Working in my ornamental beds lately has been an interesting learning experience. Having pretty much given up hope on having a “good” display this year with all the weather assaults and pests taking their toll, I decided to just play around and take what learning I could from it.
Conveniently the Caryopteris and the Calendula have decided to embrace in a show of vibrant orange and blue. Meanwhile, the succulents in my garden have been amazing. I never thought they would do this well, especially in such a rainy year. I intend to add many many more containers of them in my garden(s) in the future.
I ripped out a dying Salvia and wacked back some other plants that were brown and ugly, creating a huge hole in the middle of my bed. Being September and all, I decided two mums would be appropriate temporary fillers as well as a few Coleus that I think can take the site now that there are plenty of other plants to offer some respite from the sun. I like the way the burgundy of the coleus plays off the purple of the mums (even though they are blooming very strangely only on one side) and accents the straw tones of the fall color of the bunny tail grass border. It somehow feels nostalgic to me to look at this combination, though I can’t articulate why. And in the front of the garden, to fill a hole left by Zinnia flop, I added a Solidago just about to burst into bloom.
