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Annuals for the Fall Garden: Morning Glory and Mexican Sunflower

morning, glory by Aunt Owwee

Two other plants that I love in my fall garden are annuals. I planted the seeds directly into the ground outdoors, so they got a slow and late start. But they are finally taking off.

One is the morning glory. I planted a few seeds on either sides of my arbor hoping that they would cover it. I planted a few seeds near a tree that I wanted them to climb. And I planted a few seeds near a sign on my sidewalk that says, No Parking on This Side of the Street. The township was unhappy that the morning glory vine might obstruct their sign, so they tore half the vine off. But it didn’t matter. The morning glory vine climbed back up. But now I check the vine every morning to remove any tendrils that want to cover the face of the sign. And the vine is starting to bloom.

The morning glory seeds planted near the sweet gum tree that I wanted to climb had a mind of its own and refused to climb the tree. But no matter. The mound of morning glory vine in front of the tree is producing lots of morning glory flowers. But the pièce de résistance is the arbor. The vine has grown over the arbor in such a lush covering that with its heart shaped leaves and stray tendrils swirling around, it is a sight to behold even without flowers. But when the flowers open it is truly a sight to behold. The flowers seem to be opening slowly but there are tons of buds. Here’s hoping for a late frost.

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Outdoor Designer Garden Furniture

Garden bench for Kai by kretyen

Part of preparation for winter, now that fall is seriously with us, is storing outdoor furniture. That is a major problem for me since storage space is at a premium. The other problem, as I look at my garden furniture while stowing it, is that it looks so shabby. I cannot even call it Shabby chic.

I would love some clever outdoor furniture that is funky or interesting but can stay out in all weather. I have two pieces of furniture that I like. My favorite bench is an old park bench, the kind that is made of such heavy wrought iron that you cannot budge it. It used to sit on my grandmother’s front porch- so you know it is an antique. I took off the rotting wood and repainted it to match my front door and front of the house which is a silvery gray and fuschia. I love the look. This bench can weather any season.

The new piece that I treated myself to this year is a bench made from concrete. I bought it because it was on half price sale at my local nursery. I worried that it might look like it belonged in a cemetery. But it looks like it fits in a garden. And I don’t have to store it for the winter.

Still I wish I had really nice outdoor designer furniture.

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Cyclamen In The Fall Garden

Cyclamen hederifolium by andreasbalzer

One of my favorite house plants that usually is sold in my area in late fall through winter, a great Christmas present, is the Cyclamen plant.  I love the flower and wish I could grow it outdoors because it is one of those plants that also has pretty leaves going for it. But alas, it wants to live in a warmer climate than I live in. Cyclamen persicum grows in Temperature Hardiness zones 7 and above.

So when I learned that there is a perennial cyclamen that will grow in my area, I had to have it. There are a few different cyclamens that bloom outdoors in the fall. I bought Cyclamen hederifolium.   It is such a delightful plant; I am so happy with it in my fall garden. It grows in Hardiness Temp. zones as low as Zone 4.  It has virtually no pests plaguing it. This is my perfect type of plant.

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Toad Lily: Flowers that Bloom in the Fall

Toad_Lilies by zhurnaly

Most people, when they think of flower gardens, think of spring gardens and summer gardens. Fewer people seem to think of fall as a great time for flowers. Maybe this is because with the arrival of fall we know that winter is around the corner and are preparing for the cold weather or are too busy raking leaves to notice the many flowers that are showing off. Or maybe it is because one anticipates and is eager to see the beautiful fall foliage which can be so spectacular that the scene overshadows everything else. Whatever the reason, you are missing out if you do not plant flowers that bloom in the fall.

I love the flowers that are now open in my fall garden. It is not just the chrysanthemums and the asters that are stunning in the fall. There are some lesser known flowers that bloom in the fall with such pretty flowers.  I want to write about a few of the flowers that are favorites of mine.

One really special fall flower that is presently blooming in my garden has the silly common name of Toad Lily. The Latin name is Tricyrtis. This perennial is in the lily family. To read how the plant got the unflattering name of Toad Lilly, read this. This year’s rainy weather has been wonderful for my toad lilies and the floral display is the best I have ever had. When I showed them to my daughter, she thought I had orchids.

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How TheGardenLady Identifies Plants

ForageSF by Jaymi Heimbuch

What does one do if one does not know the name of a plant that has no label or tag on it?

Two friends came to me this week with just such a request. I am pretty good at identifying plants that grow in my temperature zone 6 and try to recall the Latin name as well as the various common names of these plants. I also pride myself on being able to identify many of the native wild flowers or plants in my area. But there are so many flowering plants in the world, that it is impossible for any person to be able to name them all.

For a scientific account on the number of plants in the world, you can read this article. One of the sources I use says it lists 15,000 ornamental plants in the book. So though I know a number of tropical plants or plants that grow in different temperature growing zones, there are too many for me to really know. But when friends come to me and ask me to identify a plant, I am challenged. Then I am like a bulldog with a meat bone tenaciously trying to find the name of the plant in question.

tibouchina urvilleana by nestmaker

This week one plant that was fairly easy for me to identify was the Tibouchina urvillieana- Princess flower or glory bush because I had seen it before.  See here.  This gorgeous flower is a native of Brazil but is a noxious weed in Hawaii. In our temperature zone 6 it has to be taken in for the cold weather because frost will kill it. It will grow in zones 9-11 and perhaps zone 8. If grown indoors, grow Tibouchina in a soil-based potting mix in full light with shade from the hot sun. During the growing season water it freely and feed it a balanced liquid fertilizer monthly but water sparingly in the winter. If you grow it outdoors, grow it in moist fertile soil in the full sun.

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Dealing with Animals in the Garden

Fox searching – 6 by iglooo101

Living in nature is beautiful, but it can seem so defeating. TheGardenLady has written columns about how she lives and has to practice good wildlife management to enable her garden to grow successfully. All the animals want to enjoy her garden to the extent that if allowed, there would be no garden.

Every gardener has this problem. If it is not deer, then it is rabbits or squirrels or…. you name it. One friend was happy when foxes moved into the culvert near the front of her driveway. She never saw a deer or rabbit on her property after that. But one can’t allow foxes to live on your property for a variety of reasons, so she had to have them removed. So far I haven’t seen foxes living on my property, but I have seen opposums, raccoons, woodchucks and at night, coming home sometimes I have smelled skunks. Those animals are all living harmoniously together, I hope, with Bambi and all his relatives as well as the numerous squirrels that live in my black walnut trees or hickory nut trees all inherited with the house when I bought it.

chipmunk by Dawn Huczek

But at least, I told myself, I didn’t have chipmunks on my property. As cute as chipmunks are they can cause a lot of serious problems including coming indoors where they can do damage. I knew that there were chipmunks in my county because I had seen one at the big hardware store about 5 miles away. There a little chipmunk was being fed by one of the cashiers who thought it was “sooo cute.” But I hadn’t seen chipmunks in my town or on my property until I looked out this morning. I saw my first chipmunk scurrying across my deck. And where there is one, I know there are many.

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Brugmansia – My Little Shop of Horrors Plant

Brugmansia by mythlady

As I wrote in a previous post, I get a daily bit of pleasure going out to my garden to see what is in bloom. Today it is my Brugmansia that is in bloom. And when I say, in bloom, I mean it is exploding with flowers.

Brugmansia ‘Charles Grimaldi’ #1 by J.G. in S.F.

I consider my Brugmansia my “Little Shop of Horrors” plant. (check out the movie if you haven’t seen it) My Brugmansia tries to dictate my life. Instead of saying “feed me” it constantly screams, “Water me.” This is not a plant for a drought region. It must have kept my property from flooding during the hurricane, sucking up all the water that poured down. I am just kidding, but knowing how much water this plant likes, maybe there is a kernal of truth in it. If I let a day go by without watering the brugmansia, the huge leaves tell me by drooping or turning yellow.

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Hummingbird Moths

Hummingbird Moth by photofarmer

Every day when I go out to check on my garden I find something pleasant to note for my satisfaction. I might be happy to see a lot of bees. I am especially thrilled when I see a few honey bees in their midst. I am always looking for butterflies. And of course, I look to see which flower is now open.

One insect flying in my yard, I had first seen when I was a child. I was so excited thinking it was a hummingbird that I called my parents and neighbors to come see. Then an elderly neighbor, Matilda, told me it was not a hummingbird, it was a Hummingbird moth, also called hawk moths or sphinx moths. Though most moths come out at night, this moth is diurnal or flies in the daylight. According to Wikipedia there are around 1200 species of hawk moths.  Here are some other diurnal moths.

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Fall Planting


Bulbs. by don.wing45

Everyone knows that fall is the time to plant many of the bulbs that will bloom in the spring. All the stores are now carrying daffodils, tulips and other bulbs and catalogs are sending out the bulbs you ordered this spring. But fall is also the time to plant other plants for next year’s garden.

TheGardenLady just received a mailing from one of her favorite online rose companies The Antique Rose Emporium   reminding me that fall is probably the best time to plant roses if you live in zone 6 or warmer. Roses planted in the fall acclimate quicker and perform better the following spring. Also, this is a great time to get plant bargains especially in your local nurseries.  Friends of mine have found wonderful roses at discount prices at some of the big box stores that sell plants. Continue reading “Fall Planting”

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Decorating your garden with found objects

wringer washing machine in my garden by lolaleeloo2

After a while some people feel that they have enough plants in their garden with plenty of flowers, but the garden does not seem to be quite complete. Well, from time immemorial gardens have placed sculpture in a garden to add another interesting dimension. Sadly, some of us do not have the finances to purchase real statuary or real art  What can we do to remedy this? Put on your creative thinking caps and start looking around you. Did this hurricane bring down some trees in your yard? Don’t just cart it to the dump, but see if when it is chopped up, you could use it to build garden furniture.  TheGardenLady loves to visit gardens when garden club groups open their private houses to allow others to see what they have done. This is a great way to get ideas for my garden because gardeners are cleverly original.

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