Blooming Now: chives
Last spring my friend Anne gave me a small clump of chives, Allium schoenoprasum, as a thank you for the garlic chives, a.k.a. Chinese leeks, I had given her the year before.
While garlic chives form small white flowers, Allium schoenoprasum produces pretty purple pom poms. This spring I have enjoyed watching their small flower heads unfold.
Chives were the first herbs in our garden to bloom, and add a lovely pop of color to our raised bed.
While garlic chives form small white flowers, Allium schoenoprasum produces pretty purple pom poms. This spring I have enjoyed watching their small flower heads unfold.
Chives were the first herbs in our garden to bloom, and add a lovely pop of color to our raised bed.
Blooming in November: Blanket flower
For me, one of the great joys of gardening is sharing plants with my friends and receiving plants from them. "This was from Diana," I think as I trim down the Hannah Gordon rose bush in the fall. "Those came from Anne," I think when the chives bloom in the spring. And so on.
The blanket flower above came from seeds sent to me from another gardening friend, Jules. I planted them last fall, and they came up beautifully to bloom this summer. They're still blooming now in November.
Thanks, Jules!
The blanket flower above came from seeds sent to me from another gardening friend, Jules. I planted them last fall, and they came up beautifully to bloom this summer. They're still blooming now in November.
Thanks, Jules!
Blooming in october
The mums in our garden all began as small nursery pots that purchased in the fall--impulse buys at the grocery store.
Because the winters here in Zone 8 are mild, we can plant chrysanthemums in late fall, and they'll establish roots before the cold days of winter.
Sometimes, chrysanthemums will bloom in the summer. If this routinely happens with your mums, start pinching off the buds until midsummer. They'll reform and bloom when you want them to, during the cool days of fall.
Because the winters here in Zone 8 are mild, we can plant chrysanthemums in late fall, and they'll establish roots before the cold days of winter.
Sometimes, chrysanthemums will bloom in the summer. If this routinely happens with your mums, start pinching off the buds until midsummer. They'll reform and bloom when you want them to, during the cool days of fall.
Other Plants That Are Blooming Now
Blooming in August
BUDDLEJA
The butterfly bushes (Buddleja) in our garden are in bloom now and have been since July, producing fragrant spears of small flowers that attract pollinators by the droves.
In the morning and the evenings especially, the bushes are alive with pale yellow and white moths, skipper jacks, an assortment of bees and, of course, butterflies. Even a few hummingbirds drop by on occasion. (They also like our bee balm.)
We have three butterfly bushes in all, two with purple flowers and one with lilac blossoms so pale they're almost pink.
Butterflies tend to favor the purple bushes, which have a stronger, sweeter scent.
If you have a butterfly bush (or you know someone who does), it's easy to start more through layering or from cuttings. And if the ground near an established bush is soft and fertile, they'll start on their own!
The butterfly bushes (Buddleja) in our garden are in bloom now and have been since July, producing fragrant spears of small flowers that attract pollinators by the droves.
In the morning and the evenings especially, the bushes are alive with pale yellow and white moths, skipper jacks, an assortment of bees and, of course, butterflies. Even a few hummingbirds drop by on occasion. (They also like our bee balm.)
We have three butterfly bushes in all, two with purple flowers and one with lilac blossoms so pale they're almost pink.
Butterflies tend to favor the purple bushes, which have a stronger, sweeter scent.
If you have a butterfly bush (or you know someone who does), it's easy to start more through layering or from cuttings. And if the ground near an established bush is soft and fertile, they'll start on their own!
