Late Fall Color For Your Garden

Chrysanthemum koreana ‘Sheffield’

Chrysanthemum koreana ‘Sheffield’


It’s the last hurrah for gardens across New England. This time of year, colors are starting to fade and foliage is beginning to turn. What’s left in most gardens are seed heads, fall grasses and browning leaves.

You can stretch the growing season by incorporating some choice perennials that can carry the color throughout September, October and even a few weeks in November!

Left to right: Calicarpa, Amsonia, Hydrangea, Continus, “Oso Easy” Rose and Platycodon

The 5 Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden

fivebestflowersforcuttinggarden

What’s better than going out your back door and cutting fresh flowers from your own garden?

We’ve compiled a list of The Five Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden.

  1. Foxglove, ‘Dalmatian Peach’

    This bi-ennial (perennial that blooms every other year) self seeds. Each plant can produce 5-7 cut flowers throughout their growing season. The more you cut, the more they bloom.

    From Floret’s website: The towering stems boast soft peachy-apricot blooms that glow from the inside out. An excellent addition to bouquets and wedding work, this salmony beauty is a must-have in any cutting garden. While most foxgloves are biennials, this new hybrid flowers the first year from an early sowing of seed and will also produce the second year if left in place.

  2. Poppy, ‘Princess Victoria Louise’

    This perennial has large crepe-paper like blooms in salmon pink with a dark center. Papavers are easy to grow, long lived and virtually care free, it is also deer and rabbit tolerant.

    After you’ve determined the correct length of the stem for your vase, sear the bottom of each stem with a flame. Searing the end of each stem will keep the sap from escaping and allow the flower to drink water. 

  3. Peony, ‘Bowl of Beauty’, ‘Krinkled White’ or ‘Sarah Bernhardt’

    There’s a reason why Peonies are loved my so many people. They’re an easy perennial to grow and they only get better with time. It’s best for the plant to cut only 1/3 of the blooms each season. For longer lasting flowers, cut the stems when the heads are still closed, but squishy to the touch.

  4. Sweet Pea, ‘Windsor’ or ‘Jacqueline Ann’

    This perennial is easy to grow and are loved by many for their large, deep purple blooms. This plant loves to climb and is an excellent choice for a trellis, wall, fence or arbor.

  5. Clematis ‘Jackmanii’

    This annual can be grown from seed and should be planted beneath a strong trellis to support their vines. For the longest vase life, cut stems that have at least 2 unopened blooms at the tip.

    From Floret’s website: Stunning in the garden, this richly hued beauty has warm chocolaty-maroon blooms that make a real statement. Blooms are quite fragrant and ride atop long strong stems, making it a fantastic variety for cutting. Every cutting garden deserves a row of fragrant, nostalgic sweet peas. A fistful of these demure little blooms are how Floret was born and they continue to spellbind us each season.

Source: https://www.prettyflowersmaine.com/blog/20...

The Delphinium Peddler

A customer called us the other day to order flowers. While I took her order, she recalled how she used to buy Delphinium from Amy for $1/ stem many years ago. This was the first I'd heard of it. 

Amy grew up in California where she experienced the magic of flowers in bloom year round but it wasn't until after she had gone to college (where she studied Art Education), then worked as a boat broker, got married and settled down before she revisited her love of flowers and plants. 

She got her start when she bought 700 Hybrid Delphinium plants from Ball Seed (their minimum at the time) and planted them in a 800 square foot garden beside her garage. She grew the cut flowers and sold them to neighbors and Skillin's Greenhouses.

It was from then that Amy got attention for her gardening and floral design talents. Not long after, she booked her first wedding and garden design client and the rest is history. 

 

A Naturalized Garden in West Bath

I love this garden. We have the pleasure of maintaining this beautiful property in West Bath which was designed by Ann Kearsley of Portland, Maine and installed by Gardenform of Lunenburg, Massachusetts

With chunky pieces of granite blocks and curbing, you can't help but look down when you walk.

With chunky pieces of granite blocks and curbing, you can't help but look down when you walk.

A naturalized garden utilizes native plants which are low maintenance and adapt well to soil and water conditions in the area. These types of gardens also help the ecology and eliminate the need for pesticides. 

Hayscented fern and Blueberry sod.

Hayscented fern and Blueberry sod.

We visit this property once a week to do selective weeding and watering. The new plantings need special attention until they've established strong enough roots. 

First Lawn Mowing of the Year

The smell is a favorite. The final look is pleasing in its neatness; rich green setting off the soft yellows of daffodils and vibrant blue of grape hyacinths. 

A view of my backyard

A view of my backyard

Please don't misunderstand, I am not much an advocate for the perfect expanse of greenness without a dandelion in sight. I always encourage ground covers to my landscape clients. Although not instant, which many insist on nowadays, ground covers are much more interesting , less time sapping and are often a great way to add even more flowers, color and texture to your yard. 

I love the versatility of Walstenia, with the happy, bright yellow flowers in spring; sedums work well in tough spots and add texture and even vinca, although overused, has lovely blue flowers which draw your eye to shady areas. 

I will continue to enjoy that first mowing of spring but will continue to shrink my lawn to other plant material over time.