Re: august,to Paul

In a message dated 8/22/04 1:12:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Meum71@AOL.COM
writes:


Its August?>>>>>>

Yes, August and a here a cool one as well.  Happy to see your observations as
we have had some unusual bloom times here as well.  Some things bloomed very
early, a bunch of summer phloxes in June.  Alliums all bloomed very early and
that Japanese one that blooms in October is opening here now.  Some maples are
red around the edges and many berried shrubs are complete now.  California
poppies and annual poppies bloomed and are finished now over a month.The rain
has completely destroyed all the pelargoniums in pots in the open.  Those under
the overhange are OK.  We had hollyhocks in bloom in June also and peonies
come on quickly and leave so quickly I don't remember them particularly.

The nights have been very cool with several in the low 40's here the end of
July.

Unlike you, we have had the two best and only really good daylily years here
in my time.  These hybrid plants need to be selected for cool weather gardens
and it is true that with water they perform quite differently than in dry
years.  They also need three years or more in one place to make an impressive
clump the clump then exhausting the soil.  So to keep up the display a manure
mulch or some other form of soil improvement needs doing.  The species do not seem
to care if ever noticed by the gardener and those would be flavia (bloom in
shade, called lilioasphodelus), dumortieri, middendorffii.  These are great
spring plants.

But back to summer.  For some reason I think we are in for a very early
freeze this year.  The vines in the veg frames have set no fruit except the homely
zucchini.  The eggplants are six inches high and peppers are some early cool
weather sort making a few very small fruits that rot before turning red.  We do
have tomatoes and there is local corn being sold around here though it is
certainly not grown in my county.

I have noticed strange growth patterns here as you have.  Last winter we had
a lot of low temperatures though that is not uncommon her. All the plant
groups are trying to figure out why we had so much shrub and fruit tree damage over
the winter.  I have a fifty year old boxwood that needed to be pruned to one
foot after all those years of happiness in zone 4.  Natives such as Kalmia did
not take this damage.  Hollies were severely damaged though not killed.

We went into last fall with a lot of water in the ground and will again this
year.  Our ponds have never been covered with algae and the summer lily growth
is sparse.  Something has happened in the last two years or we have forgotten
how to garden apart from the drought years.

 <<< I am starting to put things away for the winter already because
the plants around here are acting like its late September. >>>

Inside stuff needs to come in before the heat goes on and that will be very
early here this year.
<<< We are having a
cold spell here in Minnesota with the high the other day in the low 60's -its
normally in the high 70's to mid 80's. >>>

I checked the national map this year as we have relatives all over the
country now and I see you up by the Great Lakes actually COLD this week. We have not
been over 90 degrees all summer, mostly in the 70's and 80's but with
oppressive humidity for many weeks.

<<<Hosta look bad this year, normaly they look good into mid September for
me-but
the weather has them looking a bit worn this year.>>>

I cut them off in August frequently as they are shabby, brown on the edges
and sometimes lying on other plants but this year the Hostas are all looking
good which is another surprise which comes with record rains.  They came on so
fast this spring that the planned divisions did not happen and here is the fall
coming and they are still way too large.

I could mention weeds also.  I have never been so behind in cleaning up edges
and removing weeds nor have I seen such big and happy weeds.  One puts on
some old clothes and head out with the hand tools and another storm moves in.
Joe Pye Weed which is a native here with ditches full of it is the best I have
ever seen, Goldenrod is in flower early and the fields are already full of it.
The New York purple aster is around also and that is usually a very late wild
flower.

You mention rebloom.  We never have rebloom in daylilies or irises mowing
them both flat after flowering.

Those neat grey leafed plants one puts in containers to drape around and look
like magazine pictures are all dead here, victims to being constantly wet.

One bright spot and one of my "retired" garden keepers are the many PG
Hydrangea cultivars that finally have come into bloom.  Apart from Annabelle and the
old PG form are the newer 'Kyushu', 'Unique', 'Pink Diamond' (not really
pink).
These need around three years to make a good root system and then bloom well
with, again, all that water.  They root easily and can be put in any sun or
shade garden where if pruned to around one foot each year make a billowing
perennial blooming about now.  I have numerous small plants now, they are a good
investment.  They also do well in a large containers.  They should be a bit
later but something has hurried up the shrubs this year.

It did not rain today and perhaps will not tomorrow and with the fifty degree
nights maybe I'll get some gardening done.

Another thing I have noticed and think a good older gardener planning tip is
that of planting things where you can see them out of the house windows.  It
is very pleasant to have well planned combinations near the windows you use
most often and work efficient to have gardens close to the entrances you use most
often.

Claire Peplowski
NYS zone 4
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