the last to bloom this year.  It is normally full of pollinators.


Short toothed mountain mint is one of my favorites, partly because of how long they look good, and also because the pollinators love it.  I've mentioned I keep it from spreading by picking up the stems in the spring, so they can't take root.  I would have put a closer photo of it, but wanted to show that this baptisia did not get eaten by those caterpillars that devoured the one on the back yard side of this bed.  I think the tall white blooms are on a eupatorium, maybe 'Prairie Jewel'.


Here's a closer look at the eupatorium, and some seed pods from the baptisia.


Here's another wide view from next to where the previous photos were taken.  Here comes Heidi!


Here she is!


I don't remember what kind of asters (or former asters) these are, but they've been here awhile, and like to seed themselves around, so I'm thinking they may not be a hybrid.




I may dig out the Russian sage, as it gets taller than I want it to in this spot, and even though I trimmed it back, it is leaning over.





This is facing back south.


Pitcher Sage:




I'd like to find more threadleaf ironweed.








Lead Plant:



I was going to take out the liriope this spring, but didn't get to it.





The vegetable garden is on the other side of the driveway, behind the lattice.


Looking back toward the south again.


 I think this area is more hodge podge than other beds in the yard.  I have mentioned before that it was not all planted at once.  Grass was removed in about 4 different years, if my memory is correct.  I really need to move some things around, and get the spaces filled in better.

Are you redoing any flower beds?  I'm thinking our gardens are always a work in progress.

11 comments:

  1. Another great post filled with beauty growing in your gardens.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  2. Your yard looks great, as always. Yes, that is Northern Sea Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium. A beautiful grass, but it does self-sow a lot and is hard to pull out. Also, in my yard it tends to grow too tall and need staking.

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  3. Your garden is looking amazing as always Sue. You always have so much going on in it. I love your Goldenrod plants and I love Ironweed. I have been looking for a Sweet fragrance Goldenrod and have not been able to find any. Have you ran across any? Have a wonderful weekend.

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  4. Sue, you have an amazing variety of plants and I like them all together like you have them. Instead of buying new plants, I would try to divide or take cuttings for fill-ins.

    I really love your beautiful grass. I just mowed my weed patch.......

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  5. I'd like to redo everything, this was a tough year for our plants. I love the variety in your gardens, something that we started with, but have lost to aggressive plants over the years. The plant you called river oats, I think I call Northern Sea oats...I like the stems in floral arrangements.

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  6. loved the garden tour. I'm always redoing my gardens as I get bored easily with the same thing. Next summer I will have 2 step-great-grandchildren so I'm thinking about how I want to create a small space for them in one of my gardens.

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  7. Gardens are always a work in progress. I was noticing all your notes along the way of plants to move.
    I've tried trimming Russian Sage to keep it shorter and it always grows just as tall. Seems to be determined.

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  8. Such a gorgeous garden. Its full of life that made possible of the stunning flowers and lively pets. Thanks for sharing.
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  9. Amazing blog header and like the butterfly images on your sidebar.

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  10. I love the look of Northern Sea Oats, they remind me of the sea oats I saw on the shore on Sanibel Island. I have had the problem that Jason noted - they reseed all over the place. The first two years I had them, I left the seed heads on until later in the winter to provide some winter interest. After struggling with pulling out the seedlings throughout the garden, I started cutting the grass down to the ground in late fall. It has really helped cut down the amount of seedlings in the garden, although I still get a few.

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  11. Your garden looks amazing. Such gorgeous blooms you've grown. Its very calming and refreshing to look at.
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