Naked Lady in the Garden-Amaryllis belladonna

Naked Lady Lily in full bloom

Sipping coffee in my elderly neighbor's kitchen, I noticed a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he told me there was a naked lady in his garden.  Never anything but a gentleman, I was surprised by his humor and took the bait.  "Yep, right by the corner of the house, right next to my wife's camellia bush"....we traipsed out there together.  And sure enough, there was a stunning pink, fragrant lily without a single bit of foliage nearby.  She was my first encounter with nudity in the garden.....

Naked Lady Lily in garden

Ladies in bud stage

July foliage dies back

A few years later, another friend offered to share her plants with me.  After a full day of weeding, I brought my enormous bulbs home and planted them in my own garden.  Naked ladies can be a bit finnicky, I guess we can't blame them, but it took mine 3 years to bloom again.

Here's how to grow them:

Plant in deep, rich soil in full sun.  The top of the bulb just below the soil.  Water regularly.  Around July the foliage will shrivel up and you'll think you killed the poor girls.  When the leaves turn brown, trim them away.  In a few weeks purplish red stalks will appear.  Shortly thereafter, the buds will open and bear up to a dozen 3-4 inch blooms.  Good prices at the following site:

willowcreekgardens.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=328

While the flowers are beautiful, they do look a bit odd all alone in the September garden.  Next spring I'll have to remember to plant a companion for them.  Perhaps Lady's Mantle?

Happy Gardening!

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Autumn Joy in July-still green

Autumn Joy in late September-deep pink 

As perennials fade and the leaves start to turn, 'Autumn Joy' is just starting to reign in the garden.  The pale green heads of summer are now a full, rich pink.  As the season progresses, they will turn a rich brown that can remain all winter long.  It adds interest on those long, rainy Northwest days.


In the early spring, cut back all the foliage, being careful not to damage the new nubs of growth that emerge.  Full sun, little water, and light on the fertilizer.  I have experimented with part shade---the result was spindly plants that fell over easily.  They do very well in my rock garden just outside the range of my hose.  This is a great beginner's plant.  Spreads by the roots and can be divided in the spring and shared after just a year or two.  This large clump can easily yield 10 nice plants next year.

Bamboozled.....

Bamboo.....ahh, they are so lovely, evergreen and easy to grow. But, you've heard such terrible stories about bamboo taking over that you really are not so sure about using them in your yard. If you're puzzled, or rather, bamboozled, maybe I can shed a little light on the subject.

There are basically two kinds of bamboo. Running and clumping. The running bamboo spreads by sending runners out from the main plant. A few inches to a few feet away. The roots are tough, the new shoots pop up and the bamboo forest expands. Some spread very quickly, others not quite as fast.

Clumping bamboo means that the roots stay in a clump. It tends to keep to itself. It will expand some but nowhere near the pace of the running bamboo.

When it comes to varieties, there are hundreds to choose from. Green to golden yellow to black stalks, and leaves also can vary in color. Thin stalks to massive stalks. Towering to dwarf.

As a thrifty gardener, I dug up a few clumps from a neighbor's yard. I liked the height, the color, the airiness and the nice movement in the gentlest of breezes. I had a nice side-yard I wanted to screen from the neighbor's view so I put in five clumps HOPING they would spread. After about 5 or 6 years, I was glad to report that they did spread nicely. They filled in the row and I started giving away starts to my friends.

Tips: Plant running varieties where you know that you want them for a long time. Full to part sun, water and fertilize normally. I like to use a groundcover and also plant some accents around them. They are wonderful backdrops. To keep a group from leaning all over the place, pound in a sturdy stake and tie them up at whatever level is appealing to the eye. Thin out any scrawny shoots. The emerging diameter is also the mature diameter. I cull out my bamboo once or twice a year. Save the sturdy stalks for garden use later on. Sweet peas do nicely on bamboo stakes.

You can also keep the bamboo in bounds by erecting an 18"barrier around your planting area. Concrete, steel or other rugged material. Wood will rot and be quickly penetrated. Bury all but the top 2-3inches of the barrier. This lip prevents roots from climbing over the barrier. Another effective barrier is water. Bamboo will not cross water, so a stream or pond is a good edging for them.

Again, a thrifty way to subdue bamboo is to use a sharp edged shovel once or twice a year and go around the perimeter of the bamboo. Cut through any roots trying to escape. It will head them back without too much effort. I don't bother to pull the roots out, cutting seems to do the trick. Some may disagree with me on this but it has worked both times that I've grown bamboo.

Plant

Stake

Thin

Trim roots

Enjoy!

Do you Care at all? Cover my shoulders.....

Late season carrots are wonderful. Sweet, crunchy, fresh....but there are a few tips to keep in mind.

On a cool spell in August, an overcast day, I planted two short rows of carrots. I kept them watered and they came up in about a week. I thinned them when very small and again as fingerlings, see second photo. A quick scrubbing and the baby carrots make a great snack.

When I harvested my earlier crop of carrots, along with a couple of cukes and the first of my bush beans, I noticed the tell-tale signs of carrots being a little neglected. The red blush at the shoulder of the carrot tells me that the shoulders were left exposed when I was working in the garden. (In the bottom photo, the carrot on the right was in trouble, the one on the left looks normal.) Maybe I loosened the soil when thinning or perhaps when I was weeding I exposed the tops. No real harm done for now, but in the fall it's quite another story. Exposed shoulders are an invite for trouble---slugs lead the group of crusaders. So, if you "Carrot All", cover up the shoulders of this darling of the fall garden.

Tip of the Week-fall fertilizer!

I've been watching the weather carefully here. The early fall rains came and we are promised a few days of cool weather. Perfect for applying fall weed and feed. If, like me, you still have some weeds hanging around in your lawn, now is a perfect chance to knock them back.

Purchase a balanced weed and feed and follow package directions. You'll be glad you did!

Pumpkins in the Flower Beds?

Fall is coming, the flowers are just about done blooming, you want your gardens to stay interesting for as long as possible, why not plant a few pumpkins in your garden? Luckily, I was able to think that one through last June and so I planted a giant pumpkin in amongst my perennials.

Now I get to watch that beauty grow at an astonishing rate. It's a nice touch. When all else seems to be ending, I have something amazing to take a peek at.

So, while I'm out in my garden, pulling a few weeds, cutting back some now-ugly perennials, I have this to enjoy. So glad I did. So yep, pumpkins do make a great addition to a flower bed. They can be space hogs however, so only plant one or two. Tuck them way back in the corner and make them reach for the sun. And don't be afraid to give those aggressive vines a little guidance. wind them around your other plants and you'll achieve a happy coexistence. By late summer you'll see them sneaking out to entertain and delight your garden guests!

Love in a Mist-Nigella damascena 'Persian Jewels'

As the summer to comes to a close, the gardens start to slow down, the annuals run out of steam and the smart gardener looks for ways to improve or save things. On a gray day, my little Heart Garden was looking very tired. The blue lobelia around the edge was mostly brown and straggly. That was sheared back to a neat little mound to allow for a possible final showing of color should we get a bit of Indian Summer. I also trimmed back the white sweet alyssum for the same reason. This only increased my need to balance out the garden by doing something with the towering Love in a Mist. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the seed pods were ripe and ready to harvest! The rugged, spiky two-toned pods are fascinating.

Scissors, twine and in a few minutes I had several bouquets ready to hang upside down and dry.

(Away from moisture and direct sun.)

Next fall and winter I'll have a nice supply for craft and floral projects. In fact the clumps look so nice on the wall that they may only need a ribbon to finish them off! I selected 'Persian Jewels' because I wanted the deeper colors. They will go nicely with my sage and eggplant interior. It's great when I can bring my garden indoors for the winter.

Happy gardening!

Great Perennial---Pink Yarrow

Pink Yarrow-Achillea millefolius 'Weser River Sandstone'

There are several varieties of yarrow available in you garden centers these days. All of them prefer full sun, are drought tolerant and make great cut flowers. They have little to offer in the way of fragrance, in fact some people don't like the scent at all. The up side is that yarrow also performs great as an everlasting. Simply cut the stems in late summer and dry as you would hydrangeas.

The native yarrow has a pale white blossom and you will recognize it along the roadsides. Very rugged plants, they are the parents to the newer cultivars. I like the pink one shown and also a lovely deep yellow variety.

Pink yarrow has fine, fernlike foliage that grows about a foot tall. The stems shoot out above the foliage and bear rosy pink flowers that fade in the sunshine. They bloom early in the summer and will repeat the process if cut back after blooming. Plant them in the second row or right up front in your border. The old-fashioned pink flower heads last incredibly long and are a welcome addition to bouquets and baskets!