Week 16 - Year 1: And Then There Were None

Like the character's in Dame Christie's epic thriller, my plants are dropping off like flies. This is probably not surprising as we are reaching the end of summer and transitioning torwads fall. This month my plants have battled with being indoor refugees, humidity, weird infestations, dropping nighttime temps, heavy winds, downpours and extreme changes between dry and humid air. Needless to say, not all of them have made it. Here's an update on the latest casualties:

Browallia

Sadly, it looks like these guys got the bug infestation. They began wilting and turning brown in early August and finally gave up the fight mid month. I left the roots in the container because browallia is supposedly a perennial. However, if it died from a disease, it may not come back at all and/or infect my other plants, so it is a catch 22. I think I will have to quarantine it over winter. I am still watering it though with winter in mind.

Sunflowers

These guys barely made it a week! They just wilted and never recovered. I had planted them in the container that was previously inhabited by the now departed campagnula, which had the little white flecks all over it and in its soil. We thoroughly cleaned the container, but apparently it wasn't enough because I found the same white flecks in the sunflower's soil. It's depressing to lose these guys so fast.

Begonias

Early this week, I discovered that half of the begonias had basically given up. It looks like the plant got too heavy for its stem and just keeled over. Fortunately, 1/3 of the plant was still standing up right so it is not totally dead. I was able to salvage the other 2/3 as cut flowers to enjoy at the office.

Week 14 - Year 1: Suicidal Lobelia?

The PGA players are not the only ones being affected by the wild Wisconsin weather this week. We have had a nasty combination of humidity, blinding fog, excessive heat and torrential rain. This has spelled disaster for some of my flowers, especially the newbies who are still trying to get situated in their new environments (a.k.a. the sunflower hybrid has basically wilted).

However, one of our veterans took even more drastic measures in response to the conditions. The right container decided that life was no longer worth living this week and took a header off the deck. Literally, the lobelia, nierembergia, soil, window box and window box hanger took a dive off the deck after some heavy winds. Fortunately, no one below was hit by the falling missile, and the results were pretty funny.

After retrieving the fallen window box, my husband felt the lobelia must have been after a Darwin Award (Darwin Awards are given to people that make the biggest spectacle out of trying to remove themselves from the gene pool in the most idiotic way possible). Apparently, the lobelia decided that taking a header off the deck was not enough, and also managed to throw itself another three feet from the box when it landed. I've since replanted both, and the lobelia still seems bound and determined to die, so we may have to let it go. The nierembergia seems to have survived it's little joy ride and is probably hoping that its next box mate has less suicidal tendencies than the lobelia.

Week 5 - Year 1: June Showers, Bring July ____?

Before we started gardening, I used to love rain - the smell, the sounds, and the excuse to snuggle up with a good book were a great way to spend a day. Now that I'm gardening, me and the rain gods need to have a talk. We have had rain for a week straight and the forecast predicts more gray and more rain are in our future. I'm wondering if June has become the new April in Madison.

Last weekend was especially bad. Things got so bad with the wind and massive downpour that we had to have an emergency rescue mission, which is what the picture at the top of the blog shows. The window boxes were being pummeled and the pots along the sides were being blown in every direction. So, in the midst of it all, I went out and moved everything to the center. The rain was pretty severe and water was running everywhere.

While the rest of the week days were not as bad, we did not get any sun either, and it's starting to wreak havoc on the garden. I had to move the African Violet inside because I was afraid it could not take this outdoor deluge. The roses have not bloomed since the beginning of the rain. The Morning Glory's leaves are starting to decay. The heliotrope and verbena have not had any new growth and are starting to look sad. The pansies are wilting (in fact, I had to toss some of the ones I had replanted in the Clematis containers). And, the Osteospermum got so excited that it bloomed all at once, keeled over and gave in. This was what was left of the carcass.

However, all hope is not lost yet. The clematis are actually doing pretty well all things considered and some of the smaller pots are starting to bloom. While sun may be coming mid week, I am hard pressed to believe the weather man and am wondering if a grow light would be a better investment.

Week 5 - Year 1: Good Morning, Glory

One of my latest acquisitions is a Morning Glory. Morning Glories are vigorous climbers and I'm hoping this guy can handle the right side of our deck. As most of our flowers are in the purple family, I was really drawn by the deep purple flowers on this particular Morning Glory. Like the Clematis and Black-Eyed Susans, I potted these in a large plastic container with a mix of potting soil & peat moss.

Unlike the other climbers though, these came with wooden hoops rather than a mini trellis, so it was harder to use that as the original climbing structure. Instead, I wound the existing vines around our spindles and secured them with zip ties to help them get started.

The flower itself is gorgeous. If you look closely, you can see it has red striations with a white center that seems to almost glow in the photos.

The biggest problem I've had with it so far is the problem I'm having with all of our flowers - no sun. We've had gray, rainy day after gray day and we only have more in sight (more on this later). If you look closely at the leaves, you can see they are starting to decay a little and I'm worried about the long term impact this could have on the new additions. So far, the Morning Glory is still flowering, but I'm concerned that this could change with continued gray days.