Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: November 2016

Most of my borders look something like this one right now:

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, November 2016

Mostly cleared out and ready for a long winter’s nap.

Our first hard freeze a few days ago (pretty late for Zone 6a / 6b) finally stopped the Cosmos in their tracks.

Cosmos, After a Hard Freeze

I’d kept deadheading them through the fall, just to see how long I could keep them blooming. They really put on a good show this year, with minimal fuss — they may be my new favorite annual.

In the front garden, though, the snapdragons and foxgloves are both keeping on, despite a night or two just below freezing.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, November 2016

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, November 2016

I know I’d said that I probably wouldn’t grow the Potomac Apple Blossom snapdragons again, just because I can’t keep up with their need for staking… but this reblooming habit in late fall might just change my mind about them.

So ends another year of outdoor gardening in my NW Ohio home. The remainder of the fall and the winter will be spent indoors, enjoying the blooms of forced bulbs and houseplants, and making plans to extend the bloom season out-of-doors next year.

As always, many thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on the 15th of each month, all year ’round.

Placing Blame Where Blame Is Due

Back in the Autumn of 2014, my attempt to eradicate the trumpet creeper from my perennial borders resulted in a trip to the local Urgent Care and a round of steroids. Once I returned to work, I told my sad story to a co-worker, who — conveniently enough — had been wanting some trumpet creeper of her own. She and her adult son came by my house not long after, and he (being unfazed by the itchy plant) dug up every last bit he could find (along with some maypops for good measure) and loaded it into the back of their minivan.

1011-kevin 1011-trumpetvines

That took care of the worst of it… but not all of it, unfortunately. Continue reading

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: September 2016

The daylight hours are shortening, and here in my NW Ohio Zone 6a/6b garden, things are starting to wind down in preparation for autumn.

This chrysanthemum hasn’t been happy or healthy for the past couple of years. Two years ago, she was full of blooms; this year, she put out a scant few while trying to battle whatever disease or insect is skeletonizing her leaves.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Sept 2016

The Nikko Blue hydrangeas (I found a Nikko Blue tag in the dirt, so I’m guessing most if not all of my mophead hydrangeas are Nikko Blues) are reblooming in the cooler weather.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Sept 2016

Continue reading