Fall Flowers in Vermont

Fall is around the corner and our early mums are showing color. If you see mums in full bloom right now here in Vermont it is because they have been tricked, with the use of dark covers, to think the days are shorter than they really are, forcing the flowers.

Once the mums really get going I like to use them for bouquets, as they are long lasting. Typically I will combine whatever perennials are blooming with with annuals I have on hand. One of my best performing annuals this year has been "All-Around Purple " gomphrena" which has supplied blooms on long stems for months now.

'All-Around Purple' Gomphrena

Another annual that I like for bouquets is didiscus, kind of a light blue Queen Anne's Lace. I hope next year I remember to somehow stake this one.

Didiscus

'Little Joe' Eupatorium ('Joe Pye Weed') is supposed to be a a diminutive version of the species, at 3-4' feet. Not so in my garden - it's still at least 5 feet tall, but the flower is smaller and more refined than the species and it lasts a good long while in a bouquet.

'Little Joe' Eupatorium

Sanguisorbia canadensis ('Canadian Burnet') does its thing right now. I like the foliage of this plant all season and am always happy to have some spikey white flowers for bouquets in the end of summer. Verbena bonariensis is always a favorite of mine providing loads of flowers and I never go without pink lavatera. I don't find the white lavatera is as long lasting in bouquets. It also seems more attractive to insects.

Lavatera 'Silver Cup'

I was a reporter for a daily newspaper for seven years and managed to write something just about every day. You would think keeping a blog would be a piece of cake. Apparently not.

Summer Marches On ....

The daylilies continue their show and we have started transplanting for next year. The mums are growing fast and need to be spread out. Hard to believe!




'Red Ribbons' (above) is a pretty spider daylily which won 'best spider' daylily in 1992.



Above is a close-up of 'Howard Goodman' and a shot of the row in the gardens. Interesting that I also grow a daylily called 'Howard Goodson.'

Among the new and impressive blooms -

Starman's Quest

Snow Blizzard

Ruth Whitten

Moses Fire

My planting by the milk house did nicely this year


and 'Jackmanii' clematis did particularly well.


Tomorrow I deliver flowers to a wedding in Thetford, so it will be the first time I have missed farmers' market. I'm sure they will survive without me!