Fall Bouquets

My cut flower rows down in the big garden are really doing nicely. The plants are starting to get a bit tall and the rows are growing together. Instead of planned order, the whole cut flower area has "cottage garden" charm now.

Two fuchsia colored blooms of cosmos "kneehigh sonata mix".

A perfect white bloom of cosmos "Mixed seashells'. Most of the blooms on these plants do not have the perfectly tubular shaped petals. But the few blooms that do look like the picture on the seed packet are pretty cool.

A pair of white cosmos "kneehigh sonata mix".

My 5 plants of "Francis' Choice" marigolds are really looking great.

They are almost 4 feet tall now and are covered in bright bi-colored blooms.

Since rain was in the forecast for today, I cut 4 different bouquets for the house.

A beautiful dahlia bouquet made up of two "Red Velvet" blooms six "Pam Howden". So simple and so very pretty.

I also cut a generous handful of "Persian Carpet" zinnia blooms. Picked in mass, these little blooms make for such a pretty and long lasting bouquet.

My last little bouquet was made up entirely of "Francis' Choice" marigolds blooms. I wasn't sure how this would work but I was pleased with the results. It was bright and glowed with the colors of Fall.

Hedge Marigolds

Down in the big garden, I have a few rows set aside for cut flowers that I started from seed. One of these rows is planted with marigolds.

And not just any marigolds, but hedge marigolds. The first variety that I planted is "Red Metamorph". This marigold grows to 2-3' in height. It branches easily and is covered with beautiful lacy foliage. The plants quickly grow together to form a thick hedge.

Each bloom is a velvety dark red, with the underside of the each petal a burnt orange. As the weather heats up, the blooms become more striped. They return to solid red as the temperature drops once again.

Here are two "Red Metemorph" blooms growing side by side displaying some of the variation that occurs.

My marigolds are planted in a fairly shady spot. At best they only receive half a day of sunshine. While I am sure they would be closer to the 3' mark with better conditions, my plants are still healthy, dense, and covered with blooms.

The second hedge marigold that I started from seed this spring is "Frances' Choice". This amazing variety will reach heights of 4-5' . Once again, mine are shorter due to the growing conditions but they are still pushing 3' right now. The blooms on this plant are red with golden yellow edges. It is a prolific bloomer and would be amazing in full sun. Mine are just started to bloom, but will soon be covered in color. I purchased the seeds for both plants from Seeds of Change. For just $3.50 a packet you can have an amazing, vibrant living hedge in your garden.

Late July in the Dahlia Garden

As July slowly comes to an end, the dahlia garden continues to explode with growth.

 In the last week, there has been two or three new dahlias blooming for the first time each time I have visited this garden site. There is also much work to be done. Just a week ago, I was almost caught-up with my "to-do" list for this garden. After visiting it today, I realize I need to spend multiple nights down here after work. I still have five rows that need to be tied-up, at least half of the plants need dis-budding again, and the whole garden could use a good weeding. Sigh.

Here is a "new-to-me" dahlia. "NTAC Shelley" was just released this year. It's a lovely dark pink & white Orchid  with perfect form. I am really excited to watch this one and see how it performs the rest of the season.

And yet another new one to me this year. "Eclipse" arrived in one of my tuber orders as a free gift. It's a striking white and dark pink Single.

"Sean C", a purple and white Collarette.

One of my all time favorites. "Pam Howden", a waterlily in shades of orange, yellow and dark pink.

"Raeann's Peach", a Single form in orange and red.

"Kelsie Kristi" is a dark red Single. The pollinators love all of the open centered dahlias.

"Weston Spanish Dancer", a miniature size cactus form in flame colors.

Elsewhere in the garden my cut flowers rows are starting to bloom too. My "Red Metemorph" hedge marigolds are starting to live up to their name. I don't think mine will reach 3 feet in height this year but they will definitely grow together and form a dense hedge.

They too are beginning to bloom.

The first white bloom opened today in the knee-high "Sonata Mix" cosmos.

And I also have the first open bloom in the "Mixed Seashell" cosmos. They certainly are different than the tradition cosmos bloom.

The "Minnesota Midget" cantaloupe have settled in nicely after being transplanted. The new growth is a healthy dark green and they are covered in pretty little yellow blooms. But I still haven't seen a single set cantaloupe yet!

All in all I am pleased with how everything is doing down here. The rabbit damage seem to have mostly stopped and there are more blooms to enjoy each day. It won't be too long before the garden is no longer a sea of green but is instead a riot of color.

And More Seed Starting

Tonight after work, I continued on my seed starting blitz. I switched my focus from vegetables to flowers and planted the following:

• 24 cells with "Red Metamorph" Marigolds from Seeds of Change
• 24 cells with "Fancis' Choice" Marigolds from Seeds of Change
• 12 cells with "Raspberry Sorbet" Zinnia from Renee's Garden
• 24 cells with "Mixed Seashell" Cosmos from Renee's Garden

Frost Warning

They are calling for our first frost of the year tonight. Of coarse, you never know if it will happen as predicted, or how hard it will be. Plus there is the additional issue of micro-climates. Three sides of the big garden are surrounded by large fir trees. This living buffer quite often protects the garden from lite frosts that will easily kill plants up at the house.

I decided to act as if the freeze was imminent and went down to the garden after work, with scissors and a bucket in hand. First I stopped to admire my marigold row. Although I didn't get these poor seedlings transplanted until the weekend of July 4th, they still produced a nice display.

An close up view of a "Red Metamorph" marigold plant. There was a bit of interesting diversity among the various blooms. A few blooms receded back to solid red.

On this one, only the center of each petal was yellow.

I had a few plants of "Francis's Choice" marigold. These plants were taller than the "Red Metamorph" but produced few blooms.

Next to the marigolds, I planted from seed a double row of "Persian Carpet" zinnias. I have long grown this variety and love it. It has such diverse bloom forms and colors. Cut, they make a really lovely small bouquet.

One of my favorite forms found in the "Persian Carpet" mix. I love this double orange. After cutting the zinnias, I cut a bouquet of dahlia poms and one last bouquet of larger dahlias. I hauled everything back to the house and picked out some vases. Tom-cat's orange coat looks perfect next to the "Persian Carpet" bouquet.

Red Metamorph Marigold

My first bloom is open on the "Red Metamorph" marigolds that I started from seed this Spring. They are such pretty plants. They are about 1' tall now and still growing. The seed packet says they should reach 2-3' in height. The foliage is delicate and lacy. The bloom itself is a deep red. The inside of each petal is the same bright orange as the stamen in the center. If our first frost delays until mid October or later, these plants are going to be so pretty covered in these striking blooms.

The Garden Marigolds

Back on July 6th, I finally got my poor marigold starts planted down in the big garden. I planted the seeds for both "Frances' Choice" & "Red Metamorph" on April 28th and they sat in their tiny 1" cells for over two months. I wasn't sure if they would ever amount to anything. For the longest time they just sat there, seemingly not growing one bit. But while I was gone for 12 days in early August, the plants really took off. They are now almost a foot tall and this week I discovered that many have set their first bloom! While neither variety stands a chance to reach its "typical" height - "Frances' Choice" is suppose to be 4-5' tall and "Red Metamorph" 2-3' tall - I do think that they are going to be nice little plants this year since we still have over a month yet until any chance of frost.