Comments on: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: September

By: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: October | Cold Climate Gardening

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: October | Cold Climate Gardening — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:43:02 +0000

[...] last blossom, kind of bedraggled and drooping, but hanging in there. And what I thought was the last rose of the season in September turned out to be third-to-last. This bud came after that September bud, plus another [...]

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:01:39 +0000

This month’s American Gardener shows colchicum pronounced pretty much the way I said. They sound out the first syllable as “coal” versus my “cull” but if I wasn’t mumbling that’s probably how mine would sound, too.

By: Annie in Austin

Annie in Austin — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:00:59 +0000

Kathy, the Elizabeth Lawrence reference is sweet and short, from Through the Garden Gate:

Once I heard a three-year-old correct a visitor who said she admired our lilies. “They are not lilies,” he said. “They are ‘col-ki-kim’.” I was about to correct him, but thought better of it, and when I looked it up I found that “colkicum” is correct…

Miss L also notes that saying “col-chick-um” is accepted in America. That’s the way I’d been saying it, but once I read this story the hard ‘k’ stuck in my mind.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

By: Muum

Muum — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:12:44 +0000

wonderful pics, I enjoyed reading about your flowers. Don’t know much about globeflowers, but ? a nice surprise.

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:38:46 +0000

Kim, ever since Robin asked about tunic flower in my July GBBD, it’s been in my drafts folder. Even have a photo taken. That post probably won’t get written until after I come back from my trip, so to satisfy your (and Robin’s) curiosity in the meantime, I bought it from Bluestone as Tunica saxifraga rosea ‘Flore Pleno’, but it is also called Petrorhagia. (Some dispute as to what genus it belongs in)

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:26:40 +0000

Robin, asters come in all different sizes. Since they are fall blooming plants, I’d plant them in the spring. I lost my cultivated ones in a dry year, so I currently only have self-sown ones here. As I’m sure you know, they are native plants, and so common around here they are regarded as weeds. One day I’m going to replace the Alma Potchke that I lost due to never dividing it. (At least, I think that’s why I lost it.) That had an amazing hot pink to magenta color that the local asters don’t have.

By: Mr. McGregor's Daughter

Mr. McGregor's Daughter — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:39:03 +0000

That larkspur is an amazing color. Frost is a good thing – no more mosquitos & autumn leaf color.

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:34:36 +0000

I didn’t realize that asters got that tall. I planted several last fall for the first time and none of them came back. I would have definitely had to move them had they lived. It’s too soon to start talking about frosts. I hope your things survive it so you can enjoy them a little longer.

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:31:36 +0000

We had a frost advisory in effect last night, and I covered some of the still-producing tomatoes but everything came through just fine anyway. It’s supposed to be a bit warmer tonight… low 40s instead of the high 30s. Yikes.

Those trollius are pretty, even if they are blooming at the “wrong” time. It seems like lots of spring bloomers were confused by our late snow–around here lots of the magnolias are reblooming sparsely. What are “tunic flowers,” by the way? I’m not familiar with that common name.

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:43:38 +0000

All: credit for the nicotianas must go to my daughter, who saved the seed from last year, started it indoors this year, and babied them along until it was time to plant. The only thing I did was say “yes” when she asked to plant her spares there. She is chief vegetable gardener and plants most of her flowers there where she can enjoy them while tending the veggies.

It “only” got down to 38F (3C) last night but we have a frost advisory in effect for tonight as well. And then we’re off the hook for the forseeable future (which is subject to change at any moment).