What's Blooming This Month? October 2013

Autumn is definitely in the air! The leaves are starting to turn, the air is cool and dry and the mums are blooming everywhere beautifully.

Here's what's blooming in my Long Island garden this month:

Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy'

The carpet roses are still blooming and their pale pink color is a nice contrast to the 

golds, reds and oranges this month. 

The New Guinea Impatiens are really looking full and lush right now. They are paired next to an attractive variety of coleus that keeps a mounding habit. 

The Japanese maple tree is the highlight of this garden bed. 

Below it, the Sedums have taken center stage. 

Salvia pratensis 'Twilight Serenade'

The last few remaining Black-eyed Susans are complimented nicely by the 

deep pink of these New Guinea Impatiens. 

Salvia 'Black and Blue' - oh how I love the deep, rich color of the blooms contrasting to the bright green foliage. Definitely getting more of these next season. 

Ornamental peppers look right at home next to the cheery, yellow mums. 

The Montauk Daisy is just starting to bloom and is such a welcome sight this month!

And that's what's going on in my part of the world! Be sure to check out what else is growing around the country over at May Dreams Gardens "Garden Blogger Bloom Day" list.

Impatiens destroyed by Downy Mildew

I’ll admit it, impatiens were never at the top of my list of favorite garden plants. Everybody and anybody plants impatiens. Sure, they are cute and easy to grow, but I've always been drawn to the slow growing/bloom-for-only-a-few-weeks type of perennial.  Bottom line, they didn’t excite me. For the past eight years, I’ve lived in rental houses where I was forced to grow plants only in containers. I vowed that when I finally bought a house, I would not plant impatiens. Being a horticulturist, I knew there were other, more unique and intriguing plants out there that would thrive in the shady areas.

Impatiens walleriana

Nevertheless, after buying our first house this winter, I found myself drawn toward impatiens for my yard. I have come to realize there really is a place for this showy annual among the perennials and shrubs in one’s garden. A bland spot under the hedge in the front of my house needed a punch of color and within week, bam! the “Salsa Mix” Impatiens brightened it up. And then, after we removed a the  Juniper shrub from under the weeping cherry tree, I needed some quick color in there. A bunch of white impatiens did the job beautifully. 

Beautifully, that is, until one week ago...

At first, I thought something was eating the impatiens. In a large spot near the road, the plants were missing their flowers. But since the plants further back on the property still looked good, I thought it was a rabbit (further convinced after I saw a rabbit one morning just sitting innocently on my front lawn – a sight not common in my neighborhood!).  I bought some organic rabbit and deer spray to deter the creature and put down some fertilizer to encourage more blooms. But nothing worked. And then I received an email from a local nursery. It started with “Do you still have impatiens? Well, enjoy them while they last because Downy Mildew is destroying them across Long Island.” Not knowing what that was, I did some research and it turns out that Downy Mildew, Plasmopara obducens, is causing gardening (and growing!) havoc throughout various parts of the US this year. Symptoms include yellowing or stippling of the leaves, leaf margins curling downward, stunted growth, flower drop and white downy-like growth on the underside of leaves. The fungal disease can cause complete defoliation or plant collapse especially in landscape plantings under cool, moist conditions.

I realized my plants were not being eaten, they were being destroyed by this disease.

Downy-like fungal growth on the underside of the leaves

Downy mildew is a water mold. It likes and requires moisture to sporulate and cause new infections. Locations where the leaves stay wet for extended periods of time (either from dense plantings, overhead irrigation or excessive rainfall & humidity) are more susceptible. 

Read more about Downy Mildew here.

Apparently, regional outbreaks were common in 2011 and are spreading into 2012 due to spores over wintering in landscape beds. There is no control of Downy Mildew and it’s recommended that infected plants be removed immediately, placed into plastic bags and discarded. If fungal-laid leaves get into the soil, the spores may continue to live there for 3 years. So if you think you can just plant new impatiens next year, think again. A better bet would be to plant new guinea impatiens, coleus or begonias.

According to mainstreetnursery.com, it’s believed that because seed companies have been hybridizing impatiens to gain desired characteristics, the impatiens’ previous resistance to the disease has been bred away over time.

Yesterday, I sadly removed all my impatiens. Even the ones that looked good from above, had the tell-tale whiteness on the underside of the leaves. In their place, I planted some variegated coleus and white begonias with attractive brown foliage. I know it's late in the season (and frankly, it was slim pickings for me at the nursery!) but I do hope these will grow quickly enough and provide some color until frost. 

Turns out, I will miss my easy going impatiens after all, and hope to have them in my garden again one day. 

Sad state of affairs for these impatiens

What about you? Have you seen this problem in your area?


More about the impact of Downy Mildew on Impatiens walleriana:
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/article/26190/opinion-impatiens-put-to-the-test

What's Blooming: July 2012

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Here's what's growing and blooming in my new garden this month:

Flower box just outside the front door is blooming with Lobelia, Petunia and Bacopa.

This little beauty is just starting to bloom. Looks like a Pee Gee Hydrangea to me. Do you agree?

Finally my Impatiens have filled in. I love the mixture of pinks and oranges. It's called "Samba Mix." Hot and spicy!

I love this combination of purple Russian Sage and the yellow Black-eyed Susan.

Another Hydrangea starting to bloom. This one looks more like the Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva' maybe?)

At the curbside garden, the Hostas along the sidewalk (to the right) are getting too much sun. The leaves are yellowing and it doesn't look healthy. I'm not a big fan of this type of Hosta and its flower stem is long and wispy. But the Hosta in the back (left foreground), I like.  The leaves are green with yellow margins. The flower stalks are shorter and stay more erect. It just seems like a more lush and compact plant. I might think about swapping out some of the others for next year.

Another favorite combination of mine is the pink Echinacea next to the Black-eyed Susan. There are Sedums to the left and back of the Echinacea just waiting for their turn. You'll see them on next month's blog post!

As always, any thanks to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. 

What's Blooming: July

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Here's what's growing and blooming in my garden this month.

What a difference a month can make! Everything has really taken off and is blooming and growing well, despite the heat and humidity we've had recently.

The Morning Glory vines have finally taken off. They started out very vigorous indoors and then when I put them outside, they seemed to take a while to climb and look healthy. But now, they are climbing everywhere and some pink and purple buds are starting to appear.

I honestly thought my flower boxes were going to have some more space this year. But my Impatiens and Geranium cuttings have really done well. I love the deep purple Salvia and the bright yellow Zinnia.

The white Angelonia augustifolia (Summer Snapdragon) looks great here next to the pink Verbena. I love that lone pansy still holding on, despite the heat and sun!

The pink Impatiens are my cutting plants I created this spring. I am so happy with how they have bloomed and flourished! The hot pink Geranium is also a cutting and I think it looks nice peeking out above the purple Pentas.

I overwintered this Geranium plant for the first time this past winter. Last month, I honestly didn't know if it was going to bloom at all. But look at it now! It is like a hot pink explosion of color!

Probably planted too many annual Dahlias in this container, but oh well. They still look good and are enjoying all the sun. The yellow chiffon Superbells are getting crowded out though.

Another plant I overwintered inside was my Croton. What started as a small little desk plant has morphed into this huge beauty outside my front door. Just two weeks ago the new growth appeared and now it looks so healthy and happy.

I repotted the Columbine seedlings to a bigger pot. I doubt they will bloom this year, but there is hope for next year. I see some traces of Columbine leaf miner on some of the leaves. Anyone have experience with those? Simple removal of the leaves should help, right?

I love the color of this trailing Geranium. I looks like its peering through the vines.

The Ferns and Hostas I planted last month seem to be doing well, with the exception of the  Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) on the left. For some reason, it just flopped open and has been like that for the past few weeks. It's being well watered and fertilized. Anyone have any ideas what's wrong with it? I've seen a few new fronds, so I know its ok, but it just doesn't look great. The Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) on the right, by contrast, is looking very happy and lush.

The Lady-in-Red fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum) is also doing quite well and I like the stark contrast in color and leaf form of the Tradescantia zebrina.

In the backyard, the shade plants are also doing well. Under the maple tree, the Impatiens and Caladium are looking great. The Caladium on the right is not as large as the other two, but I think it's because it gets a little less dappled sun than the others.

This is the Impatiens' mother plant from which I took the cuttings. Blooming profusely.

These cute little pink begonias were in another box mixed with Coleus. But they were getting crowded out by the Coleus, so now they are in their own box and looking much better. I love the delicate pinkness of them.

The other two flower boxes filled with Impatiens and Lobelia have also come into their stride.

Hopefully everything will continue to do well despite the warm summer we are having here on Long Island. Next month I hope to see some Black-Eyed Susans I planted as well as more Morning Glory flowers.

Many thanks to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

What's Blooming: June

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Here's what's growing and blooming in my garden this month.

All my containers are starting to bloom and fill in. The house faces east and therefore, the front gets the most sun in the morning and midday. Here is a look at what the front porch area looks like:

A close up on the flower boxes and containers:

The main box is planted with impatiens and geraniums (both from cuttings), morning glories, white bacopa, purple saliva, black eyed susan, yellow zinnia and sweet william.

Below the box are two pots containing flat leaf parsley and columbine seedlings. To the right of the box are perennial daisies just starting to bloom and beneath that is the geranium plant I overwintered and took cuttings from this spring. It has just started to bloom and produce new growth.

The left box is filled with pansies (still holding on!), impatiens and geraniums, pink pentas, purple saliva, lobelia, morning glory vines, lychnis and white salvia.

The middle box is filled with white Angelonia augustifolia, pink verbena, campanula, pansy, purple salvia and a wild flower seed mix (still not sure what will bloom from these seeds). A small pot of basil I grew from seeds sits below the flower box.

 On the railing, I filled this box with small annual dahlias and yellow chiffon superbells.

I placed a strawberry pot filled with pansies, mint and strawberries (both of which came back on their own this year) on top of a tree trunk log for some height.

 

The rose bush is blooming nicely (a Valentine's gift from my honey two years ago). String beans and sweat peas are climbing vigorously on the teepee - I spotted my first sweet pea flower today! Sunflowers are growing in the container on the steps.

In April, I posted about my new Raspberry shrub. I honestly didn't know if it would be happy in a container, but so far it has been doing great. My kids and I even ate a few berries from it today!

Here's what's going on in the backyard, which gets part shade/dappled sun only in the afternoon:

Double impatiens, coleus, white impatiens and lobelia

 

This box still has yet to fill in, but when it does, the impatiens and lobelia together will look nice I think. 

 Two more impatiens created by cuttings this year, planted here with more lobelia

My newest addition this year - 6 large containers filled with 2 Ostrich ferns, 1 Cinnamon fern and 2 different varieties of hosta. I'm hoping the ferns will grow tall and act as a screen from the park path behind my house.

Beneath the maple tree, I have 3 containers each filled with Caladium. Impatiens fill in the outside boxes, while Lysimachia fills in the middle one. And how cute is my stone owl?!

Along the back fence, under the maple tree, I placed a long flower box and filled it with lime colored coleus and pink begonias. It adds a little bit of color to a very shady spot. I transplanted the ivy along the ground last fall and am happy to see new growth on it this year.

And that's it. By next month, I'm hoping the Morning Glory vines will have reached new heights, the string beans will be full of beans and the ferns grown taller. Be sure to come back and check in with me!

Many thanks to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.