Garden Surprises 2013!

     I purposefully entitled this blog Garden Surprises. This will not just include my surprising successes, but my surprising failures as well.

     I would have to say when you grow something from seed & it goes gangbusters, that is a success & it gives you satisfaction beyond compare. For me, this year it was the decorative hyacinth bean vine. It is still going strong & so beautiful, from the leaves & stems to the flowers and the pods now forming. I have it in many spots & its doing fine everywhere! It was easy to grow, hummingbirds love it & it didn’t take over. Yay, a success. For my first failure, my Felicia plant. (the woman said it was easy...) I haven’t gotten it to bloom since the original blooms I bought with it fell off. The pretty variegated foliage kept it from being a total bust. It is supposed to be a houseplant too so I may try again with it next summer, perhaps some research... Another surprising success was the dragon wing begonia I planted in the spot with hot afternoon sun. I know this plant handles shade & sun but one plant, in hot, hot sun got ginormous! See photo to left. Very much a surprise. One of my surprise/failures was the Butterfly Marguerite Daisy. In going with the simplified containers this year, I had one per a container. The one that got more sun grew beautifully, the one with less sun/more shade, not so much. They were in identical planters. It looks like a miracle grow commercial! I will definitely plant ‘Butterfly’ again; it was easy care for sure & so pretty. Next time I will plant in lots of sun. I’m disappointed in my usually robust campion but so happy with all the rain that my phlox, blackeyed susans and coreopsis did well (although with a some powerdry mildew problems) Rain =Success! Lastly is the success of the Pocket Hose. It was a gift & I was skeptical that it could be so great, but it is! Forget the shorter 25 footer (I was given two). I used the 50 ft. & was so pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. It’s so light that there was no flower destruction! It’s a must.

    So we come to the time of year where we take a deep breath & enjoy what’s left. Cut a few flowers & enjoy them inside. With the cooler nights now, have a fire in the fireplace, with a cup of tea & enjoy your cuttings. Don’t even dream of next year. Stay in the moment, there will be plenty of time for planning your successes...