Monday, October 25, 2010

Today in the Front Yard Bed

I started to call this post, "For Larry" because he has been asking me to plant more mums.  I am off work this week, and had a number of errands I needed to run today, so while out, I went to a local garden center where I got my 'Debonair' mums a couple years ago.  Mums have not been one of my favorite flowers to grow.  Either they have spread too far and wide, and were not that pretty, or else I liked the blooms, but they didn't survive the winter.  Since the 'Debonair' ones have done well, and the nursery had advertised their mums and perennials being half off, I went and found three to plant.  All of the mums they had were Belgian ones.  I hadn't heard of them, since I'm not really up on mums.  When I looked them up, I found that they are newer, and may not need to be cut back during the summer.  Some even bloom in the spring, then you can cut them to a few inches and they'll bloom again in the fall.  I don't think I would like a mum to bloom in the spring.  It seems unnatural.  Well, I just hope they get established enough to survive the winter.  They have not wilted at all so far.  (I didn't get any other perennials, because I didn't see any I wanted, and some did not look too good.)

When I went out to take photos of the new mums, I also took photos of the whole bed, then decided to include some of them in the post.

This is facing east.  The 'Gateway' Joe Pye Weed didn't seem to bloom as long as the other kind I have grown.


This is the salvia I started from putting spent blooms from some plants at church in the bed and the cockscomb from last year's plants I'd started from seeds from a neighbor.


The iris rebloomed earlier this year than last, and only had one or two blooms this time.  I'm continuing to enjoy the snapdragons, including the ones on the right.


Facing south, these are the 'Debonair' mums.  I divided the clump this spring, and planted a clump on the other side of the sidewalk.



Turning back to the east and north, the mum on the right is 'Geneva'.  I did not cut back the dead heads on the narrow leafed coneflower on its left this summer, like I always had in the past.  I wonder if there will be new little ones competing with the other echinacias that have volunteered.


I didn't realize that the different Belgium mums have different bloom times.  I read that the 'Genevas' are considered early bloomers.  Early means September.



We are now facing west.  I'm glad Larry kept asking me to plant more mums.  They do add color.


 And, here we have, 'Rhinos Orange', a very early bloomer.



 Looking to the south and west, there is one more new mum on the right side of the photo.


The 'Pia' hydrangea between two of the mums looks good to me, even though the leaves have spots like they came with, which may be a disease, and the flowers are spent.


 Of the three mums I got today, I think this 'Beladoni' is my favorite.  It's listed as a late bloomer on the site I was looking at.



On my way home today, I took some side streets to look at people's yards.  The cleomes in others' yards have more blooms than mine.  Next year, I'll do a better job deadheading.


The 'Harvest Moon' Echinacea did not bloom much this year.  I'm thinking this plant, which is just getting a bloom on it, is a volunteer that just came up this year.  I wonder what the bloom will look like when it's open more.


The love lies bleeding is about finished for the season, but still has color.  The scraggly plant to its right is a hibiscus, which had a nice long bloom time this year.
 

One more view to the east and south, I hope the birds enjoy the coneflower seeds.


It was predicted to get down to 32 later in the week, but the lowest now, is to be 37.  It's supposed to rain tonight, and be windy tomorrow.  I hope to get the rest of the compost spread out and start digging against the veggie garden fence so we can put some rabbit fencing around.

27 comments:

  1. The mums are pretty! I still have mine in pots, but I plant to put them in the ground, once I figure out where to put them.

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  2. The mums are a lovely addition to your garden. I love that Rhino's Orange and the Beladoni - beautiful :-)

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  3. I'm with Larry--I love mums. I love the blooms in the spring as much as those in the fall. You have some beauties. Did you notice Heidi managed to get in your first pic? Hee! Hee! She is such a ham. I must get some Love Lies Bleeding. It is spectacular. Hope you got the rest of your chores done.

    Hugs,
    Jenny

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  4. Hi,

    Never a fan of mums, this year is the first time I've bought some and they do look very nice sat by my front door... I think I will plant them and hope they come back next year, definitely worth it for the late colour and interest they provide :)

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  5. I love the Rhinos Orange! The colors are so pretty. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. mmmmm MUMS ,beautiful..

    I am still waiting for mine to bloom

    lovely colors, Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Love your mums. They do not like our heat and humidity, so I'll just have to enjoy yours and others shown in blogland. Enjoy ~ FlowerLady

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  8. I love mums; I am slowly increasing my collection.
    I had never heard of the Debonair line either. Not having to pinch would be a real plus. I forgot mine this year and they are leaning and splitting badly.

    That orange one is a stunner.

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  9. I have 'Rhinos Orange' in my garden. I brought a bouquet of them in last night. Mums really help give a boost to fall gardens. You picked some pretty ones. I have one variety that doesn't even bloom until November usually. Only an early blizzard does it in.

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  10. Boy oh boy your garden is still beautiful and interesting even in the fall. ;) The mums are gorgeous!

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  11. Looks beautiful to me. We sell the Belgian mums at work. The blooms are as big but more plentiful. Some of our bigger ones are so large I can't put my arms around them.

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  12. Very nice selection of plants. I had 2 rows of them at a house and the rabbits ate one color always. I saw a few I liked but not much in color variation.

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  13. Very pretty. It's nice to visit gardens that are still blooming. We have snow on the ground. :(( Love that crazy orange mum!

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  14. Sue, I love it all but the pink mum in particular is gorgeous!

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  15. I like mums as a cut flower, but really don't care to grow them.

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  16. I love all your blooms, Sue, but it was a wee painted stone that particularly caught my attention. Have you featured this in a post? What have I missed?

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  17. HI Sue,
    I enjoyed seeing all of your mums. I have no mums this year, so it was nice to see yours!

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  18. I haven't any mums except the Koreans~ Sheffield and Ryan's yellow. They do add a cheerful note to our gardens as they start to shut down~Have you had any luck with any of them wintering over? gail

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  19. Those mums are fantastic. We do not get much variety in the mums that are offered in our area. I can't believe how different your garden looks from ours in general even though we are in zone 5b I think. Just goes to show that zone IDs don't tell you everything.

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  20. The mums really do add something to the fall garden, don't they. Looks like plants are winding down there and before you know it, winter will be there. Hopefully not too soon!

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  21. Oh the orange is my favorite. Mine have bloomed, were deadheaded and are blooming again. I'll have to get them out of pots and into the ground soon, though!

    Beautiful shots today!

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  22. I always love seeing pics of your yard! And I'm so glad my fabulous kitchens post gave you an idea for your remodel. :)

    Have a great weekend!

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  23. Sue: Love the sunshine the mums bring to a Fall garden. Glad you still have so much going on. Most of my garden is past. BTW: I'm fine, it was just getting too hard to continue with SWF and MWT.

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  24. Loving your mums !!
    Didn't know about the Genevas ones....so much to learn.
    My favorite has to be the orange mums.

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  25. I know mums are not the favorite flower of many gardeners, you and me included. But hey, they sure do add a nice pop of color later in the season. And yours are lovely! I just wish mums wouldn't always grow in a mound, I like free standing flowers better. I only have one kind right now, but I'm going to plant out my potted one tomorrow. I hope it's not too late.

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  26. I'm spreading compost as well just before the leaves fall. Otherwise, the compost doesn't touch the soil and the worms can't get to it.
    Thanks for the great update. It's always fun to stop and see what you are up to. 37...oh my!
    I guess Old Man Frosty is around the corner.
    We are getting downt to 42 and it's so refreshing after the longest heat wave this past summer. Happy Mums Day.
    David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston

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  27. Hi
    I love your garden so much...you got everything there from beautiful flowers to herbs....

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