Definitely Not Singing in the Rain!

I usually blog from home in the evenings but am currently at our plant sale, looking out at a steady downpour which has really minimized attendance at this fundraiser. My jeans and socks are still soaked after running our signs out to the road. We'll have to decide how we'll extend the sale to accomodate for the loss of vital revenue. What a bummer! On the flip side, I've been catching up on all my office work and there is the benefit of not having to supervise anyone today. Marianne is also keeping busy during the "slow times" between the sporadic customer. Oh the vagaries of the weather!!! The image above is part of our blue/orange combo this year. I love the 'Merlin Blue Morn' petunias and they go quite well with the creeping zinnia (Sanvitallia procumbens 'Mandarin Orange'). I feel our color schemes this year were successfully stunning but their time is limited with fall temperatures fast approaching.

One of the neat perennials in the garden that is starting to bloom is toad-lily. The variety below is a close-up of Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' which is native to Asia and was developed in Japan. This picture is an extreme close-up as the flowers are quite small. However, they are exquisite and "orchid-like". This late-blooming perennial does well in the woodland garden and prefers dappled light (not deep shade or full sun). We've tried various varieties and species of toad-lily but keep coming back to this one for late September/early October color. An early freeze will knock this plant down but the rewards are worth it.

Mums have always been a big part of our plant sale (see picture below) and we usually sell between 3,000 and 5,000 of these every September. They certainly offer great extended color in to the fall and many will bloom well thru October. Many of our customers ask if they're "hardy". That's a trick question to be honest. While the plants are hardy, planting these mums late in the season also requires other special attention. The root mass of these plants is very small in relation to the mass of stems and flowers. It's important that these mums are watered well and set roots prior to the soil freezing. We recommend mulching these mums over the first winter although many of our customers utilize them for seasonal color in a container or other location for that "window of color". Hopefully we'll sell the remainder of our mums this week!