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Swapping Huckleberries

Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album)  Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album) has been an attractive feature along our north-facing foundation since I planted it in 2016. You will have to take my word for it since I cannot locate a photo although I know one exists somewhere in the realm of the Internet or floating on a cloud somewhere.  I did locate a photo of how it looked when it was first planted - It took a few years to fill out but it did so nicely to an attractive mound about 2 feet high by 3 feet wide.  Last year, it started to look bad.  I cut it back but it had not improved and this is how it looked a few weeks ago - I decided to rip it out and plant another huckleberry - this time Vaccinium ovatum , more commonly known as the "Evergreen Huckleberry".  This is a plant that I've wanted for ages and kept putting off getting one because I could not find a good place for it. By most accounts, this is an amazing plant, a native one and excellent for
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A Change in the Air

'Dragonwing' begonia in a pot with
Persicaria 'Golden Arrow' in the foreground


Fall is in the air and I already notice how the light is beginning to change and the shadows are growing longer. I love this time of year although I do often experience a tinge of melancholy and an increased need for sleep.

We've had some wonderful cool days in the 70s and an occasional warm day here and there. Tomorrow will be a warm one, getting close to 90, but overall those days have been outnumbered.

The rain situation or lack thereof is dire and with the exception of a few sprinkles in the forecast, we remain dry. At this point, a rainy day is only a distant memory.

I try not to think about the water bill. Michael spends about two hours every morning watering pots and the plants that look like they need it. Once a week sprinklers are turned on and the entire garden is watered. That takes all day. So we use a lot of water here.

We also spend a lot of money on birdseed. We have a ton of goldfinches and you can hear them in the following short video I made. This is looking off the back deck. The chickens you hear belong to the neighbor.

 



Osmanthus (False Holly) 'Goshiki', Fuchsia 'Cardinal' and
faded fronds of an astilbe in a shady bed under the dogwood tree only requires a weekly watering.

 

                      This bed gets by with only a weekly watering -
             Salvia 'Hot Lips', Heliotrope and Sedum 'Cherry Truffle'

 

Pomegranate 'Crimson Queen' in a pot


Roses are also quite drought tolerant although they perform
best with regular watering - 'Buff Beauty'

'Tranquility'


 

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'


Clerodendrum (Harlequin Glorybower)

Fuchsia 'Little Giant'
 

 

Ligularia 'Desdemona'

 

Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)

 

Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster')

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy


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  1. Kris PetersonSeptember 6, 2021 at 8:34 PM

    Your September garden is glorious, Phillip. Your plant combinations, like to one at the top of your post, never cease to impress me. It's horribly dry here and, as we've been asked to reduce our water consumption by 15%, I feel guilty every time I water anything. Only my cutting garden is well watered now and even then it's getting less water than I formerly provide it in mid-late summer.

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    1. Phillip OliverSeptember 6, 2021 at 9:36 PM

      I hear you! I feel guilty too. Although we are not rationed, it seems like we are using too much. I know that we overwater and some of our plants would probably be fine with less.

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  2. chavlinessSeptember 7, 2021 at 7:43 AM

    Pomegranate! And in a pot no less! Perfectly timed (for the Jewish new year...), a symbol of abundance among other things.
    I must get Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'. It looks so good late in the season.

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  3. Hoover BooSeptember 12, 2021 at 10:19 AM

    Your garden looks fabulous, just as good as in Springtime. Sort of good it's too hot to go outside here today--that way I don't have to look at the summer-weary plants.

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