It's time once again for the End of the Month View, hosted by Helen at The Patient Gardener's Weblog (look
here), although technically it's really the beginning of the next month. I got distracted by the holiday weekend (Labor Day) and didn't get around to taking photos till yesterday morning. I had originally planned to get some gardening done this weekend, but we started the weekend off with torrential rain on Saturday, plus I got way too comfortable in my pj's. I got dressed on Saturday and Sunday solely to go out and eat. On Monday morning I got dressed just to take pictures. Silly me, I figured the neighbors might be shocked at the sight of me in my nightdress gallivanting around with a camera slewing around my neck. (Oh, what a lovely image that leaves you with.)
I'm also including in this post a peek inside my greenhouse, which I was doing pretty religiously on the 20th of every month up until June. This meme is also hosted by Helen, but I haven't seen a greenhouse post from her in a couple of months. Her greenhouse may be in a state of transition, in her last post in June she mentioned getting some new staging. Anyway, I thought I'd just post some pics on my own. You all want to see what's happening in there, right?
The Greenhouse
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| The greenhouse from my front door |
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| My collection of Begonias, clustered around the northeast corner, where they get a quick burst of morning sun, just keeps getting bigger and bigger. |
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| Seedlings and various Bromeliads. I'm collecting smaller Bromeliads to create a Fortnamesque Bromeliad tree |
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| On the western side of the greenhouse, facing the street, is a table full of Agave pups, my Cycad and various succulents |
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| Echeveria 'Black Prince' |
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| View through the greenhouse door |
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| My tomato plants inside are loaded! I've already made a couple of batches of tomato sauce and tomato jam. |
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| My Sun Sugar plants have flopped over from being top-heavy, but they are still producing, although they took a break when we had extreme heat. And they're looking very sad and tired (I know how they feel). |
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| Only two fruit on my butternut squash plant, which is bedeviled by mildew. |
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| Peppers and basil are also looking tired, and the basil needs water and pinching back. |
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| Because I moved the cherry tomato plants into the center of the greenhouse, I can no longer easily reach my table. It's a mish-mashy mess. I'd like to get it sorted, but that won't happen till the tomatoes are done. |
The Bottle Tree Bed
For my End of the Month View posts this year I've been concentrating on my Bottle Tree Bed, which I tore apart at the beginning of the year and replanted in a different configuration and with new plants. There are still some plants flowering in there, and I do still like how it looks. I already know which bed in my garden I will post about next year. It's going to get the same treatment.
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| The Bottle Tree Bed at the end of August |
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| From left to right -- Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy,' Astrantia with spent flowers, Erysimum 'Apricot Twist,' Sesleria autumnalis, Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink,' and in the lower right corner...a weed. |
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| I probably should have cut off the finished flowers on the Veronica but there are only so many hours in the day, and we've had a hot August |
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| Sesleria autumnalis |
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| Most of the Agastache 'Golden Jubilee' flowers are completely finished, only a couple still have a hint of purple. I hope soon the Amsonia hubrichtii on the left will start showing some fall color. |
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| Most of the Agastache looks like this. |
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| Most of the Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle Spirit' florets are done, there are only a couple still pink. |
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| My hardy Geranium, which I think is 'Wargrave Pink,' is still flowering a little |
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| The slugs love my Carex 'Banana Boat.' |
To see what the Bottle Tree Bed looked like back in April when I finished planting it, look
here.
I mentioned in an earlier EoMV post that I'd like to buy some secies tulips and maybe some other small spring bulbs to plant in the Bottle Tree Bed. It's getting on for time to order those. I did transplant a handful of species tulips into this bed already, but of course that foliage has long since disappeared, so when I do finally get around to putting in more, there's a very good chance that I will end up digging up what I already planted.
Who needs chipmunks and squirrels when I can do the very same job that they do?
