Here it is September 12. The air conditioner is off and the windows are open—at least when it’s not too chilly anyway. I spent the afternoon rotating out the summer clothes and bringing out the sweaters and long pants. Where did summer go?
My blog here at Bumblebee has been quiet. That’s not because I’m not growing food and flowers and herbs. It’s because at some point I have to make a choice between living my life or writing about it. With my consulting job, little dogs, chickens, cat, garden, house plants—not to say anything about the husband and son home from college—I felt pulled to so many directions. I have been falling into bed at night thinking of everything that didn’t get done.
So, consider this a little bit of a catch-up post with just a few photos that I neglected to share until now.
In one of the beds leading to the front door I planted a variety of coleus and nestled a birdbath planted with succulents. At first the coleus looked a bit sparse, with a lot of mulch showing. I pinched it back and before long it was so bushy and tall that the birdbath was lost in the dark burgundy, black and green foliage of the coleus.
The birdbath has these little orangish flowers that open in the sunlight, creating a beautiful display. I have to admit that I was inspired by Debra Lee Baldwin’s Succulent Container Gardens, which I received as a review copy and drooled over but neglected to write about until now. Buy the book. You will love it.
I have decided that succulents have a big future in my garden, since watering takes a great deal of time and the succulents can fend for themselves.
After two bad tomato years due to fusarium wilt and late blight, we have finally had a good tomato year. I had to dig new beds in a whole new area of the yard as well as plant some hybrids in an attempt to foil the fusarium wilt. I am considering solarizing a large area of the potager next year. I don’t look forward to the ugliness of plastic on the ground or having so much area out of production, but it may come to that.
In the meantime, we had a good year for strawberries, lettuces, cucumbers, the most adorable and sweet tigger melons and herbs. Herbs galore! Our needs here are fairly simple, so I continued to focus on ornamentation in the potager as well as production. But pots do need watering, don’t they. *sigh*
I have some fun news to share about the chickens, but that must wait for another day.
Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
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Don’t succulents in a birdbath need drainage? I have an old birdbath that I want to plant similarly but I’m afraid they will drown when it rains. It’s metal set with mosaic tiles and I doubt I can drill through it.
.-= RobinL´s last blog ..As August came to an end =-.
Yes, they definitely need drainage. This birdbath had a plug in the bottom, so I just removed the plug. Voila! Drainage!
I had a large portion of my garden covered with plastic this year due to root knot nematodes. You’re right…it’s not very attractive. But I have high hopes for a better year in 2011! I love succulents and I very much like your birdbath…it looks great!
.-= Leslie´s last blog ..It Pays To Hand Water =-.
I like the idea of succulents in a container. I don’t have a birdbath to use, but I’m going to scout around the shed and see what I can find. When I have planted succulents in the garden they are often infiltrated by nasty grass.
.-= commonweeder´s last blog ..Water- Water — Nowhere! =-.
Those coleuses are magnificent! Note to self: next year, must have more.
.-= Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..Beautiful Edibles Part IV- Too Beautiful To Eat =-.
Robin, I’m with you any plants that’s are as good looking as sedums, needs no extra watering and can fend for themselves are destined to be added to my garden. Love them in containers. gail
Succulents are the new roses – and so much easier to grow! Plus they make great houseplants in a bright window for the winter – can you imagine roses staying alive in that situation?
Glad you could find time in your busy life to share – can’t wait for a chicken update!
I just planted an old water feature with succulents. I had fish in it but decided it was too small for them, so I put in a pond. The new succulent bed looks lovely, but it’s an expensive “pot”. I also have to keep it under cover and water it accordingly as there is no drainage, just sufficient depth. Or at least that’s the plan.
.-= Handlebar gardens´s last blog ..And the rain came down =-.
Looks lovely…that coleus combos is stunning!
.-= Scott Weber´s last blog ..I Needed This =-.
Gorgeous color combo!
It looks like you had time to perfect the plantings. They look divine.