This is a two for one post. Normally I like to post just one subject but since I've cut back on posting and just can't seem to stick to one thing to photograph in the garden you all get a twofer! The main thing I'd like to share is my 'Pumpkin on a Stick'. Ever heard of it before? No, it's not a fair treat in the class of butter on a stick or koolaid on a stick but it is indeed a neat thing-you will not eat this 'pumpkin' though.
This pumpkin is actually an eggplant, Solanum integrifolia to be exact. This is an ornamental eggplant and as you can see the eggplants look just like pumpkins. I must say this has to be one of the neatest if NOT the neatest thing I've grown in my vegetable garden. I received this one little plant from a fellow master gardener when I won a door prize drawing. Thanks David! He was kind enough to supply me with all literature he had on this plant. David told me he purchased the seeds and started several plants for his garden and to give away to us master gardeners and to a select few of his friends. At first I thought my new acquistion was a brugmansia (which I believe is in the same family as eggplants-Solanaceae) but that was not the case.
Like all eggplants this one needs lots of sun, staking, fertilizer, and heat. My pumpkin on a stick has grown from a 4" plant in June to a more than four foot tall plant in August! There are several small fruits growing on it but only a few have begun turning the pumpkin orange as is characteristic of this fruit. I have read where these 'pumpkins' are great for use in dried arrangements. I suspect they'll come in handy for my garden club this fall. This is a very easy and rewarding plant to grow but I must say it has been mercilessly attacked by flea beetles. I do not normally use any pesticides in my gardens but have resorted to Sevin to combat the flea beetles. Overall the flea beetles have not severely damaged the plant but the damage could get to that point if not treated.
So I ask you all-have you ever heard of 'Pumpkin on a Stick"? And if so what is your experience with growing it?
Now onto some late summer garden pictures. Here in Tennessee it is Surprise Lily time and boy oh boy do these ever make for treats in the garden. I have several clumps that were started when a gardening friend gave me some bulbs (in February of course). These lilies (Lycoris squamigera) have a great fragrance and last forever as cut flowers in the house.
The butterflies and bees have taken over all the self seeded cosmos in my vegetable garden. It is such a joy to watch all of the insects!
Here we are looking into the vegetable garden-jungle. Not a jungle really but quite full of plants and vegetation. The vegetables and orange cosmos have really done quite well this year. I must say this has been the best season for my vegetable garden. We are still picking great tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers. The cantaloupes and squash will be ready soon. The zucchini plants are the largest I've ever ever grown in my life and the funny thing is I haven't done anything special-except water regularly. I've never had cucumbers past the end of July in my garden. Disease and insects usually take out the cucumbers and squash but this year both have stayed away for the most part.
I purchased an absolutely fabulous native grass a few months ago at the Perennial Plant Society meeting in June. It is 'Northwinds' Panicum virgatum. I call it my punctuation mark amongst all of the other frilly, roundy, and busy perennials. It really sets off the pineapple sage in front of it and Rudbeckia lacinata to the right of it. Asters and lantana round out the perennials in this area of the Sunny Perennial Border looking toward the Vegetable Garden, aka jungle.
Lastly, you know it is nearing fall when the ornamental grasses begin blooming in Tennessee. This one is my absolute favorite (even more than 'Northwinds'). It is 'Adagio' Miscanthus sinensis and does so well here in my garden that I've spread it all around. It is drought and shade tolerant-a total bonus here. I have it paired with a 'Limelight' hydrangea, an arborvitae, several 'Immaculee' peonies and a 'Little Richard' abelia along the northern edge of my Foundation Beds.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and are looking forward to fall. My neighbor (Mr. C. the farmer) tells me it will be an early fall because all of the swallows have left his farm. He says they usually stick around through most of August but have been gone for a while now. I always listen to him because with all of his years of farming the land and loving the critters that live on it I've found he has a great deal of wisdom-and hasn't been wrong yet.
in the garden....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
The garden is looking mighty tired but there are bright spots in and amongst the drying and wilting 'sticks' in the garden. The butterfly above (I believe a clouded sulpher) is one such bright spot. It found a roost on the impatien; one of a few that has managed to bloom and do well this very dry summer. Now let's see the contenders for August's Plant of the Month.
Patrina has been blooming for more than six weeks now and is a stunner! My daughter says it looks kind of like goldenrod but I just don't see it, but then again both plants are yellow. The color yellow is for sure the color of the day in my gardens. Helenium is sneaking in next to the patrina here. Patrina is a definite contender for Plant of the Month, if not for Plant of the Season.
Sedums, well what can you say that is not good about the sedums? Okay, occasionally they flop but wow when they are happy and looking good! The 'Autumn Joy' clumps in my garden are all in various states of blooms due to the various amount of light they receive. I love them all but this stage of 'Autumn Joy' is particularly attractive to me. Sedums are a definite contender for Plant of the Month.
The 'Knockout' roses are getting their second wind in the garden. I am a big fan of these since they are such low maintenance plants and since they do okay in the part shade conditions of my garden. This one does have a bit of leaf damage though so perhaps it is not a good contender for Plant of the Month.
More helenium backed by an unknown grass. I'm not sure of the variety of grass but it does make a great foil for helenium and other perennials. Heleniums are looking good this year though it is far from their best year. Heleniums like a bit more water than what we have had here so the foliage of the heleniums is lacking in beauty. I'm not so sure helenium is the best choice for this month's Plant of the Month.
Crepe myrtles are shining despite the drought and hot weather. A few do slump and wilt though and their staggered bloom, while great for a long show, does not quite make it the star this month.
Ah, here we go-can you guess what I have chosen? It is ornamental grasses. Grasses are so easy to grow and require no supplemental watering in my garden. They never fail to bloom and give four seasons of interest. Yes, the ornamental grasses have it here in my gardens. While the other plants are great they do not add as much to the August gardens as the ornamental grasses; in this case it is the variety 'Adagio'. Adagio grows in part shade conditions though it would prefer full sun. It is small and compact yet big enough to make an impact and it is easy to grow and does not self seed. Division is the mode of creating more plants here for this grass. There are several more blooming here but 'Adagio' gets top billing. I think you can't go wrong with ornamental grasses....
in the garden....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
Sometimes I get really lucky and wind up with some great specimen plants. Sometimes not, but that is another story. In the case of Adagio Miscanthus sinensis I got real lucky. I originally thought this grass to be Morning Light, but upon doing some research and cataloging all of my plants I found the label clearly identifying this grass as Adagio.I love this grass! Why you ask? Because it grows in the shade, is reliable, easy to divide, stands up straight and tall and makes a nice presence sans colorful flowers. Ornamental grasses also make great foundation plants. I just put these three clumps here in my foundation bed in the fall of 2007. They really have filled in fast and make a good presence on this side of the house; which slopes down a bit from the left side. The grass adds some weight, along with the Emerald Green aborvitae and anchors the whole right side foundation beds
Adagio will grow to about 5 feet tall (flower portion) and about 4' wide. It is a smaller type miscanthus than you typically find and will fit into any garden.
Variety is good and this grass, or any ornamental grass (and there are tons!) for that matter, adds a great deal of variety and interest to the garden. What are some other plants that add interest to your garden besides flowers?
in the garden....
Ornamental grasses are great plants for the garden. Wintertime brings out the best of them. When most all other plants have retreated underground, the grasses proudly stand up and show off their flowers and gold fall color all winter long. That is why my choice for December's Plant of the Month is Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio'.I am a big fan of ornamental grasses. Unfortunately, my garden is sun challenged and most ornamental grasses like lots of sun. Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' is one type of ornamental grass which does well in the shade. It is not the only ornamental grass I grow, but is one of the big ones and is so adaptable it is heads above the others. I have a book called Ornamental Grasses by Peter Loewer which gives a little history about ornamental grasses. He says before 1980 garden designers were averse to designing gardens solely with ornamental grasses. Garden designers thought a garden with only grasses would be boring. That is, until Russell Page, a British garden designer came along and designed the headquarters of PepsiCo in Purchase, New York entirely with grasses. Since then, grasses have become a standard part of any garden design for gardeners desiring movement and interest in their garden. Apparently, according to Loewer, even on the hottest, stillest day in Purchase New York, the grass garden would always move ever so gently. Then in the summer when the grasses began blooming it appeared as though the blooms were all waving rhythmically in the breeze. Movement in any garden is a good thing. I think movement keeps things interesting and grasses are one of those plants which bring something to the garden most perennials don't, year round interest and movement.
Try an 'Adagio' or any of the many ornamental grasses available if you want some movement and year round interest in your garden. This particular grass is very, very easy to divide and share or just to move around your garden. It requires a shearing in spring prior to new growth and that is the only maintenance it has required in my garden. It also does well in any average soil and is not fussy about fertility. It is a stalwart in the garden. in the garden....