I rehabbed my cutting garden to prepare for summer - or most of it in any case. The sweet peas are still in place but they're on borrowed time. Most of the other cool season flowers in the cutting garden are gone, their spaces quickly filled with the dahlia tubers I sprouted in temporary pots.
Instead of looking like a jungle, the cutting garden looks a little thin at the moment but I trust that it'll look entirely different within two months |
Bed #3 remains a massive mess of sweet pea vines with pink and purple snapdragons still in place in one corner |
The dahlia tubers I couldn't squeeze into the two available raised planters went into half-barrels.
I pulled the peach snapdragons out of this barrel and cut back the pansies surrounding them. I added one Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles'. |
I added one Dahlia 'Calin' to mingle with Helianthus 'Sunbelievable Brown-Eyed Girl' and a noID Bacopa |
The 'Peach Dalmatian' foxgloves and the pansies and Bacopa surrounding them in the this barrel received a reprieve for now |
2 Dahlia 'Catching Fire' tubers went into this barrel. This was the only case in which I planted tubers in their "final resting place" at the outset. |
Last year I started my dahlia tubers in temporary pots in mid-March but they were very slow to sprout and several never did. This year, because it's been so cool and gloomy and because my cool season flowers were especially late to bloom, I didn't even bother planting my dahlia tubers until the end of April. Unlike last year, the dahlias were quick to sprout in their temporary pots and only one tuber failed. But I still had nowhere to put them where their roots could spread out. I pinched back all my dahlia sprouts once they were tucked into their raised beds and barrels, which delays flowering but generally promotes better branching. So this year's dahlias will be late to bloom just like they were last year but I'm not overly perturbed about it (yet).
After the dahlia tubers were in place, I finally sowed Zinnia seeds (also later than usual).
We've had a lot more sun this week, although our marine layer is forecast to make at least a brief return this weekend and next week. Just a few days of sun and warmer temperatures have delivered new blooms. I wanted to share some that might be gone by mid-July when we celebrate next month's blooms.
The noID artichokes on my back slope (left) are already blooming above my head. Artichoke 'Purple Romanga' in my backyard border (right) isn't blooming but still looks flower-like. |
I caught a second Epiphyllum 'Monastery Garden' in full bloom and there's yet another one days away from flowering |
The first Hesperaloe parviflora flowers slowly opening |
The shaggy Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) are off to a later-than-usual start this year |
That's it for this week. Enjoy your weekend!
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
You've been very busy. That's a lot of plants that you pulled! I've slowly pared down my dahlia collection to just one smaller variety - unfortunately didn't have the time to keep them looking their best and most of the ones I really enjoy got too big. I love a good pom-pom for their tight symmetry. Hope yours fill in quick. Didn't end up planting any annual seeds this year going to be gone a week here and a week there and with hot dry weather on the way, it seemed like a bad idea. That Gazania Otoni is a gorgeous, lush summer color.
ReplyDeleteI usually get a much earlier start on my summer annuals but the extended period of gloom and cool temperatures has thrown my entire gardening calendar off. I've yet to plant any annual sunflowers and fear it's too late for that but, as I ordered a LOT of seeds earlier this year, I feel compelled to try. That's a project for this weekend ;)
DeleteEnjoy your summer travels!
I'm impressed with your stamina, especially when it comes to planting annuals. It may have something to do with your dedicated participation in the IAVOM meme, though I suspect you are a bloom mavin anyway.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I grow a few Dahlias, I wouldn't if it meant digging them every year. I even heard it is beneficial for them to be divided and move every few years, but they seem to be doing fine with less effort on my part ;-)
I'm excited to see all those gorgeous blooms making an appearance in your vases all summer long.
Chavli
I'm an unabashed "flower floozy" as Annie Hayes of Annie's Annuals used that term, Chavli. The IAVOM meme has only fed that natural leaning ;) I know a lot of people who leave dahlias in the ground and in areas like mine, where summer rain is virtually unheard of, most people recommend leaving the tubers in the ground. However, the dahlia tubers I've planted in my garden's borders have never done well, probably because I keep those areas too dry. In contrast, they've thrived in the raised planters of my cutting garden but those are well watered year-round and I change out the planters' contents and replenish their soil with the change in the seasons so the dahlia tubers can't stay in place without risking water-promoted rot and/or having a shovel cut through them.
DeleteYou've gotten so much done. I'm very lazy about the dahlias and just leave them in the ground, although I know I should lift & store. Your artichokes are striking, I really should add one for the vibrant bloom. The epiphyllum is beautiful. You have many blooms to look forward to, so glad you share them with us!
ReplyDeleteThanks tz! Most California gardeners I know leave their dahlia tubers in the ground but, as I explained (in verbose terms) in my reply to Chavli, that doesn't work for me because I turn over the contents of the raised planters in my cutting garden on a seasonal basis. It IS extra work to dig them up annually!
DeleteYou’ve certainly been busy. Those artichokes are gorgeous enough they’d never have to flower and I’d still be happy.
ReplyDeleteThat purple artichoke is a stunner. I haven't seen it in garden centers since I picked up mine in 2017. According to my log, it's supposed to grow to 4-6 feet tall but mine has stayed much smaller, unlike the noID variety on the back slope that are well over 6 feet tall this year.
DeleteCan't wait to see all your dahlia bouquets Kris. On Gardeners World last week Monty said if you leae them in the ground they'll do much better if you give them plenty of water early on before they start blooming. We had a wet late winter/early spring and my dahlias that overwintered are so much further along and healthier than usual. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteDahlias do need LOTS of water once they germinate but, according to sources like Swan Island Dahlias, getting a lot of water when they're dormant leads to rot. Mine have done best when I plant the tubers directly in my raised planters and hold off on watering them until they sprout.
DeleteEverything seems to be a bit out of their normal schedule this season. We had an exceedingly hot and dry Spring so everyone got their warm season crops planted. However, a brief cold snap this past week toasted any that weren't covered. Sometimes being a bit late pays off. I always shake my head at some of the crazy names daylilies are given. Who comes up with these I wonder?
ReplyDeleteHa! I made exactly the same statement about that 'Scapecoast' daylily's name in a Instagram post, Elaine. Apparently, there's a whole series of 'Spacecoast' daylilies bred in Florida ;)
DeleteBeautiful! A couple of my dahlias have flowered and quite a few more will be there in a few days, all being well.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid my dahlias are going to bloom late again this year but, while I was worked up over that delay last year, I'm taking it in stride this year, Nikki. Our spring season flowers were late so it seems natural that the summer ones will lag a bit too.
DeleteWowza you got so much accomplished! Most all of spring's extra exuberance cleared up and everything tidy and ready for some heat and sun.
ReplyDeleteI've been slacking off somewhat in the garden--pedal-to-the-metal all winter and most of spring--now, dithering. Dahlias in big (15 gallon) pots last year seemed to do as well as the ones in the ground, so I wonder about put them in the ground at all. Pinching them this year--delays the flowers but as you say, better branching.
I didn't have any plastic pots in the 15-gallon range - if I had, I would've left at least some of them alone. I still have to clear the sweet peas but that'll almost definitely happen this week.
DeleteLooks like our dahlias and zinnias will bloom about the same time this summer, that's a first! You have a great variety of tubers, they ought to be magnificent! Eliza
ReplyDeleteI was REALLY late getting the Zinnias started this year but at least the marine layer is fading so maybe I'll avoid mildew on their foliage this year ;) I planted the first sunflower seeds this past weekend too - fingers crossed on those!
DeleteYour garden is magazine-ready! Seriously! I love your Epiphyllum 'Monastery Garden' (what a name!).
ReplyDeleteParts of it maybe, Gerhard ;)
DeleteThat Epiphyllum 'Monastery Garden' bloom is lovely, I've got a plant that's about to erupt in dozens (okay, maybe a dozen and a half) of blooms but they're bright red. I'd love to find one in that more muted tone.
ReplyDeleteOkay I just counted buds on my plant. OMG. 59! There are 59 buds on one of my epiphyllum. Ha.
DeleteI look forward to seeing that Epiphyllum in bloom, Loree! With all those buds, I'd welcome it in any color.
Delete