The sight of frost this morning was jarring.
The autumn sun so low, feeling like I could swat it if I had a running start.
While I could see winter sneakily approaching through my back woods, autumn is all like “I ain’t going anywhere yet.”
I wish morning frost was available year round. It beautifully outlines the leaves and stems.
This is only one reason why we don’t cut down the perennials until spring.
A few thoughts for today:
I cut back this one Agastache to the ground a few weeks back because it was dried to a crisp and did it ever put on nice new growth in no time. And then just this week this one bloom appeared. It feels so bittersweet since the real cold weather is just around the corner.
Valiant effort little guy.
True story: An unknown civilian called me over to their car in front of my home the other day. I assumed they were going to ask for directions but then realized, no one does that any more with Google and GPS right? I prepared for the worst and even prepared for an evil clown to emerge only to have them ask, “What is that bush over there? It is stunning.”
“Sir, that is Miscanthus purpurascens or Flame Grass for you common folk.”
Tremendous coloration, especially when back lit by the late afternoon sun.
It is better to be lucky than good.
Thank you and have a hell of a day.
An unusual thing happened today.
I had some free time on my hands while at home. When that happens, instinct typically kicks in and I head directly to the garage where I put on my gloves and grab some combination of my trowel, spade and a large container for weeds. I then head out into the yard without any plans and just start weeding or planting or moving plants. All of this is done with reckless abandon until I realize I have run out of time or I pass out.
But today was different.
No trip to the garage.
No desire to do anything in the garden whatsoever.
I feel done for the year.
This feels unusual and I’m holding out hope that it is only temporary. Is it possible this is the new normal? Am I wearing down sooner in my old age? I’ll have to let it play out a few weeks longer before jumping to any conclusions.
I claim the right to change my mind in the near future without any ridicule from all of you. But at least let me have this today.Â
While hard laboring John is on temporary hiatus, shutterbug John is not. Fall is arguably the best season for bringing out the best in my garden so I am outside taking pictures on regular rotation. I can’t miss a thing.
After taking a series of photos today and then reviewing them I couldn’t simply just post them here without any commentary like I did last Friday. I owe you more than that. My desire to write hasn’t dwindled a bit either so fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) I have come up with a theme for today’s pics. That theme is what I’m proud of with each shot. Proud in terms of my gardening skills not my photography skills.
Enjoy.
Layers are good. It has taken a lot of time and experimentation but I’m happy with the results on this front.
Masses. Always good for the greatest impact. Especially in a wide open garden setting like mine.
Grasses make the garden literally shine in September and October.
“Foundation plantings” are boring and too neat. Glad I stayed away.
Protecting my precious tomatoes from the deer using ornamental grasses as fencing has been fun and rewarding.
Plants like Sneezeweed, which tend to topple easily, are best planted among, you guessed it, ornamental grasses. The grasses provide support and their see-through quality allows for a cool display.
There is still nothing better than Panicum ‘Northwind’. She still holds the title as queen of the grasses.
QOTD: Are you still performing hard labor in your garden?
September is all about inventory or time to update the plant spreadsheet at “Le Jardin du Markowski”.
I pray to God I got that right or my father, a former high school French teacher, will disown me. I took a few years of French in high school myself, but never grasped the language. I could, however, pull off some sick mash-ups of Franglais, like “You’re full of merde” or “Let’s go jouer some baseball”. That and I remember that the French used an alternative to “It’s raining cats and dogs”. They would say, and I’m paraphrasing here, “La vache qui pisse” meaning it is raining like the cow pisses. Score one for higher education.
My inventory process is rather simple.
I walk the garden with printed plant spreadsheet in hand and check off those plants still with us and take counts of all those same plants. Anything not checked is eventually moved to the “Dead” tab in case it needs to be referenced in the future. Any plants that have been added to the garden since the last update are scribbled on to the hard copy of the plant spreadsheet. Later on, plant tags are referenced to ensure the appropriate cultivar name have been included with my new additions.
This is necessary, why? I’ll tell you why:
And no, I’m not ready to reveal this cornucopia of plant knowledge so you’ll have to just imagine what it looks like.
Actually I’ll give you one little nugget as a teaser. After completing the inventory earlier today it was determined that I have 13 Panicum ‘Rotstrahbusch’ grasses. All are thriving and all originated from plants I bought from Bluestone Perennials in 2006. Come to think of it, I could put out a plant version of Ancestry.com for my own garden and it would be killer.
A thought for another day.
I love me some ‘Rots’ and so does my camera. Here are some pics I took of the “Rots” in various poses and I hope you enjoy them all.
These are numbers 4-6 in terms of their age.
Wispy comes to mind.
Great backdrop for perennials all the way into the Fall.
Intertwined with Boltonia.
Hanging with other grasses including Sorghastrum and Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’.
There is almost always one within earshot of the camera.
As seen through the eyes of Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’ blooms.
QOTD: Do you really have any interest in my spreadsheet?
A tour around my garden:
Ornamental grasses are the dominant feature right now as they round into their peak form. So why don’t we start there.
I’m sure you are well aware of my affinity for Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ by now but if not, here is some visible propaganda.
More Panicum love here as well.
Not only do the grasses put a smile on my face but they also serve a very tangible purpose. Here they are protecting the tomatoes from the deer and doing a bang up job I must say.
‘Karl Foerster’, kicking ass in John’s garden since ’07.
A recent addition to the grass collection, Pennisetum ‘Burgundy Bunny’ has phenomenal color right now. I am going to liberally add these wherever I can find the space for them. Love.
Soghastrum (Indian Grass) has announced its presence in a big way of late but I’ll hold off on photos until they are just right. By just right, I mean when all of the blooms have arrived. For now, here is a taste of one of those blooms. Love.
Speaking of blooms on the grasses. Here is one of the Andropogon (Big Bluestem) ‘Red October’ blooms. I now get why this grass is often referred to as Turkey Foot.
Yes, there are plants other than ornamental grasses that tickle my fancy right now and some of these newly emerged this week. Like seen here with the first blooms of Chelone lyonii. This plant truly loves my often waterlogged soil and for that I am indebted for life.
This Boltonia bloom could be heard yelling “first” this morning.
Sedum ‘Matrona’ is playing nicely with Veronica ‘Royal Candles’ and my little hide-it-from-the-deer-game is still going strong.
Transition of seasons. It is coming.
Look at what we have here. The seedheads of Baptisia are slowly opening and that makes me think winter is around the corner and that makes me cold which in turn makes me both mad and sad.
Speaking of a transitional period, I just noticed this week that the stems on the Redtwig Dogwood are well, red and that also is freaking me out a bit. I love the red stems in winter and it is welcome winter interest, but for god’s sake, not yet.
This Rhamnus (Buckthorn) ‘Fine Line’ was inundated with Japanese beetles just a few weeks ago and looked nasty. Now I know how resilient and tough she is and that will be noted on the trusty plant spreadsheet.
This spring I ordered a massive quantity of small plugs of Packer Aurea (Golden Ragwort) from Izel Native Plants and while they all initially struggled with the heat and the humidity, they have all bounced back like a champ. I love the foliage. And I’m banking on mass blooms in early spring next year and post bloom, I plan on it being the plant to hide the ugly legs of others like Bee Balm and Sneezeweed.
I cannot for the life of me successfully grow Cimicifuga (Bugbane). It is official now. I’ve tried in full shade, mostly shade, partial shade and full sun. I’ve left alone for years and remained patient with no success. I’ve kept them consistently moist and no dice. It may be time to move on.
One last one before I go. I spotted this bloom of Hydrangea ‘Little Lime’ just laying in my front lawn this morning and thought it curious since it wasn’t actually eaten by the deer.
Upon closer inspection, there were Bee Balm plants knocked to the ground near it as well.
Upon closer inspection this was not the act of deer or any other animal.
Upon closer inspection, a certain 14 year old boy seemed awfully nervous around me this morning.
Upon closer inspection, said 14 y/o boy likes to hit a baseball across the front lawn and this area happens to be right in the way.
QOTD: How should I appropriately handle this situation?
As we hit the midpoint of August and slog through the dog days of summer, I realize that the plants in my garden can be broken down into three different categories:
Fading
Still going strong
Ready to take center stage
I guess these same categories exist throughout all of the gardening “seasons”, but it seems to be at an extreme right now.
And the garden, shocker, reflects life itself. Allow me to pontificate.
With the heat and humidity at what feels like an all time high (I’ll still take it over winter) I some times find myself caving and giving in to the joys of air conditioning. Likewise, so many plants have succumbed to the conditions and have thrown in the towel. No more fighting for that last new bloom or trying to keep up the facade of clean looking foliage. Uncle.
At the same time, there are those plants in my garden that say “f you” to these conditions and keep kicking ass. Not too unlike a certain gardener I know who can’t get enough of the stinging sweat in his eyes, the burning in the calves and easily runs through three t-shirts a day. A gardener who accepts the chuckles from his neighbors and keeps pulling weeds like it was hot yoga.
And then there are those plants who sense the cooler weather is coming and are ramping up for a big time display. There are subtle signs from some and not so subtle signs from others. You can feel their excitement, their turn to take the lead in the play. Fall is their time and they f’n know it. Hopefully my kids feel that same type of energy and excitement as they soon head off to high school and 5th grade. Because all kids feel that way,right?
FADING
No plants better represent the concept of fading than the coneflower. Phenomenal in peak bloom but in my humble opinion, still killer as the pink and yellow and white washes out, turns black and eventually becomes all cone.
Almost all of the Bee Balm blooms are in full fade mode yet still have a presence. That is if you take them in from a distance and ignore the slow takeover of powdery mildew.
Fading Agastache still pulls in the bees and who wants to get in the way of that?
STILL GOING STRONG
The dwarf Sneezeweed (‘Mariachi’ series) are still blooming strong and the deer have no interest.
Providing a nice contrast in form and color with the emerging ornamental grasses.
If it takes surrounding hydrangea by grasses and other deer despising plants, so be it. It has worked and this hydrangea continues to thrive even with the extreme heat of the past few weeks.
Veronica ‘Royal Candles’, one of the few plants I cut back religiously, always provides multiple rebloom periods. These were cut back only two weeks ago.
Of course it isn’t all about the flowers and one of my favorite foliage plants right now is Diervilla ‘Cool Splash’. It brightens up one of the few shaded areas in my garden and holds up all spring/summer.
I have tried for years to find a blue evergreen that would be ignored by the deer and say “no problem” to my clay soil that can sometimes be a bit waterlogged. Some how, Juniper ‘Wichita Blue’ has been the one to take the crown and three years in I am beyond thrilled. Upright, untouched by the deer and very little winter damage has made it a winner.
READY TO TAKE CENTER STAGE
The first signs of bloom on the Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ appeared this week, which is always a reminder that September is fast approaching.
Boltonia blooms aplenty are here with plenty more to come. Of course once all blooms are present it will lean over and not be as fun to look at but I’ll be sure to never show you that photo.
Eupatorium ‘Wayside’ or Hardy Ageratum (but not really an Ageratum) finally survived the winter for me after two previous attempts. It seems to have reseeded more than it actually survived but who can complain. I love the late season color. A fun one to photograph in fall.
BONUS – Ornamental Grasses
I kind of like ornamental grasses in case you are new here. You’ve been warned.
Pennisetum ‘Hameln’ in full bloom as of this week.
First signs of blooms on Panicum ‘Northwind’.
Same goes for Miscanthus ‘purpurascens’ or Flame Grass.
Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ and their airy blooms.
I “attempted” to rid my garden of all Northern Sea Oats and while there is still a ways to go, I’ve made major progress. Having said that, I can’t deny these NSO that have grown right through an Itea shrub look kind of awesome. Oh well.
QOTD: Do you like this time of year in your garden? Why or why not?
After hours of research, reminiscing, comparisons, self evaluation, honest arguments with myself and numerous drafts thrown in the garbage in a fit of rage, I’ve finally completed my long awaited “Top 14 Favorite Plants List”.
Why 14? Why not, I say. Truth is that was the natural cutoff point and there was no way I could limit it to 10.
10 is so 2015.
Consider the “extra 4” a bonus for your botanical viewing pleasure.
A few suggestions before the reveal:
When compiling this list, I took a lot of different criteria into account from multiple season impact, ease of maintaining, prettiness level, level of creature attraction, focal pointed-ness, etc. In the end, there was no official scoring system and all of these plants (perennials, shrubs, grasses only) naturally fell into their ranking. Some are ubiquitous and others not so well known.
All of these plants currently reside in my garden and I eliminated all plants from contention if I haven’t had years nurturing/killing/crying with them.
Each plant has a hyperlink to the original blog posts I had dedicated for each or were part of another story that I’d think you’d enjoy. Go ahead, click them and get educated.
So here we go, in reverse order starting with:
14. Mountain Mint
13. Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’
12. Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass)
11. Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’
10. Redtwig DogwoodÂ
9. Astilbe arendsii ‘Amethyst’
5. Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass)
2. Amsonia hubrichtii and/or tabernaemontanaÂ
What do you think of the list? Any surprises? Any strong disagreements? Fill those comments up now and let’s get a discussion rolling.
We spent a long weekend in Connecticut after being off from work all last week. Now we return to reality tomorrow and I don’t like reality very much. Actually that’s not true, I feel ready to conquer the world and do some big things in the near future. But that could be the vacation vibe talking. But who cares, right? Enjoy that feeling while it still lasts, right?
Before I jump back into spreadsheets and conference calls and holistic synergies, here are some pics from the weekend.
Time spent at the family retreat at Cedar Lake in Chester, CT always does the soul well.
I have a lot of fears in the water (thanks Mom) and thankfully my daughter didn’t inherit those genes. She jumped right in the kayak and took off around the lake. Deep breaths and a few beers got me through it.
My wife and I were graciously granted a lunch date by our host and hostess. Before they could say “enjoy”, we were at the Madison Beach Hotel restaurant, a luxurious hotel housed right on the Long Island Sound.
Of course oysters …
Followed by beach selfies with my one and only.
On our way to the beach at Watch Hill, RI we stopped at a legendary italian ice joint, Vecchittos Italian Ice in Middletown, CT. Beyond delish and easily the best I’ve ever had.
When in Watch Hill, RI one must pose for pics near the Ocean House. I wrote about this grand hotel a few years ago (you can read it here) and we are still in awe each time we see it.
Once on the public beach in Watch Hill, the kids attacked the ocean and stayed in for hours, no exaggeration.
I could go on and on about how well we were treated by all family this weekend, but you don’t know them and I need to protect their identity so only WE can enjoy it for years to come. Just know I ate Belgian Waffles for three mornings straight and never wanted for a single beverage.
And last but not least, the return to the garden. Always a consolation prize after returning from vacation.
Still plenty of blooms …
… but it is clear that the grasses have announced their arrival. It is their time to take center stage. Expect them dominate on this blog for weeks to come.
QOTD – have you ever dreamed up a big idea or made a life change decision while on vacation? If so, would you be so kind as to share the experience? I think I’ve got one but it will be a secret until it comes to fruition.
A few thoughts:
We’re always trying to piece a garden together that has visual interest all year long. Ideally, we’ll construct it where one perennial stops blooming and takes a step back, while another takes center stage. Continuous succession of bloom or emergence of interesting foliage or texture. That’s the game.
Below is one of those situations where I’ve managed to play it perfectly. The pink Astilbe blooms have had their day in the sun but are now fading and losing color just in time as the yellow coneflowers are emerging. Yellow and pink, not so great together and fortunately, the world will not have to bear witness to it.
I’m really starting to buy into the ornamental grass as deer-loving-plant-protector. This hydrangea bloom is proof. Now the challenge is how to design an ornamental grass moat and make it look pleasant and natural.
You can only say it so many times before the message is lost on people. So here is my last plea for you to find a way to get Panicum ‘Northwind’ into your garden. Even if you have a smaller garden, please add one and thank me later. What a handsome and massively upright specimen (how I’m often described as well).
Do not underestimate the “see through-ness”of certain grasses like this ‘Karl Foerster’.
While you are adding a Panicum ‘Northwind’ to your cart (virtual or metal) also throw in Amsonia. They play nice together.
Nothing has reseeded more in my garden than Mountain Mint. It pops up everywhere in spring and even with my OCD tendencies, I’m able to let it do whatever the hell it wants. My therapist calls that incremental progress.
Bee Balm, friend or foe? Discuss.
I’ve been trying to up my container planting game for a few years now and I’m still not happy with my progress. I have learned to experiment more and stuff each container to capacity but I still need work. I’d love your feedback on this one. It seems to be thriving in its shady location. Be gentle but be honest.
QOTD – What is your go-to container planting combo? I have no shame in stealing all of your brilliant ideas.
This is an update to the original Miscanthus Gracillimus post from 5 years ago. I’ve learned and experienced quite a bit more since then and honestly, the photos are a hell of a lot better.
Miscanthus Gracillimus made it on to my top ten ornamental grasses post and has for me personally, remained the most upright Miscanthus residing in my garden today.
Before I share some additional photos and my experience with Miscanthus Gracillimus, here is some information to whet your ornamental grass whistle:
Some of my photos:
In full bloom in September.
Fall color emerging in late October. Great complement to all of the red hues.
And the standard brown/buff in November. This Miscanthus stands at attention all winter even under the most extreme conditions.
An example of its versatility. Here she is in summer, quietly hanging out in the background, minding her business.
And then in fall, she displays fantastic color and completes one of my favorite vignettes in my garden.
Having said all that, I have a dirty little secret. My Miscanthus Gracillimus looked great in bloom this past year.
But a peak behind the curtain tells a different story.
Only about half of the grass emerged from the cut back stems this year and my gardening prowess tells me it is time to divide it. It will be a hell of a job but I’m determined to pull it off. I’m thinking this one grass will become three smaller versions in spring. My hands may fall off or I might throw my back out, but it will be worth it in the end; for my garden’s sake and for great blog fodder.
