Late Bloomers During a Welcome Dry Spell

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest USA never ceases to amaze me. Statistically, November is the rainiest month but we are currently in a very welcome dry period. Dry but rather cold at night (26* F so far in my garden.) I am amazed at the plants that are still healthy and blooming!
Camelias naturally bloom at this time of year, but it is still fun to share. Recently I moved the tiny chrysanthemum into the greenhouse. I thought Bacopa was an annual but it is still hanging on. The hardy fuchsias are the stars. I have only known the annual fuchsias in my previous gardens.

Tiny Chrysanthemum moved into greenhouse now.

‘Jingle Bells’ hardy fuchsia.

Bacopa in a wine barrel garden.

Tiny hardy fuchsia

Camelia ‘Yule Tide’

Fall color in my garden

Falling into Fall

My garden had about an inch of rain overnight so I know fall is beginning. I will not miss the water bill that was very high and seemed to only keep the plants alive, not flourishing. ‘Heather James’ is the first mum blooming in my 2013 fall garden.

Mums from the beginning

I really enjoyed my mums last fall and I was told to take cuttings this month to have more of the same mums next fall. Apparently the plants from last fall will not produce very well unless cuttings are rooted and new plants started.

There are several ways to get the cuttings to root. I chose Hormex rooting hormone and perilite.

After 3-4 weeks the rooted cuttings go into 4 inch pots with potting mix. The after 4 more weeks I will look for roots coming out of the bottom so I know it is time to go to a larger pot. This potting up continues until July 4th when they should be in a final pot for growing and flowering.

Click on the mums or Chrysanthemums in my word cloud to the right to see the mums blooming last fall.

Cross Sound Arranger’s Guild

Today I was invited to be a guest at the Cross Sound Arranger’s Guild. Four times a year this group of talented flower arrangers gets together to share, teach, learn and critique examples using the Federated Garden Clubs of America’s rules and style. I am used to American Rose Society’s rules and styles so this is very different for me. ARS rules state that the rose must be dominant. In Federated arrangements, the theme or category seems to rule. For example, the designs today were “holiday illuminary”, which means lights need to be incorporated in the design.

Christmas design

Thanksgiving designs

Mums show off!

Last March I had no idea that the scrubby littlle starts would produce so many beautiful flowers. The roses are gone, but the mums are blooming to keep the transplanted gardener happy 🙂

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day-October

The rainy season is here in Western WA, but I still have blooms to share. Let’s see how many more months I can share blooms.

Tennis ball size mums.

Chrysanthemums, part 3

I am a clumsy gardener. Today I was moving some plants around, admiring how well these mums have grown since February, when I heard a snap! Pop! And I groaned “ugh!” The clumsy gardener snapped off one of three mums from one plant! What are you gonna do?

Chrysanthemums part 2

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Following up on a comment/question from my earlier post on mums, I have taken a few additional photos to show the size of the blooms and scale of the plant next to my favorite chair. Hope this helps with the understanding. The large yellow is ‘Indianapolis yellow’ the large apricot bloom is ‘Apricot Courtier’ and the small flowered one is ‘Yellow Knight’. It feels like fall now that I have mums blooming.

Chrysanthemums!

When I lived in Minnesota, mums were not something gardeners expected to survive as a perennial plant. Mums showed up at garden centers in pots for seasonal color. The University of MN did hybridize and sell a few that were said to be winter hardy, but mine only survived two winters in the ground.

Here in Western Washington mums have many followers and clubs. I have learned an amazing amount of information about the 13 classifications of mums and how to grow them. It takes patience and a lot of potting up because mums like to be root bound in a pot. I am used to roses where you get several flushes of bloom every season. Finally I am seeing some plants blooms! Check back over the next few weeks as other plants come into bloom.