Landscape & Gardening

What Thrived and What Fried

(above) The chartreuse foliage belongs to the Pineapple Coleus, and it's a bit overwhelming. I couldn't find anything smaller than gallon size pots. Next year if it looks like the garden needs seasonal color, I will purchase some of the Fishnet Stockings variety to tone down the chartreuse effect.
(above) The chartreuse foliage belongs to the Pineapple Coleus, and it’s a bit overwhelming. I couldn’t find anything smaller than gallon size pots. Next year if it looks like the garden needs seasonal color, I will purchase some of the Fishnet Stockings variety to tone down the chartreuse effect.

What survived in one of the hottest summers on record. Take one last look at the current setup of my front shade garden, because this fall or early next spring it will be expanded. Due to climate change and the growing tree canopies, what worked ten years ago has either died back or outgrown its location. I will be extending the beds, replacing most of the grass lawn, transplanting a few perennials, and adding perennials that will survive Dallas’ more frequent climate extremes. Once complete, I hope not to depend on seasonal annuals to fill in the voids as much as I have these past ten years.

If you’re wondering how often I run the sprinkler system, the answer would be twice a week. Instead, I hand water every evening, which is a real pain and has not been fun, but this is — hands down — the most efficient way to water annuals. Next year, once the re-design has been completed, a soaker hose system will be implemented, because I want my life back.

Landscape & Gardening

Done Except for One

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Except for the caladiums, all summer annuals have been planted. I wanted to wait another week before planting the bulbs, because they have a much shorter life span than the other annuals. I take photos at the beginning and at the end of each season to keep as a record of the placement, size, and quantity of my seasonal choices. So keep in mind while viewing the photos in this post, that you are looking at plants that have yet to grow to their full potential, and those unsightly bare spots will soon fill in.

Landscape & Gardening

A Late Bloomer by Six Weeks

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Japanese Anemone. It’s now the last few days of October and it’s just now beginning to bloom. Usually this flower blossoms at the end of August through mid-September, and I am stumped as to what caused it to be so tardy. The only reason that I can think of is perhaps our summer was just too brutally hot for it to start producing its buds on schedule. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.