Autumn hasn't arrived, so the world isn't yet shades of orange, russet and red. The late blooms are all about pink and purple.
The cottage garden is hanging on with blooms of mums, zinnias and autumn sage. With no frost so far, the bloom season suddenly improved after the last rainfall.
The garden mums are now in the third year. I simply divide the mother plants when they get too large. I plant out the offspring and those are bloom in their first season. The foliage remains evergreen here in zone 7b. I pinch back the plants until the July 4th to create a mounding shape, loaded with autumn blooms.
The garden mums are now in the third year. I simply divide the mother plants when they get too large. I plant out the offspring and those are bloom in their first season. The foliage remains evergreen here in zone 7b. I pinch back the plants until the July 4th to create a mounding shape, loaded with autumn blooms.
Different shades of pink and purple dot all of my gardens as the salvia greggii varieties are putting on a spectacular show. However, they are difficult to photograph—even in all their glory!
I planted zinnia seeds from May through July to keep the blooms coming. These are also wonderful cut flowers. The more I cut, the more branching and blooms. A great investment for a few dollars in seeds.
The greggii varieties might not do well in the cold zones, but for zones 7-9, they are great xeric plants that bloom profusely in spring and again in autumn. The hummingbirds rely upon these early and late blooms as a food source. Good companions include sedum and stachys.
The forest leaves haven't yet turned. We're still having warm days, but the mornings are noticeably cooler. Until the first frosts, I'm happy to enjoy the pinks and purples.
At Gardening, Alaskan Style enjoy stunning Alaskan gardening photos as you explore the different parts of these English Cottage-style gardens or catch up on the latest Alaska gardening news. Here, you will find ideas on which flowers to grow here in our zone 3-4 garden, including our top 10 perennial plants for Alaska. You can view a QuickTime slidehow of our garden by here!
