Guest garden question

My co-worker Sandy has a problem in her garden ...

Take a peek at this plant. She said the tag called it a "Tall Fall Daisy" and it's getting these weird brown stems - apparently they die off one at a time. As you can see from the photo - one is in full "die-mode" and there's one that's met its demise right next to it.

I have no idea what would cause it to do that. The other stems are seemingly happy but apparently they eventually falter too.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

Wacky leaves

Every so often my coneflowers have what I call yellow leaf disease.

The White Swan coneflower continues to grow - you can see the buds - but the leaves get a sickly yellowish-green. I am baffled by this. I thought the conventional wisdom was that if your leaves were yellow your plants are getting too much water. Not so in my case. If anything - they probably don't get enough.

To further complicate this, weird brown spots appear on the leaves too. My purple coneflower did this two years ago and were so diseased toward the end of the season that I yanked them out and never put them in my garden again. But I love the White Swan and I'm bummed that this is happening to them.

Do you know what might be causing this? Bad soil? Not enough fertiziler?

On to fun things ....

Better Homes and Gardens gives their recommendations for plants to try each year. This year they suggested the double wave petunia. I'm not a big petunia fan but I was smitten by their photos of them and decided to give it a whirl. The picture above is the pink. They are in a planter mixed with blue double wave petunias, pink million bells and purple fountain grass. The double blooms are gorgeous and require next to nothing in maintenance. My kind of annual! I'd buy these again in a heartbeat.

Iris quiz: I was given this very tall iris last year. Can anyone tell me what kind it is? Love the colors - perfect for all the Minnesota Viking fans in our house!

Pinks, purples and bye-bye juniper

Recent rains have brought some new color into the garden. I was so excited to see what this centaurea montana was going to look like. So far there's just one bloom but there's more to come. This plant has really taken off and is probably one of the healthiest in the front yard right now.

This perennial geranium "Alpenglow" is front and center in a bed near the berm. It looks fantastic next to my purple salvia.

Not much different from the Alpenglow is my "Max Frei". Doesn't get as large as the Alpenglow but the color is nearly identical.

I posted this Firewitch dianthus in one of my first blog posts two years ago - and it continues to be one of the most popular pages on my blog. People obviously like their dianthus! Honestly - it's hard to beat the beauty of the plant and impossible to not notice when walking or driving by the house.

I attempted cleome from seed but it just didn't seem to take off as I had hoped, so I cheated. (I clearly admit I'm an impatient gardener.) I bought two from the flower shop and it's a striking companion plant with the salvia.

I bought this Northern Lights tufted hair grass recently. It really lights up the landscape with the golden hues. What I liked most is that it only needed part sun and that's where I had some holes to fill.

I committed a cardinal sin of gardening. I didn't read the package label to my California poppies very carefully and now I have an issue.

I did not thin the poppy sprouts when they started to grow. Now I have this huge patch and to try and thin them now might be tough. I tried pulling a few and the roots were quite deep already and I ended up yanking out about 6 healthy seedlings. Do you think I'll still get blooms? Any ideas?

Sayonara juniper!

My patient hubby took out that blasted tree last weekend. We tried cutting the top off first and it looked brutal. Finally, he said - "I never liked that damn tree anyway" and out it went.

I brought in some dirt and compost and that area is prime for growing. It gets a good 5 hours of sun each day. I put in some rudbekia, more columbine, monarda, profusion zinnias, a "Butter and Sugar" iris that was underperforming in another area and a new cushion spurge.

One of the first things I put in the old juniper space was another clematis (more good advice from Connie at Notes from a Cottage Garden). This Jackmanii Superba will crawl on the pole near the water spout.

More rain on the way today ....

What to do with this juniper?

We planted this juniper shortly after we moved into our house in 2003.

I thought it would provide a sturdy anchor for the front landscape. But it is getting quite tall and too narrow for my liking. Recently, a blackbird created a nest in it and everytime I went out to garden, I'd have the mother bird flying around the tree, chirping - just to make sure I knew her eggs were inside.

Neither one of us huge fans of birds anyway, my husband and I carefully removed the nest and put it in another evergreen away from the house. The mother bird found it and I think she's just as content.

Can you cut the size of these down? Would I damage the tree by doing so? Would it look awkward? I'm clueless.

Maybe an arborvitae would have been better for that more round look. What's that cliche, "hindsight is 20/20"?

So some advice please - can you reshape it (or shave off some of the top) - or should I leave it as is? Is there a special technique? I don't want it to look as if Edward Scissorhands got a hold of it!

My garden, my friend

I am enjoying getting lost in my garden again.

I can't wait to get home from work and see what grew in those eight hours since I last checked them. It's such a welcome reprieve from the stress that I feel lately - like when I'm having a bad day at the office, or the family is driving me nuts or when life is giving me lemons and I'm too exhausted to try and make lemonade.

It is then that I turn to my good friend - my garden. She rarely disappoints me, and if she does, I'll always find a reason to forgive her. She has been with me in good times and bad and no matter what comes my way, I can always find comfort in her. And this week, I need her.

Enough of my drivel. Let's look at what's happening outside ...

This lungwort is almost blossoming and is very lush. I think the pink blossoms are a week away. I love the spotted leaves.

This terra cotta-colored yarrow is getting quite big already for being only early May. I hear these spread rapidly. God only knows what this will look like in August. Yikes!

I transplanted this perennial bachelor button (Centaurea montana) this spring. I was a little nervous having it in the backyard after all the deer feasted in their growing area so I moved it to the front of the house. It transplanted incredibly well.

My good friend Ang gave me this special breast cancer-themed dahlia. Problem is.... the tag doesn't indicate if it's a perennial or annual and I've never grown dahlias. Can someone tell me what to do with it?!?!? Is it better potted in a container or in the ground? This plant has extra special meaning to me as my mom (aunt and first cousin) all had breast cancer.

I'm trying to keep the field rock look in my backyard and took out all the pavers around this portion near the deck. For Mother's Day, my husband said he'd create a nice sunny corner for me near the deck too (pictured below). I can always use another sheltered sunny location.

Any ideas for this area?

And now to my "What is up with this?" section:

This cushion spurge is barely there - I'm afraid it has winter kill. Does this look healthy to you?

Same goes for the Russian Sage - I see it starting to come up all over town but not in my backyard. Does this look like it's gone? Is it OK to Miracle Grow these plants - or is it too early?

A fickle coreopsis

This "Sterntaler" tickseed coreopsis is really baffling to me.

I have watched it grow to nearly triple in size from when I bought it in late June and it has yet to bloom. The tag from the nursery says it blooms in early to midsummer in full sun. It gets five hours of sunlight a day so I don't think that's the problem. It appears healthy but its blooms are nowhere to be found. I was told that sometimes coreopsis doesn't bloom its first season at all and the next year it'll go nuts. My sister-in-law said she grows this variety as an annual because it won't make it through a winter.

As you can see, it's quite large. I've been wondering if I should just let it be, chuck it or maybe divide it to promote blooms for next year? Any ideas??!!?!?

When we moved in to our current house five years ago, I had picked out this "Angel's Blush" hydrangea. The landscapers planted it on the northside of our house - and we're talking very dense shade. The hydrangea never got taller than 2 feet and never bloomed. I was about ready to toss it in the garbage pile when it occured that maybe moving it would help (and this epiphany came four years later). Duh!

I nursed this hydrangea back to life this summer and by gosh, a pink bloom has appeared - in fact, several of them have. Isn't it pretty? In retrospect, I should have asked more questions when the landscapers came. Then again, I wasn't into gardening back then and probably wouldn't have asked the right questions anyway. So when they said it grows ok in shade - it didn't mean for "my kind" of shade. Only the homeowner knows what kind of sunlight exists in certain locations and it ultimately was my responsibility to speak up and say so. Lesson learned ...

This late-blooming ligularia looks great!

Canna update - they did bloom! At what point do you dig up the bulbs for next season? After the first frost?

Mulch a do about nothing

Black mulch with tickseed.

Good friends of ours decided they want to landscape in front of their lake cabin. I brought down some cuttings from my garden and some sun-friendly perennials. I was all set to plant.

To my surprise, they had laid down black mulch in the bed and around the shrubs they had already planted. Black mulch? Hmm.....

"The guy at the nursery told me I would really like it. It camouflages the dirt when you start planting - especially if you move things around a lot," my friend explained.

So I put the black mulch to the test. And you know what, I liked it. Once you started mixing in the plants with the dirt and the mulch - it did seemingly blend well together.

I have a love/hate relationship with mulch. I try different mulches like Lindsay Lohan tries boxed hair color. I like how mulch looks right when you put it down. Everything is neat, organized. Then I get bored and I move something around and all of a sudden, I have mulch mixed in with clumps of clay-like soil. Not very appealing.

For a few years, I tried cocoa bean hulls. The front of our house smelled like a giant bottle of Nesquik. It drove my husband nuts. Whatever ... (!)

This was my feeble attempt at cypress mulch - gross. I took it all out this year. Plus I didn't have edging on this bed and it was messy and wind-blown all the time.

For some reason, I didn't mulch this year and the soil and plants look particularly parched. Although a lack of rain would have something to do with that too.

Do you mulch in your gardens?

Mid-summer questions

We've been enjoying the sunny warm days we've been having at the lake. There's been a few issues popping up in the garden and wondering if you bloggers can tell me what you would do or have done in similar situations.

OK, I'll share the fun stuff first - the white liatris is here!

I love these Q-tip shaped flowers. My girls always comment about how cool they look in the garden.

Combination of Sedona and Rainbow Volcano coleus. I initially liked the orange but a lot of the leaves faded fast. I prefer the red, actually.

I posted earlier on this blog about messing up at the nursery and buying a "Stargazer" oriental lily instead of an asiatic. Well, this is actually what I got when it bloomed. It looks nothing like a Stargazer. Does anybody know what I have here? Jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It probably would look really nice with purple.

This is the area that I recently "created" it was full of overgrown (and old) spireas that did nothing to the landscape. It's a mostly shade spot but gets more sun toward the Annabelle's at the end. I put a lot of my flat sale plants here - albeit temporarily.

On to the problem areas ...

This silvermound should be huge - at least twice this size and by this same time last summer, I had already sheared it back. It looks as it has little beads at the tip of its leaves - almost as if the growth was stunted somehow. Symmetrically, it fits into my garden but I know it's not completely right.

This container used to burst with color and now, my million bells have nearly disappeared. Too much heat? Too much water or fertilizer? Even the Marguerite daisies are a fraction of their blooms (and size). Thankfully, the sweet potato vine is happy or else this really would be an eye-sore.

How do you tidy up daylilies? Do you clip the pods after blooming? Will they come back? These Stella D' Oros were here when we moved in and I've divided them at least three times in the last five years because they get so big. I know the Renegade Gardener thinks these are the most overrated plant out there. I tend to agree. They are grossly overused in commercial and residential landscapes.

Happy Birthday Peggy!

Good morning Sunshine

It's a Saturday morning and Sasha the Schnauzer was up early - somewhere around 5:20 a.m. It's the weekend - I wanted to sleep in!

But it was not meant to be. The pup needed to go outside and I obliged. I put on my daily pot of coffee and headed outside and was greeted by this beautiful "Butterfly" Marguerite Daisy (I misidentified it earlier as a osteospermum - they look so much alike!. I had to share ...

Last year I purchased the "Lemon Symphony" but I have to say, I prefer the buttery yellow of "Butterly". I mixed in red and fuschia million bells and sweet potato vine -a welcome display of color by my front door.

I love this low-growing catmint, "Little Titch". Never mind the grass clippings in the photo. Little Titch is always an early bloomer and will bloom for most of the summer. The best part of about this Little Titch is that it doesn't overtake its space - unlike the Walkers Low. Mine is beautiful right now but it is overshadowing my cranesbill geranium that is finally doing something this year.

Ever have two exact same kinds of flowers - planted right next to each other - same soil, same light, same moisture, etc... And one thrives and one doesn't? That's happening with my White Swan coneflowers. One looks great - and the other looks like an overgrown weed. I don't get it!

Do you think it'll just catch up or do perennials just regress and never really bounce back?

Yew got to be kiddin' me?

What do you do with a yew that has winter burn?

I tried to reshape it, trim its brown branches and now I have what looks like a Charlie Brown shrub - misshapen and forlorn. Ugh!!!!

Anybody have a remedy for this sad shrub? You know it just wouldn't be Beth's garden if something didn't go down the toilet at some point or another ...

Speaking of going down the toilet, I did my morning walk around and noticed the rabbits chewed four marigolds plants and a monarda which left a mangled mess. They've eaten my marigolds before - but monarda! Bee balm was supposed to be indestructible!

On a happier note, I finally did what I've been reading about for the last few years - I brought in compost and I can honestly say the perennials in the front of my house have never looked better. The city was offering free compost to those brave souls ready to get blisters and backaches from shoveling it into empty containers. So one Saturday morning, I grabbed Mommy's little helper and headed to the landfill. We filled four recycling tubs full of beautiful black compost. I liberally spread it around all my flowers and worked it into the soil and have watched my perennials take off. Recent rains have helped even more.

Why didn't I do this years ago?

Heirloom seeds

My aunt recently stopped at my house and perused my garden. After walking around my house and gardens she then posed an interesting question to me, "Would you like some of grandma's marigold seeds?"

Wow! Something of Grandma's - and garden related! Grandma K has been gone for 20 years and I am amazed that my aunt still has her seeds. Grandma didn't have a big garden area at her home but I do remember she had colorful annuals all around the house. My aunt kept the seeds and have planted them over the years. Amazing ...

My problem is that I don't have a place to sow these indoors and honestly, don't have the time (or patience) to babysit them. If I plant them in the ground in the spring, I will be waiting until the end of July to see them bloom or worse, risk losing them if the rabbits get them in the early stages. Argh ...

So as much as I love the idea of having something from my Grandma's garden, I do so with much trepidation ..... am I looking at this wrong?

Speaking of marigolds - has anyone tried growing the Signet marigolds? I saw them in a garden tour and they were lovely and very dainty. I'm guessing I'd have to grow those from seed too ...

What rudbeckias SHOULD look like!

Let's not confuse this with the batch that I complained about earlier. I bought this plant in late May and planted it in a different spot in my garden. Fortunately, they didn't suffer the fate of my other BES.

Rudbeckia update

I consulted my gardening mentor (former neighbor and master gardener Kathy) and she confirmed that my plants have black spot (see earlier post and ugly photo under "Trials and Tribulations"). Her advice was to just take off the worst leaves. Black spot doesn't hurt the plant, but it is ugly. She also suggested to simply cut it down to the ground and wait until next year (and toss in some fast growing seed of some sort just for this year). Kathy said sometimes rudbeckias do that - leaves and no flowers. She said hers did that a few years ago and this year, they are triple everything.

There is hope after all ... but until than I have to look at a barren patch in my front yard. Gasp!

Trials and Tribulations

We haven't had rain in weeks and my garden is slowly starting to show some ill effects. I kept everything hydrated very well but the one thing I noticed that is WAY behind is my rudbeckia. Plus, I'm seeing these odd brown/black spots.

I am very discouraged. I thought Black-Eyed Susans were some of the hardiest of the perennials and I've never experienced this. In fact, I was boasting the merits of this plant to my sister and gave it to her as a gift for her garden in coastal Maine. I hope she has better luck with it than I am! Of course, it is only July 8. I'll post new photos in a few weeks to show you how it's doing. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome ...


And here's another weird one. Have you ever seen a plant that is yellow at the bottom and green at the top? I think it must have got too much water at one time so I cut back. I used to hook up the hose right behind the plant (see it on the house?). I think that did it in ...


Once I stopped using that faucet, I noticed that it did get a little greener. This coneflower did NOTHING last year and now it's huge - despite the odd coloring. There are several blooms on it so we'll see how it does in a few weeks.


P.S. I mulched my whole front and side gardens with cocoa bean mulch. I went on a tour of homes last year and one gardener told me how much she liked it. And I admit, it was a very neat-looking garden without the whole mess of wood chips. I tried it and now I'm a believer. Cocoa bean mulch looks good, smells good and doesn't completely upset your garden if you like to move things around all summer. I just put a new dressing on my beds this weekend. With the high temps and humidity, I felt my beds needed a little extra TLC.


My Monarda is starting to bloom. Honestly, I can stare at my Monarda all day and I am amazed at its beauty. I know a lot of people don't like it because of its invasiveness but so far, I like that it's a prolific grower and it hasn't become a pest in my garden whatsoever.


My Marshall's Delight and Raspberry Wine (pictured) are both lovely. The Jacob Cline are nice but they really droop. I have been able stake them and that helps. I believe I read somewhere that deadheading will help in reblooming. If that's true, where do you deadhead? Man, this is a pretty color, isn't it?