Finding Radiance

Welcome September! While it seems like there wouldn’t be much in the gardening world in September, it’s actually a great time of year. Zinnias are really going now and mums are appearing everywhere. It’s a good time for renovations as well. Plants don’t worry about new growth like they do in spring and can concentrate on establishing a good root system before winter.

My zinnias:

Butterflies go crazy for zinnias. This year’s crop just wasn’t all that good. That’s what happens when you buy bargain seed at a big box store.  Last year I had great zinnias from the seeds I bought at Select Seeds.  I already have the seeds bookmarked that I will be buying for next year.

Callibrocha from my tippy pots:

I think next year I will try the tippy pots in the shade. It’s hard to keep them moist enough, even in partial sun.

Butterfly bush:

One of those little mum pots I bought – already blooming in its tiny way.

Self-seeded agastache.

These don’t get very big and I’m not sure why. I think they just get too late of a start in our climate.

Potted plants on the back patio. This is salvia:

All those little brown leaves are from the honey locust tree, which you can just see at the top of the picture. We don’t really like this tree very much. It’s 3 seasons of mess. It’s also quite large, but we don’t dislike it enough to remove it. At least for now.

Heliotrope:

I will get more of this next year. I love the smell.

Last weekend I bought myself a rose of sharon to go in where I dug up that large stump:

This was a 3-gallon size pot, which I never buy because they are expensive, but a lot of nurseries have clearance sales in the fall and that brought this plant to a price I would pay 😀  .It pays to wait sometimes!

My moon flowers are still pretty small and not ready to bloom yet. I tried something different this year and put them in the back yard.

I think there is still time for these if we don’t get a hard frost before October.

My caged iris rhizomes are doing great! I planted them like this for protection:

They have been undisturbed with my covering and are showing growth:

Yippee! Hopefully they will bloom next year, but sometimes it takes 2 years.

The hydrangea still looks beautiful and lush:

These have to be 10 inch flowers.

Now that cooler weather has finally moved in, I will be doing more transplanting and moving plants this weekend. Plus working on the garden at my parents’ house. They get the benefit of me dividing plants 😀