During the past week, I've spent a lot of time clearing the raised planters in my cutting garden of the remnants of summer blooms, packing away dahlia tubers, and refreshing the soil in those beds to receive bulbs, plugs, and seeds suitable for our cool season. At the same time, we've been dealing dealing with hot, dry Santa Ana winds so conditions have been anything but cool but fall will take hold eventually. It may not look like much but it was a lot of work.
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| The photo on the left was taken October 23rd, before I started pulling out the contents of the raised planters. The photo on the right was taken late yesterday afternoon. |
I'll give you a closer look at each of the raised planters.
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| Bed #1 has been planted with 5 Digitalis 'Dalmatian Peach' plugs, 40 Anemone coronaria bulbs ('Mount Everest', 'Mistral Plus Rose Tigrato', and 'Mistral Plus Bicolore'), and seeds of Nigella papillosa 'African Bride'. I left a Cuphea 'Honeybells' and a noID Tanacetum in place. I've laid wire mesh over the bulbs and seeds to prevent the raccoons and possums from digging up the area in search of grubs. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left are photos of 4 of these these plants taken in prior years: Anemone 'Mount Everest', A. 'Mistral Plus Bicolore', Digitalis 'Dalmatian Peach' and Nigella 'African Bride' |
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| Bed #2 has 6 plugs of a Digitalis purpurea mix, 40 Anemone coronaria bulbs (Anemone 'Admiral' and A. Lord Lieutenant'), and seeds of 4 different larkspurs (Consolida ajacis 'Smokey Eyes', 'Frosted Skies', 'Shade of Blue', and 'Light Blue') |
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| Clockwise from the upper left are photos of Anemone 'Admiral', a facsimile of A. 'Lord Lieutenant', blue Consolida ajacis, and pink Digitalis purpurea. In the past, most of the bulbs sold to me as Anemone 'Lord Lieutenant' bulbs did not have the multi-petaled flowers the cultivar is known for. It remains to be seen if this year will be different. |
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| I've cleared bed #3 of everything other than 2 Angelonia and a mystery plant that showed up recently. I have 7 varieties of sweet peas to plant here, which I should have in place within the next day or so. I also have 2 other varieties of Nigella papillosa seeds to sow here. |
I also replanted two of the three barrels in the cutting garden with new plants.
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| I filled the barrel in the rear that had held Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' with white snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus 'Sonnet White') and my favorite pansies (Viola 'Penny Peach'). I pulled Helianthus 'Brown-Eyed Girl' from the barrel in the foreground and filled in with Argyranthemum frutescens 'Angelic Maize', leaving a yellow multi-petaled Calibrachoa in place. The latter barrel still needs something with more height. As the 'Sonnet' snapdragons aren't known to be rust-resistant, I suspect they'll require replacing within a couple of months, |
When I'll see blooms from the cutting garden is anyone's guess. I soaked all the Anemone bulbs in water for twenty-fours hours as recommended and I'll be soaking the sweet pea seeds as well in the interest of spurring germination. However, last year virtually everything in my cutting garden bloomed late because late winter and early spring temperatures were much colder than usual here. My sweet peas didn't take off until May! On the other hand I've seen some flowers as early as January in other years. I'll try to be patient. Elsewhere in the garden, the foliage of the Freesia and Dutch Iris bulbs is already emerging so my earliest cool season flowers may come from them.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I like the 'before' and 'after' shot of the cutting beds. The perfectly fresh look will be with your for a little while, until it all turns green again. I can't get my head around planting 80 bulbs; I felt accomplished after planting 5 white tulips :-D
ReplyDeleteThe hoops on your beds have only now registered in my mind. Do you ever cover the beds to protect plants from the element?
Chavli
Anemone coronaria bulbs are much easier to plant than tulips, Chavli. All the real work involved was in removing the prior occupants of the beds and adding compost to refresh the soil. Planting the anemone bulbs took maybe 20 minutes. I've still got 40 new Dutch Iris to plant (what was I thinking?!) - they're slated for planting in areas that are harder to dig; they're planted deeper; and I have to avoid putting my trowel through other bulbs ;)
DeleteThe hoops were originally bands that held together a wooden "snorkel spa," heated with firewood, that came with the house. It wasn't easy to use given the need to plan your dip several hours in advance and, in our fire-risk area, not ideal. My husband used the wood to make the dining table on our back patio and, for lack of any other purpose, I stuck the hoops in the raised planters (which also came with the garden). I thought I could drape covers over them to keep out critters but I never have. I grew sweet peas up them once.
It's going to look grand, Kris. I haven't planted anything this fall or planned anything. Too many distractions right now but you've given me some ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see whether any self-seeded plants also make an appearance as they did in my last cool season garden when both Orlaya (Minoan lace) and Coriandrum (cilantro/coriander) showed up. I haven't sowed seeds of either in 2-3 years.
DeleteYou have been so busy--I'm so impressed! Bed #2 is lovely, even without all the plants growing. I will be following your blog and dreaming from now until March. Thank you for the hope!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome along for the ride, Beth!
DeleteIt always feels so good to clean things out and start planning for the next season. A clean slate with much promise. Should be so pretty when all of your bulbs and new plantings mature. The season ended abruptly with very cold temps, ice and snow. However, I still have a tiny bit of bulb planting left to do here before the ground freezes solid. A bit melancholy but then I look forward to what happens in Spring.
ReplyDeleteI was sorry to hear that so many people like you were whammed with an early start to the winter season, Elaine. I often wish we got something of a break between seasons to take a breath but my guess is that Mother Nature wouldn't accommodate my expectations anyway.
DeleteLots of work, but the rewards will be substantial. I bought a few small plants to fill a container that held my basil over the summer, one of them a Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' that has fun flowers but I won't dare bring them into the house because there are always aphids hiding in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Sap suckers that they are, I wouldn't think aphids would like Euphorbias. I don't think I've ever had an aphid problem with 'Ascot Rainbow' or any other Euphorbia but then aphids haven't been a big problem for me anywhere, not that I can declare my garden entirely free of the little buggers. Maybe our dry climate helps there.
DeleteThat is a lot of work, excellent accomplishment. I have a pile of bulbs to sort through and decide where to put. You've inspired me, again.
ReplyDeleteI'd hope to get the 40 new Dutch Iris bulbs I purchased this year in last week but my new goal is this week. (These are on top of the nearly 100 I've planted in prior years.) I already have 2 Hippeastrum bulbs in with half a dozen more on the way too ;)
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