August in the Northern Hemisphere

[meanie]

Meanie,

I certainly enjoy your Salvia photographs!    I think that you have shown Salvia 'Love and Wishes' in the past. Seeing it again is a good reminder to look for it here in the U.S.A. A must try for our garden!

I have planted a goodly number of meso-american type Salvias in the garden this summer, however transplanting has slowed them a bit. Maybe they will look good this autumn. Albuca humilis just finished blooming for us. I like its fragrance!

Thank you for sharing. I look forward to your next batch of photographs. 

Yes, I have shown Love and Wishes before (probably more than once, it's that good!) but it was easier to just show it again for Leslie than go back through my earlier posts 
What I find with the S.buchananii, gesneriiflora, guaranitica and splendens hybrids is that once planted out they are more "interested" in spreading their roots than blooming. Most of these hybrids do very well in pots (exceptionally well in the case of Amistad) which allows us Brits the benefit of starting them off and bringing them along in the greenhouse earlier in the season to extend their growing time. Next year I'm going to try dropping the pot into the ground - it works well with Brugmansia on a couple of levels and may be a good tactic with these hybrids as well.

[meanie]

A few more;

Angelonia angustifolia is a bit of a cheat as I bought the plant a few weeks ago................




Agastache aurantiaca................


Eucomis punctata is a little on the short side this year............


It's still nice though..........


This seed grown Aconitum volubile is not exactly prolific but it was still in a 7cm pot in April.............


Finally, Impatiens niamniamensis.............

[François Lambert]

Vegetables that are ornamental too, runner beans.  And Hedychium Coccineum doing well this year again.  I had some seeds of this Hedychium last year, harvested on Christmas day and sown immediately and then kept inside at room temperature, however none germinated.  If anyone has some advise about sowing Hedychium it will be more than welcome.

[meanie]

Vegetables that are ornamental too, runner beans.  And Hedychium Coccineum doing well this year again.  I had some seeds of this Hedychium last year, harvested on Christmas day and sown immediately and then kept inside at room temperature, however none germinated.  If anyone has some advise about sowing Hedychium it will be more than welcome.

I've used saltpetre (pottasium nitrate) to aid Strelitzia germination. Mix it one teaspoon to one litre and soak for 2 to 3 days, more will not hurt. Then I used bottom heat.

[Robert]

Yes, I have shown Love and Wishes before (probably more than once, it's that good!) but it was easier to just show it again for Leslie than go back through my earlier posts 
What I find with the S.buchananii, gesneriiflora, guaranitica and splendens hybrids is that once planted out they are more "interested" in spreading their roots than blooming. Most of these hybrids do very well in pots (exceptionally well in the case of Amistad) which allows us Brits the benefit of starting them off and bringing them along in the greenhouse earlier in the season to extend their growing time. Next year I'm going to try dropping the pot into the ground - it works well with Brugmansia on a couple of levels and may be a good tactic with these hybrids as well.

Meanie,

Years ago I grew Brugmansia up at the farm as well as a number of tender Salvia species. Dropping the pot in the ground worked well with all of them. There were a few Salvia species that seemed to want to grow foliage rather than bloom when planted in the open ground. The restricted roots in a pot seemed to remedy this situation, but not always, nor with all species or varieties.

[meanie]

Meanie,

Years ago I grew Brugmansia up at the farm as well as a number of tender Salvia species. Dropping the pot in the ground worked well with all of them. There were a few Salvia species that seemed to want to grow foliage rather than bloom when planted in the open ground. The restricted roots in a pot seemed to remedy this situation, but not always, nor with all species or varieties.

I'm hoping that it will also minimise root damage as well which is apparently one of the main reasons that the Brug growers use this method.

More photos now;
We all know the bedding Salvia splendens that you buy a tray of six for a couple of quid. Well, S.splendens "Yvonnes Giant" is a form of the true species that has been doing the rounds in the US for many years. In a good year it will grow to over two metres in height but typically the first time that I get some seed we have a pants summer. Still, it has reached a metre and a bit more and is branching nicely as well.................


Impatiens niamniamensis is just coming into bloom properly in the garden.............


Puya mirabilis. Three years from seed to bloom.............

[Tristan_He]

The first lot of soft fruit is over now but the blueberries are coming in with a vengeance. Bumper crop this year - so much more flavour than in the shops. The bushes are also quite ornamental with nice flowers in late spring and good autumn colour.

[Hoy]

A blue duck and red water lilies in my tiny pond. The poor duck has to be brought inside every winter but the water-lily remains outside

[Robert]

Slowly our Sacramento garden is taking shape. Our garden centered around our vegetable plots and they have been the priority. I guess I feel if the gardener is not healthy then the garden can not be tended or appreciated fully. Good vegetables to eat can help promote good health.



It may be difficult to notice but the vegetable plots are surrounded with ornamentals.



I do my best to make every inch count. Vegetables and ornamentals are planted in tubs, the open ground, or wherever they will do best. This tub is planted with Pac Choi. Pac Choi, Tokyo Bekana, Arugula, and Curly Cress make up the bulk of our summer salad greens. They do well and taste good despite our hot summer weather.



This view is of one of the ornamental beds next to one of the vegetable plots. Right now I am using tubs to grow most of the alpine species. Proper soil can be used and they will do well until we dismantle part of our house and can design and plant a proper alpine garden.



Gladiolus oppositifolius is looking good right now.

[Robert]

This is an exceptional form of Epilobium canum ssp. latifolia that I found on a ridge above the South Fork of the American River. This form produces flowers abundantly, much more so that the average plant found in the wild.



Epilobium 'Wayne's Silver' looking good.



Our last Azalea to bloom for this growing season, a cross of a very late blooming form of Rhododendron arborescens and R. prunifolium. Nothing fancy, but none the less a good pink that holds up well in our hot weather.



The foliage was burned due to lack of irrigation during a hot spell. Now they are being tended properly and are thriving.



Silene laciniata ssp. californica. I grow these in tubs where they bloom off and on all during the growing season. My wife loves them and I planted a tub with them and other rock plants where she walks frequently. 

[Robert]

A blue duck and red water lilies in my tiny pond. The poor duck has to be brought inside every winter but the water-lily remains outside

(Attachment Link)

Trond,

How large and deep is your "pond"? Many years ago I bought a "kiddie pool" that I sunk into the ground as a pond. It worked okay but was too shallow to work well. I also used an old claw legged bath tub. This worked much better.

Is your pond lined to prevent leakage?

Anyway, I love the photograph! 

[Lesley Cox]

I can't get used to thinking of Zauschneria as Epilobium, especially as those we have here are filthy weeds (the epilobiums I mean).

Some years ago I had seed collected by Jim Archibald, of the silene above (as S. californicum). When he and Jenny visited NZ for an NZAGS Study Weekend, I was able to produce one flowering in a small pot, to put on their breakfast table. Smiles all round.

[fermi de Sousa]

Robert,
Nice to see your vegie patch as well as the ornamentals
As much as I disdain gardeners who think that vegies are the be-all-and-end-all of gardening (especially during the drought, we had people saying that we shouldn't waste water on non-food plants! ) I wouldn't be without some space for fresh vegies and herbs.
I'm reminded of the saying "If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily" (although, one source does say that in China the lily you would buy would be for eating! I prefer to use the "western" slant on it and think of the esoteric qualities of a lily )
cheers
fermi

[johnw]

One of the most elegant tall shrubs we can grow, Clethra barbinervis shown here at Rockburn in Halifax with Stephen.  The Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural Society imported a number of them in 2" pots not so very long ago, they have grown quickly and will only get more spectacular in time.  The habit is so very Japanese though native to China as well.  The fragrance filled the air last night, we mistook it for lilies.  Sadly it's almost impossible to find a source in Canada these days. The web says hardy Z5 to Z6 which seems to be the case.  Maybe it will produce seed for the Seedex.   


johnw

[Hoy]

Robert, you grow quite a few showy ornamentals among the vegetables

In addition to the Epilobium canum I also had Silene laciniata in flower this summer

Trond,

How large and deep is your "pond"? Many years ago I bought a "kiddie pool" that I sunk into the ground as a pond. It worked okay but was too shallow to work well. I also used an old claw legged bath tub. This worked much better.

Is your pond lined to prevent leakage?

Anyway, I love the photograph! 

The "pond" was rather deep compared to the diameter when I built it but sediments have filled it up a lot. The depth vary between 30 and 60 cm depending on the rain. I have a pump circulating the water and it also deliver water to a very small watercourse. In dry weather the water sinks rather rapidly. I built a frame of leca blocks and dug a hole in the inside. I used a rubber pond liner and covered the bottom with appropriate soil before filling up with water. The water-lily is too big - I bought it as a dwarf which it certainly isn't!



I am waiting for the walls to be covered by moss. Then I will try to plant in the moss.