Small Town Gardener: August 2013

At the beginning of the summer I wrote about the merits of annuals. Pleased with myself, I set out to wait for the French marigolds that I had planted to take off. They were to become a lush carpet of color and fragrance. Then it rained.... and rained. In July, I thought, "These things are never going to grow." And to make matters even worse, the marigolds were being eaten by pests. Those fragrant flowers that are meant to ward off pests! I never caught the culprit, and a number of plants bit the dust.

However, August has come and passed, and at last, the marigolds are just what I wanted them to be, Full and luxurious. The nicotiana filled out too, but have not reached the 18" height, more like 8 - 12" tall. The parsley is out of control. Elsewhere, some of the zinnias have taken hold. The red and pink ones seemed to fare better than the orange and white, which have been consumed by grasshoppers.

A few timely purchases of pots of coleus perked up my perennial bed this month. And the planters full of coleus, sweet potato vine and creeping jenny, surrounding my water lilies look quite stunning. Best of all, The eggplants are arriving. If September remains balmy, I should have a good harvest. Besides, how many eggplants can one person eat? They are the perfect vegetable for a lazy gardener. Spare me the zucchini.

I am going to make a small change next year. Instead of purchasing Single Late tulips, I am getting the Giant Darwin Hybrids. I have chosen "Holland's Glory" and "Daydream"; "brilliant scarlet-orange with poppy-red edges and a muted yellow base," and "varying shades of soft apricot, warm orange and yellow with a rosy glow." And fragrant too. Sounds like a thrilling pair. Best of all they bloom mid April to May, giving the annuals an extra week or two in the ground in late spring. I also am returning to the Peony Flowering tulips, "Orange Princess" this time. They are classified as as "Early". We shall see.

I also decided to venture a little further afield and ordered:

Leucojum aestivum "Gravetye Giant" ( Little white green-tipped bells)
Species Tulip "Heart's Delight" ( Small light and dark pink)
Crocus vernus "Twilight" (Deep blue)
Allium azureum (Small blue puffs)
Scilla siberica "Spring Beauty" (Blue squill)

All are small early spring blooming bulbs good for naturalizing. All total, 375 bulbs to add to the 300 tulips I am already planting. This October I am sure to be worn out digging.

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