Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fertilizer Friday -- Some Seed-Grown Dahlias and a Couple of Others

Will this be my last Fertilizer Friday? We haven't had a frost here yet. I figure it should come any day (or night actually). A couple of nights ago it got down to 34. Many of my fall-blooming perennials are still going strong. My last FF post was Oct. 22, and my Dahlias were blooming then. My first FF post to feature them was Sept. 2, so they have been blooming for a long time!

I'm not going to dig them up. I'm hoping they will survive in the ground here in Zone 7. I will probably start more from seed, just in case. I winter sow, so if they don't appear in the spring, I know I'll have something else I can pop into their spots.

Here are more of them.



Pennisetum 'Karley Rose' is also still producing lots of her pretty pink seedheads, although they are  not all standing upright after some major wind and rain. Here a Dahlia has one draped over her shoulders like a pink boa.



Dahlias aren't the only blooms in my garden.

Agastache grows by the stream. It gets tall and floppy, but I love the color. And they have a nice smell. I've heard they smell like bubble gum, but that's not quite what comes to mind.

And a hardy Geranium that I got from a swap, without a name. I think it might be Rozanne, because it has scrambled over the other plants around it, which is very "Rozanne-like" behavior.  Geraniums are supposed to provide good fall leaf color, but as you can see from the leaves behind it, mine are still green.

Fuschia magellanica is still producing flowers, although the leaves are yellowing. I've never grown this before. Does it drop its leaves? I'll have to Google it.

Many months ago I bought some Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' on sale at Lowe's. It has been blooming ever since. I hope it survives our winter, which all the weather pundits claim will be much harsher than usual. (I was going to say "than we are used to," but coming from Massachusetts, I am used to pretty harsh winter weather.)

Well, that's it for this week. There are still quite a few people posting at Tootsie Time! Thanks for looking at my flowers!