Organic gardener growing food and flowers, lovin' pollinators and birds.

Floral Friday: Rose of Sharon



This Rose of Sharon was a stowaway plant. I never intended to buy it.

It hitchhiked its way into my garden by seed by way of another container plant I purchased. It started to grow alongside the other shrub in the container and luckily I recognized its leaves, realizing that it was not a weed. While it was still very small, I decided to transplant it to the back fence.

For a couple of years, it didn't do much at all and remained fairly small. It kept growing slowly (only getting late afternoon sun) and fairly straight. I pruned it this past spring and the year before, and it slowly started to appear fuller. When I told friends about my Rose of Sharon, they laughed at me. You kept it? They grow like weeds! (Apparently, not for me.)

This year it is the largest it has ever been. And then, this past week, it started to bloom with deep pink flowers. I can see it from my kitchen window, and I'm not the only one enjoying the pop of color: the hummingbird enjoys it, too.



Despite not knowing the variety (do Rose of Sharons even grow true to seed?) I'm glad I let this refugee plant have a home in my garden.

Have you had any plants take up residence in your garden that have won you over?
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Floral Friday: 'Queeny Lime Orange' Zinnia


Say hello to 'Queeny Lime Orange' zinnia, this week's #FloralFriday pick and an 2018 AAS Flower Winner that I fell in love with during a trip to California last August as an National Garden Bureau Plant Nerd (#ngbplantnerd). After seeing this zinnia in the trial gardens (and hoping desperately it would win so the seeds would be available for sale), I knew I would have to grow it in my garden.

I started the seeds indoors (a little later than I had planned) at the end of May and they quickly sprouted under my grow lights. Three weeks later, I hardened them off and planted them out in their permanent location on June 24.



This year I started 88 seeds, with the majority going in that front garden bed. The plants have easily hit the two foot mark by this point and receive full sun.

And when they started to bloom, I was surprised to find that the colors were muted.


But as the flowers matured over the days, the shades deepened.



The butterflies and bees both adore these flowers. The plants began to really take off and flower about a month after I planted them out, and in the last two weeks the colors have been deepening and evolving with a more rose pink hue in the bottom petals. 



So far this zinnia has been a kaleidoscope of colors since it has started to bloom, and the seed description says the petals will range from apricot to peach hues accented by lime green and raspberry at the center of the blooms.

Which it is starting to do in my garden (updated 8/13/18, with photo below):



I'm really looking forward to seeing the colors continue to change, with this end result, as I saw in California:


I plan to keep watching and photographing this zinnias as the growing season continues. Are you growing this zinnia in your garden this year?
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The Gardener's August Calendar


The other day I was telling my husband about how I can’t help but notice at this time of year how the days start to run shorter as we advance toward fall. “It makes me sad,” I admitted. To which he asked “Well, why focus on it then?”

It’s an obvious solution to trying to live in the season we are in. The past month I’ve spent most of my free time in the garden, either by trying to keep up with weeds or starting last minute seeds. I’ve been growing a lot of new plant varieties this year and observing how they grow in Zone 6b. 

In an effort to live in the moment, let’s try to keep the tasks on the shorter side this month in order to leave time to actually enjoy the garden as much as possible. 



  • It’s time to sow fall crops! —Use any empty space in the veggie garden beds to sow plants for a fall harvest. Not sure what to plant? How about 
    'Seaside' spinach growing in California. 
  • Carrots
  • Beets (tops can be used like chard)
  • Lettuce
  • Arugula
  • Turnips (get sweeter with a little frost)
  • Mustards
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Bok Choy
  • Chard 
  • Radish
  • Peas
Monarch caterpillars can be brought inside 
for raising indoors.
  • Or sow a cover crop — If you do not plan on sowing a fall crop, consider sowing cover crops to help condition the soil this fall and over the winter. More details here.
  • Use weeds to ID missing soil nutrients. — A few years ago, I interviewed Diane St. John about organic lawn care. She shared how weeds can help you identify what nutrients your lawn needs, but I found myself thinking about how this applies to garden beds, too. For example, in a garden bed that is just a few years old, I am finding a lot of crabgrass popping up. I started to wonder what this meant, and checked the info Diane had shared. (Looks like I’m short on calcium.) While weeds can give you an idea of what’s wrong, it’s best to do a soil test to verify what your soil needs before you start adding nutrients on whim. 
  • Keep an eye out for caterpillars!  Monarch, black swallowtail and spicebush swallowtail butterflies should be laying eggs on host plants now. It's easy to get a bug box and bring them inside, where they will be safe from predators, including birds and wasps. I have successfully raised several generations of black swallowtail butterflies (which use fennel, dill and carrot as host plans), as well as two generations each of spicebush swallowtail caterpillars and monarch caterpillars. Monarchs are the trickiest to raise indoors, but don't let that scare you! The most important part is keeping their enclosures clean from frass and providing fresh food. Last year I wrote more about my experiences raising monarch caterpillars (click here for more). To see how this year’s caterpillars are being raised, be sure to check my Instagram account where I share photos of the caterpillars as they grow.
  • Water for birds. — During this hot month, make sure your birdbaths are clean and filled with fresh water. Birds need water, especially in areas that are experiencing drought conditions. Dump stagnant water so mosquitoes do not use it to breed.
  • Iris care — Irises should be divided every three to five years, or when the clumps start to lack flowers. (There's a helpful article on dividing and transplanting rhizome iris here.) Irises like to have their roots exposed, and they seem to do well in drier portions of my garden where the rhizome won't be at risk for rotting, In addition, start trimming back irises to the "stubs" (except for rebloomers) which can prevent iris borers from ruining plants. This is not only a fall chore that you are getting a jump on, but it removes the site where the iris borer moth wants to lay its eggs, which will feed on the rhizome and kill the plant. Been there, done that — unfortunately. 
  • Hydrangea Care — If your hydrangeas need pruning, now is the time to act so you won't be cutting off next year's buds. There is a short three-week window to do this in August; after that, the plants will put their energy into creating flower buds for next year. Read more on how to do so here.
  • Maintenance  — The garden usually needs help this month with water, so keep an eye on plants. The best time to water is in the morning. Also, be sure to deadhead flowers regularly to keep plants looking their best.
  • Pests — Keep shaking Japanese beetles into cups of soapy water to get rid of them. The best time to do this is in the morning or early evening hours, when they are not as active. Have you applied neem oil to your perennial hibiscus? This helps prevent the hibiscus sawfly from eating the leaves.
  • Elderberries — Elderberries are a great edible fruit that actually grows well underneath my black walnut tree. While I often have to fight the birds for the berries, it is important to remember that they are not safe to eat fresh. The berries (blue or purple) are high in Vitamin C. To remove them easier from the stem, I freeze them first. There are so many things you can do with elderberries, including wine, syrup, jam and pies.  To learn more about this great plant, click here. (Just as a word of caution — do not eat wild, red elderberries because those are poisonous.)
  • Bulbs  Now is the time to figure out where you want to plant bulbs for spring blooms. Look at your garden photos from this past spring (really, how was that only four months ago!) to see where you need pops of color.




Remember to get outside and enjoy the flowers! Summer is fleeting — onward!

These chores are based on my garden located in Zone 6b.




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