I'm late, I know. My garden is fried and so am I. Between
the Fling and having out of town guests and trips all summer, I've let my garden coast much more than usual. I gave up on weeding a while back and I'm very close to giving up on watering because I'm so sick of doing it.
I recently noticed that my bumble bee numbers are down dramatically while all of my other bees are way up. I posted to a gardeners' group on Facebook to see if this was the normal time of year for them to die off. People suggested that maybe I need to work on prolonging my bloom successions and, because I'm cranky and I've been watching a LOT of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, I got super defensive and like, "Bitch, why are you hating on my garden? I am very rich in blooms!"
And I really am. The salvias, the zauschneria, the sedums, the agastaches, the penstemons (all bumble favorites), they all keep going even though I've abandoned deadheading. My milkweed hit six feet, then blew over, so I cut them back and now they look like they might bloom again. If only my tomatoes would keep going, I might not mind all this watering so much.
Just in case the pollinators are sick of the same old fare, we've got fresh flowers-formerly-known-as-asters popping out.
 |
| Aster douglasii or Symphyotrichum douglasii if you're not into the whole brevity thing. |
 |
| Aster douglasii/Symphyotrichum douglasii |
 |
| Aster oblongifolius |
 |
| Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' might as well be an aster. |
 |
| Datura wrightii likes it hot and dry, therefore I like it. |
 |
| My Miscanthus sinensis 'Little Zebra' looks like a giant party favor |
When I was in high school I went through a religious phase. I always found the part of the Sunday sermon where they told you to "greet your neighbors" very odd. It was a weird, mumbly ritual in what was already a very stuffy Presbyterian service. One time we visited what I think was called a "jubilee church." People danced in the aisle! People clapped! People sang beautifully! And when the time came to greet your neighbor they seem elated to see you and shake your hand. It was actually fun. That's what bloom day always feels like to me. So I'm cranky and I want rain and autumn, but I wish you a very happy, non-Presbyterian bloom day. Be sure to visit
our host Carol and see who else is dancing in the aisles.
Do you know the specific names of your first two Douglas Asters? I need them. And if you tell me they're only hardy in Zone 8 or higher I'll make like Kim Z, flip my wig, and cut a bitch.
ReplyDeleteHey, Grumpy girl, lookin hot, those blooms! Lovin' the asters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the morning laugh, a great way to start the day! Your blooms are beautiful whatever they're called. Don't be pissed that the bumble bees are seeing other gardens - It's just a physical thing and means nothing emotionally.
ReplyDeleteThe Douglas asters are from you! So thank you!
ReplyDeleteI hear they're just really focusing on their careers right now.
ReplyDeleteOnce again I am struck by our similarities. I too am cranky about keeping my garden going and I'm sick of watering. I want it to look good in a couple of weeks for the plant exchange, even though it will probably be raining and most of us won't even leave the house. Not only that but I grew up in, and got married in, a Presbyterian church, went through a religious phase, and vividly remember my first time at a less stuffy service.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I needed this! Your garden (at least the version you've shared with us) looks great. I hear you about that fried thing though.
ReplyDeleteThe bumble bees aren't showing up? Maybe their trust funds ran out. (Did you see the NYT piece on Portland, where 20-somethings go to retire?) I'm waiting for this heat to loosen its grip so my Wayne Roderick erigeron starts to look like yours instead of their current blow-torched look.
ReplyDeleteI think they're just the straight species, which the internet tells me are hardy down to zone 2b!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad that I won't be at the plant exchange. I want to see your garden so badly!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo! No hair flip needed!
ReplyDeleteTrue Portlanders are ecstatic when the sun finally puts in an appearance in late spring and blissful when it goes away late autumn. In between most of us get pretty grumpy. Those blooms should cheer you up. Go out and kiss your asters.
ReplyDeleteWhoa...that was fast for bloomage...would you call them floozies of the flower world?
ReplyDeleteI always thought *I* was the floozie of the flower world?
ReplyDeleteYour blooms look lovely. Camera closeups are a beautiful thing this crunchy/cranky time of year. I'm ready for soup season. :)
ReplyDeleteMe too! And pasta season! And socks! And being able to dig holes in the garden again!
ReplyDeleteLove the asters. Hate their new name.
ReplyDeleteYou are so incredibly funny. I've never watched that show but did finally watch Inglorious Basterds and suggested it as an excellent comparison to real history for my sixth graders. The social studies teachers and I thought it would be truly memorable but admin felt quite different. I love that you described your miscanthus as a party favor. I just added it to my garden. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally feel your pain. I'm grumpy and sick and tired of watering too. But at least you have Asters, or whatever they are called. (I can't believe I'm going to have to learn yet another unpronounceable word...) Anyway, they are beautiful!
ReplyDeletewe're all floozies, really. Let's face it. And that top aster looks suspiciously like Aster ageratoides var. ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki'(the one from Cistus)...maybe not but they are super similar in flower.
ReplyDeleteOh shoot, i bet it is. The two top ones are from you. Good thing they're in the hell strip where they can take over the world!
ReplyDeleteYou've got some nice asters I'm totally unfamiliar with. I really like the S. douglasii. I do have the S. oblongifolius, though. Feeling rushed always makes me cranky also.
ReplyDelete