Late August Blooms in Gardens4me

August 26, 2020February 24, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

With September fast (unfortunately) approaching my Gardens4me are changing yet again. That is the beauty of perennial gardens though, they change constantly. Some things featured in early August are still shining brightly now that it’s late August…

While new late August blooms are now strutting their stuff…

Now that we have received more rain, evenings are cooler and dew keeps the lawn damp for hours each morning, my grass is (amazingly enough) recovering. Even my south-facing, previously scorched lawn in my front yard has recovered. Those facts are typical of late August. These pictures actually include the lawn in my backyard that I was embarrassed to photograph earlier this summer….

The vines I planted at the base of my garden workbench (scaffolding constructed by my son years ago) have scrambled up the poles…

Gardens4me has a handsome inspector that likes to perch atop one of the planters on my back deck. Cardinals love the greenery of my gardens, offering them lots of food and places to take cover.

At one of my favourite gardens recently (check out the evolution of this garden on my website) I snapped some photos of the containers I planted there in May. As you can see, these are still looking awesome in late August.

My personal favourites for containers this summer have been hibiscus and coleus for sun and shade respectively.

I love the coleus so much that I think I will attempt to take cuttings of each variety this fall before frost kills them off. Unfortunately, they are only annuals in my climate, so have to be replanted at the beginning of each season. That makes them perfect for containers though…

These yellow rose buds (the absolute favourite of my roses) are a sign of things to come…

Early August Blooms in Gardens4Me

August 13, 2020February 22, 2022 ~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

The summer is flying by, August is upon us. We were fortunate to receive some much-needed rain last week so my Gardens4me are looking pretty luscious this week. Early August blooms are plentiful.

A few blossoms pictured in my late July post are still hanging around, surprisingly. A perennial geranium is reblooming, even though I did not get around to cutting it back as I usually do to encourage a repeat performance…

New this month are the heliopsis or false sunflowers, providing splashes of vivid yellow at my gate and amongst the greenery of my “jungle” as my 6-year-old granddaughter calls it.

Also new this month are the garden phlox (as opposed to the creeping variety) in bright pink and white…

as well as tickseed…

Also thriving after our heavy rains are the weeds in my lawn. My granddaughter (the same one that loves my “jungle”) helped me mow the weeds one day, until a thunderstorm sent us running into the house…

I love the fact that my grandchildren enjoy my gardens, hopefully, they will remember these days in years to come. I know I cherished the time spent in my own grandmothers’ gardens.

Today I stopped by the hospice that I volunteer at to check out the gardens and containers I planted. I am particularly thrilled with the progress of the coleus spilling out of these containers in the shade. Every year there appear to be more varieties available; their colours are striking!

What’s happening in your gardens?

In bloom this second week of August in my Ottawa zone 4 to 5 gardens

August 11, 2017October 31, 2021 ~ Loreeebee ~ 1 Comment

Here are the newest perennial blooms in my own zone 4 to 5 gardens this second week of August;

peachy perfection

This ornamental grass is my favourite although it is only an annual here in zone 4 or 5. It makes a beautiful centerpiece for a container or it can be planted right in the garden!

grass 1

Still strutting their stuff, these perennials are still looking great:

tickseed

sedum

daylily

On their way out (unfortunately) are my gorgeous lilies. They will return bigger and better than ever next year though! Every client I have planted some of these lily trees for have commented on how spectacular they are, well worth the price.

I hope you are enjoying these weekly walks through my gardens…