Why I Oughta...

2024 is the year of flowers.  Despite these still be VERY outside my foliage gardening 'comfort zone'.  This started last Fall and continued with my 2024 to-do list with #2 - push thru with flowers . I've done A LOT of dahlias - arranged for the kitchen counter .  And, even a small set of pompon, dark maroon ones .    Now, I have a small Zinnia arrangement.  Mostly composed of the direct-sown Cut and Come Again seeds in the sideyard .  And a couple Yellow Flame Zowie Zinnias from IB2DWs .   Below is what I cut on a recent morning: I will certainly plant these Cut and Come Again Zinnia seeds - in the sideyard.  I'll also put some down IB2DWs, too.  Mark it down for Spring 2025.  

One of my Dahlias - a Melina Fleur variety - that is planted in a protected spot (against the house) on the southside in (mostly) full sun has been pretty busy producing blooms the past few weeks.  But, I started to notice that some of the foliage was starting to get eaten up.  Not lace-like, but holes at the tips and in the middle of a number of leaves.  And, those holes kept getting greater in numbers.  A week ago, I sprayed the plant with Neem Oil, thinking that I might get whomever/whatever was eating the leaves.  But, that didn't seem to slow it down.  So, I went in for a closer look.  And...sure enough...I found a couple of different pests on the plant.  The first were these fuzzy caterpillars.  There were like 30 (that I could find) that I picked off and stomped on.  I also clipped off a number of the partially-eaten leaves.  See below for the backside of the leaf with two (large) and one (tiny) caterpillars below: The other thing that I found was a green worm ON THE FLOWER.

I've had so much fun with the handful of dahlia tubers that I have in the garden this year that it has me thinking/dreaming of what might be next year.  More dahlias?  Yes, please. I'm going to try to save the couple of Melina Fluer and Cornell Bronze tubers that I planted this year.  And, I'll probably buy another couple of each just in case.   But, there's a WHOLE world of dahlias out there.  I've learned that I'm MOSTLY drawn to smaller blooms - pompons, balls, etc.  Not so much on Dinnerplate dahlias.  I also like shorter ones that don't require staking.  But, I'm open to trying a taller one next year.  Poking around the Web and watching some gardeners on Instagram has turned me on to a handful of potential dahlia tubers that might go on my 2025 wish list.   Here's some that are top of mind - right now.   Dahlia Burlesca.  Via White Flower Farm .   They are short(er) at 28" and have sunset-hues on those 'honeycomb'-like flowers.   D

#17 on my 2024 to-do list was to keep going with countertop arrangements .  Last year, I started to bring in some cut flowers and arrange them on our counter.  This year, I've grown more flowers (ahem...comfort zone and all that) and have been bringing them in for the past few weeks. The latest is a two-fer.  A container of dahlia blooms and a smaller one full of Zinnias and some Disneyland Roses.   You can see those two below:  Right now - late Summer/early Fall - is when I'm seeing the most blooms, so it is arrangement go-time.  

Just yesterday, I posted a photo that hinted at the idea that on of my dahlia tubers - an Orange Nugget Dahlia - was growing two different color flowers .   Today, the top bloom opened-up and it is anything but orange.  Have a look at the photo below showing a perfect, dark purple ball (or pompon?) Dahlia perched on top and then peek below in the foliage for an Orange Nugget Dahlia hiding about half-way down the plant.  Two blooms, same tuber.   If you look closely to the left of the purple bloom, you'll see a couple more buds being set.  What color will they be?  I'm guessing purple.  

Up front, in the IBDWs section, I planted a Cornell Bronze Dahlia tuber that I started indoors in a small nursery pot .  I put the sprouted tuber in the ground in mid-June and now, two-months-later it is showing its very first blooms.   This dahlia suffered some rabbit damage early, so I put a chicken wire cage around it in hopes that it would grow up/out and have a big bloom season.   That season of blooms is NOW upon us.  Below, you can see the first Cornell Bronze ball bloom tucked in below the top foliage.  There are more on the way. But, something *else* is happening on this very same Dahlia plant.  For SOME REASON, I'm seeing a purple bloom about to open up - at the very top of the stalk.  Yes...purple dahlia.  On the same plant that is blooming those orange ball flowers.  See below - for a most-certainly purple bloom about to open up: What the what?  Is this a mutation?  A pollinator-caused result?  I have no idea, but I'll be watching this plant to see what else pops la

The road from direct sowing Nicotiana Jasmine seeds in a new 'cut flower' bed to seeing actual plants has been long and winding.  In May, I scattered a few packets of seeds.  And, then sat back and admired my seedlings .  But...it turns out... they weren't seedlings .  It was full of WEEDS.  TONS OF THEM.  All the way up to my head in height.  I got busy ripping those out and trying to leave the small, emerging Nicotiana plants in place.  Three weeks later...I'm showing the very first flowers have emerged.   These things are *supposed* to reseed, so here's hoping that this plant grows and throws down a lot of seeds.

Our Limelight Hydrangeas have *always* been just a little bit better performers than the rest of our hydrangeas.  I'm talking panicle, oakleaf, mountain.  We have a bunch, but these two shrubs, planted on the side of our front porch have been PROLIFIC for a while.  They went in when we built the house - Summer 2017, so this is their EIGHT growing season.   Last Summer, they went ham and threw off a ton of blooms.  I've pruned them each late Winter to try to thin some of them out and avoid the flopping that comes with these giant pannicle heads.  This year - we're getting (I think) the biggest bloom.   Have a look at these shrubs as they're LOADED:

A month ago, I posted photos showing the seed packet and the knee-high seedlings that were popping up in my new full-sun cut-flower bed on the side of our house .  I crowed about how I was really pushing things with getting used to direct-sowing seeds like this Nicotiana Jasmine.   In that month since, the seedlings kept getting TALLER AND TALLER.  Some were over my head.  And all of them were crowding out other things - like Zinnias and a few Dahlia tubers that I interplanted in that same bed.   Curious, I thought.  They were growing taller and taller.  No blooms.  Here's what they looked like: Then....we went to Nat's parents house where her mom has plenty of Nicotiana Jasmine.  Too much, maybe.  Her Mom says that it reseeds iteself.  When I looked at hers, they were MUCH SHORTER.  And the leaves were more droop-y and almost like a lettuce leaf.   VERY DIFFERENT from what I was seeing in my bed.   Then, I saw some of the buds had emerged.  They were pointy, long and curving. 

In my Fall Planting sprint last year, I planted a pair of Agastche 'Blue Fortune' perennials in my mixed bed IB2DWs .  These were sort-of tucked in behind some Hakeonechloa All Gold Grasses and in front of a row of Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  Roy Diblik - up at Northwind - talked up Agastache, so when I saw it on close-out, I grabbed two.   They mostly just hung out in the background all Spring, but in the past week-or-so, they exploded with some blue/purple bottle-brush like blooms standing tall and proud.  Below is a photo showing the blooms and overall height of the plant: They're billed as being great for pollinators and true-to-the-description, when I was out there looking at these on a recent morning, they were being buzzed-around by some insects.  You can see them if you look closely: More of this, Jake.  Fall planting will be here soon enough. 

Cut flower season has arrived with the first Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnias.  These three followed the first Dahlia that I showed yesterday - a Melina Fleur Dahlia .  These were direct sown seeds and are being over-shadowed by what I'm pretty sure is Nicotiana Jasmine stalks.  I might have to thin those out to keep these happy - not to mention the Disneyland Roses that are tucked back in there. I did exactly what their name implies:  cut them.  Here's to...ummm...coming again. These took a little more than four weeks from seeds being sown to the first cut flowers. 

Out in the front yard, I am seeing my first Dahlia bloom of the season:  a Melina Fleur Dahlia that is (right now) short and stout with the bloom nestled in amongst the dark green foliage.  These were planted outdoors about six weeks ago after being started in nursery pots indoors .  I left this one on the plant (for now), but hope to cut some of these as they pop-off in the coming weeks.   Below is a look at the first Dahlia bloom of the season - the Melina Fleur Dahlia:

Over the past few days, our Cardoon (planted IB2DWs in full sun) has begun to bloom.  I posted a pre-bloom photo last week and talked about how I had to fend of aphids and bag worm to get to this point .  The first purple, pointed bloom emerged from the largest artichoke-like bud in the center of the plant.  It started small and soft-to-the-touch.  No smell at all (at least that I could detect).   Below is the first morning of the bloom.   Below is a wider-view of all the buds that will (hopefully) follow the first one: And, below is an even wider-view of the plant - showing how it is planted close to our driveway. The next morning, the initial bloom opened-up wider.  Below are a couple photos showing the second day of the Cardoon flower bloom:

What a difference two weeks make.  Earlier this month, I posted about our Disneyland Roses and described them as 'struggling '.  This is the second year where they 'struggled' - including an infestation of Sawfly Larvae.  The three bareroot ones didn't come back this season and I suspect it was the result of the pests.  As I've done in previous years, I've begun to feed the three remaining Floribunda roses with a combo fert + systemic insecticide on the first of the month (May, June).   But, that wasn't enough.  The leaves of the roses were lace-like and the plant seemed to be in decline. That's when I took drastic measures and first sprayed Neem Oil on them every few days follwing by  bombing all three of them with Eight insecticide dust .  The remaining foliage had a ghost-like quality with the white dust clinging to the leaves and stems.  For days and (now) weeks.     These Disneyland roses grow in 'flushes'.  At least that's what I c

A month or so ago, I scattered a couple of seed packages of Nicotiana Jasmine in the new cut flower bed on the southside of our house.  Nicotiana seeds are TEENY TINY.  Like, REALLY teeny tiny.  You can't really place the seeds, rather...you have to scatter them.   So...that's what I did:  scattered them in the new cut flower bed.  I also tossed in some Zinnia seeds.  Here's a look back at the bed before I planted anything, but soon added some Dahlias, too .   These Nicotiana alata grandiflora - Jasmine Tobacco - were in seed packets that had a 2022 date on them, so I wasn't sure if they were viable.  Below is the seed packet: Looking back at my Google Photos archive, I see that I put these seeds down on May 21st.  Exactly one month ago.  What does the bed look like today?   See below: Those are direct-sown seeds of Nicotiana Jasmine in just four weeks.  Some of them are almost up to my waist.  They're crowding each other - and the Zinnias and Dahlias - out, so I

The last of the Dahlia tubers are in the ground:  I planted four Cornell Bronze Dahlias that I bought this past winter from Longfield Gardens.  I started them in nursery pots indoors, then moved those to the patio to get acclimated.    I've put in six Melina Fluer dahlias - three in the sideyard and three in the front porch bed .  Then, I put in four Orange Nugget dahlias in the new sideyard bed .  And, now I've put in four (2 in sideyard and 2 IB2DWs) Cornell Bronze dahlias.  13 total plants for the season.  Cut flower season. These are behind the others, but with a little water and a lot of sun, I'm thinking they'll close the gap quickly. 

More flowers.  That's a big breakthrough for me as a gardener in 2024.  Last week, I posted photos of the Zinnias and Dahlias that I planted IB2DWs and in the new seed bed.  Today, I'm sharing the details of another new (to me) flower:  Nicotiana 'Perfume Deep Purple'.  I bought just one and planted it in the conifer garden - IB2DWs.  Below is the sign from The Growing Place that talks about the dark purple blooms and the smells that come with this flower: I've had Nicotiana Jasmine before , but it didn't reseed.    This new one is purple (vs white) and it is also in full sun.  Below is what it looks like at the time of planting: Below is a photo that provides a little context - this is in the new (as of last Fall) conifer garden.  

Day four of Zinnia-mania - but now we move from beyond IB2DWs to the new cut flower bed that I carved out on the side of our house.   For 2024 plantings with Zinnias, I first  posted the details of some common orange Zinnias that I planted as bedding plants .  A day earlier, I planted a larger, further-along  Uproar Rose Zinnia  from the nursery.   Then, yesterday I planted a Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia in the conifer garden IB2DWs .  I pinched off all the blooms on these to try to get them to grow a bit more bushier.   But, I'm also going full-on Zinnia Chaos Gardener with the new bed on the southside of the house .  I bought a couple of packets of Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnias and decided to direct sow them in the bed.  Did I evenly space them?  No, just kind-of scattered them.  Here's the bed recently planted - you can see anything but loam/dirt/mulch/compost/biosolids of course: I also put some in the Greenstalk tower.   But, that's not all.  Last Fall, I collected some Zin

Day three of Zinnia-mania IB2DWs.  Yesterday, I posted the details of some common orange Zinnias that I planted as bedding plants .  A day earlier, I planted a larger, further-along Uproar Rose Zinnia from the nursery.   I have been trying to push myself past the discomfort around flowers and this new Zinnia from The Growing Place certainly is there: out of my comfort zone.   As I walked around the nursery, this Zinnia jumped off the bench.  Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia.  See below for the sign.  It reads: "This stunning cultivar will stand out in any setting with its 3' - 4' bicolor blooms of golden yellow and magenta orange."   This was the MOST expensive Zinnia that I have bought, but it was a 6.5" nursery pot: And, that meant that I really bought TWO zinnias.  After having them sit on the driveway for a couple of days, I noticed the foliage was drooping.  That evening - after work - I dug them in to the conifer garden.  Below you can see the immediate look - wi