Dirt Therapy

Aster 'Purple Dome' It feels more like September here and tonight the weatherman gave a startling statistic for this area. So far, during the month of October (and we are only halfway through it), we've had 10 days over 80 degrees. In the past decade, the most days with 80+ temps was 2 days.  Here what's blooming in the garden this month - Gaura 'Beeliza Dark Pink' - my favorite Gaura and so well behaved. Cuphea ' Starfire Pink' - Bought on a whim from Annie's Annuals, this is a really nice one. Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) 'Charles Grimaldi' - I thought it would never bloom this year but it is finally showing off. Aralia 'Sun King' Western Ironweed ( Vernonia baldwinii ) Anenome Goldenrod ( Solidago 'Fireworks') Clematis 'Josephine' Pennisetum '24 Karat' Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' Mahonia 'Soft Caress' Fuchsia 'Cardinal' Fuchsia 'Voodoo' Hardy Begonia  Dahlia Another Dah...

The Pin Oak at my childhood home - I would say it is the most successful tree I've ever planted. I've been in Alabama for ten days where the weather was uncharacteristically fantastic. Temperatures pretty much stayed in the 70s and there was no humidity to speak of. Unheard of! Here in Washington state, we are still flirting with the 80s and still no rain. Fall refuses to arrive. Actually, the absence of rain is evident in Alabama as well, a more common occurrence. The little creek back in the woods behind the house was patchy and not running.  Over the years, I've growth various plants here and most have succumbed or still languish. My parents are both gone now and my sister lives here and takes care of my brother who is mentally challenged. She is not a gardener (I knew this when I saw that she once planted a row of iris 3 inches from the foundation of the house) but that is okay. She is adept at many things I am not (particularly caregiving which requires a special abi...

Our forlorn apple tree still stands despite my constant plans for removing it. Since the trunk of it is the size of a small house, taking it out is something to think about. And heaven forbid hiring someone to trample over my plants. So it remains. Every year, in the dead of winter, I cut it back although several of the limbs are difficult to reach and some always remain. This year, I cut more than I usually do and only two or three large branches still stood, reaching straight up into the sky.  Judging from the apples this year, maybe I'm doing something right - However, it is hard to find a good apple unless it is picked from the tree (hard to reach). The ones on the ground always have bad spots on them. We've never treated the tree for disease or insects and the thought of doing that doesn't appeal to me.  I usually make at least one pie or cake every year from the unblemished apples I am able to retrieve.  My go-to apple recipe is the French Apple Tart f rom Ina Garte...

Dahlia  Dahlia  Caryopteris 'Gold Crest' Caryopteris 'Gold Crest' Abelia 'Frances Mason' Coleus and Hydrangea 'Little Quickfire' Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' Feather Reed Grass ( Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') and  Crape Myrtle 'Dynamite' ( Lagerstoemia ) Crape Myrtle 'Lunar Magic' Peacock Orchid ( Gladilous acidanthera ) Turtlehead ( Chelone obliqua) Turtlehead ( Chelone obliqua) Silene uniflora 'Druett's Variegated' (Sea Campion) Lily 'Casablanca' Check out more gardens and blooms at May Dreams Gardens ! Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy