I know this post is a little late as we have had our first killing frost a few weeks ago and my garden no longer looks like this, but I thought you'd rather see it late than not at all.
Let's begin the fall garden tour shall we?
Black-Eyed Susans and Hydrangeas are the stars of the fall perennial garden.
My Polka Dotted plant did so well this year! I always save a bit of this plant and bring it indoors for the winter, and in the spring I set it inside a planter. It always performs so much better outdoors than indoors. I also tried Strawflower for the first time this year (that's the yellow plant in the photo below). Wow! What an amazing plant that turned out to be. The leaves are like paper, so the deer leave it alone. It grew so huge and beautiful for me too!
This coleus amazed me this year. I took cuttings of it before the frost so I could grow it again next year. Taking cuttings save me big $$$ in the spring because I don't have to buy new plants. If you've never done cuttings before it's super easy! Just cut a stem below a leaf node and put it in a glass of water in a sunny windowsill. In a few weeks, it will develop roots and you can plant the cutting in a pot!
I also really love the silver foliage plant and took cuttings of that one as well. I never tried the silver plant before. I loved how it performed!
I was blown away by the vibrancy of this single Purple Coneflower.
Sedum Autumn Joy, a must have in any fall perennial garden.
Another variety of sedum. This one has a purplish leaf.
This year I grew sunflowers in my vegetable garden to feed the birds. The fence kept the animals out so the squirrels and deer wouldn't eat them before they went to seed; although I did catch one sneaky squirrel inside my garden a few times!
At my feet is a a planter of the new Tri-Colored Mum. You will have to watch the short video below to hear and see more about this mum. On the other side of my feet is a new Rudebekia I tried this year. The nursery said it's a perennial, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Just look at all the sunflower seeds inside one sunflower head! Amazing!
When the sunflower heads were ready, I chopped them off leaving enough stem so I could tie it to the bird feeder.
Last year I had a huge problem with Japanese Beetles coming into my vegetable garden because they were attracted by the Marigolds and Petunias. So I googled what annuals Japanese Beetles don't eat, and lantana was one of them. I tried it, and they were right! The beetles were not interested in this flower at all. And the added benefit to me was that these turned out to be great plants! They're drought tolerant, maintenance free, and absolutely GORGEOUS!
We had a bumper crop of potatoes this year. This one large table doesn't even show all the potatoes we harvested, I filled up two more tables with potatoes. Of course, when I laid the paper down over the potatoes to cure, Jackson had to sit right on top of them. 😂
We also had a bumper crop of squash. This is what the vines looked like when the squash is ready to harvest. Be sure to watch the short video below to see more squash!
I also canned them to use in recipes which use Salsa Verde. This was a lot more work than canning regular tomatoes for the skins of green tomatoes don't come off easily, but I'm glad I did it because it felt to know that nothing went to waste in my garden. I followed this recipe HERE.
Finally, I have to share my new Amazon purchase that I just love: a decorative, yet practical kitchen compost bin! I can't tell you how much I love this! Prior to owning this, I kept my compost inside a coffee tin in the refrigerator. It was such a pain to pull it out every time I had to dump food scrapes in it. This Amazon compost bin sits attractively in my kitchen and it includes a charcoal filter so it never smells. It's pretty, easy to use, and so much more practical than a coffee tin. You can find it HERE.
And now, be sure to watch these short videos of the Tri-Colored Mum, how I dry my oregano, and see all the squash I had growing on my fence!
Have A Great Day! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
You can root coleus directly in soil, skipping the water step. Just buy some root compound, stick the cutting in that to coat the stem and then straight into soil. I put several cuttings in one pot and get a thick plant in no time.
ReplyDeleteOh really? I didn't know that. I haven't had much luck with root compound in the past. Thanks for letting me know.
DeleteWow, so very beautiful. Thanks for sharing this. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and you're welcome.
DeleteBlack-eyed Susans are bright and cheery flowers. Your garden is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey sure are! Thanks so much!
DeleteWow, this is so impressive! Those potatoes! That sunflower! What a wonderful garden. Visiting from Sweet Tea & Friends linkup.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer!
DeleteYou had such a beautiful fall garden, lots of wonderful color and yay for a wonderful harvest too! I remember straw flowers from Germany but not sure I've seen them here before. They were always so interesting to me growing up, maybe I'll plant some next year! Great tip on planting Lantana to help with those beetles, they ruin so much in my garden!! I think they just about killed my tiny crabapple tree, not sure if it will come back at all next year :(
ReplyDeleteThanks Ellie. Yes, I have discovered that Japanese Beetles don't eat things with fuzzy or textured leaves like lantana, ageratum, dusty miller, geraniums, etc. so I grew those and found out they were right...although they did still like some of my geraniums.
DeleteWow your garden is a marvel.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deleteoh the colors in that first snapshot - the green, yellow, the red of the barn. so absolutely beautiful. i leave here smiling!
ReplyDeleteAwww, that's nice. Thanks so much.
Deletewow what a gorgeous garden and cottage. Just beautiufl. And those sunflower heads - amazing! Enjoy your week. I am joining you at the Randomosity linkup.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jill!
DeleteYou're a true gardener in every aspect of that word!! Always enjoying seeing your gardening pics. Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedLinkParty 138. Pinned.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's quite the compliment! Thank you!
DeleteI meander so slowly through these garden posts, savoring every bloom, every color and texture. You must have green fingers to go with your green thumbs. Just amazing. Your own Eden!! I have never been a tomato eater until the last year or so. Still not going to bite into a whole tomato but I am eating them on sandwiches, salads and have always loved salsa verde and pico. Would love to taste your fried green tomatoes. They look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo with the black eyed Susans and the the little barn in the background is frameable or paintable. Or both. Thank you so much for sharing this little bit of heaven with us.
I'm glad you enjoy my garden posts so much! I love tomatoes and I've always been perplexed by people who don't like them or won't eat them, but I hear that a lot. Thanks so much!
DeleteWhat an awesome and productive patch you have. I love how you leave the sunflowers out for the birds. I always enjoy your gardening posts. Thanks for linking
ReplyDeleteThank you! Sunflower seed has doubled in price here in the US so I was trying to figure out a cheaper alternative.
DeleteAmy, I enjoyed seeing your beautiful garden with all the bright colors. It's so cold and dreary here today and you brought a smile to me.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month.
Thank you! That's good to hear.
Delete