Gardeners! Share your garden photos and garden chatter here.

[Ysarex112 106]

I will try that next year, because the ones I have seeded and are coming up in the lawn. Unfortunately, not the place where I want them growing... I try growing everything in containers, because we have very heavy clay soil, called black gumbo, that makes growing things difficult.

It'll take some time but consider conditioning the soil. There's a municipality near me to the south that has Fall curbside leaf pick-up. Folks just fill large paper bags with the tree leaves raked off their lawns and set them by the curb. I drive around before the town gets them and pick them up. I make multiple trips and have in some seasons collected as many as 90 bags, though around 50-60 is my average. That's enough to cover my entire vegetable garden under one to two feet of leaves. It's amazing how they disappear into the soil over the winter. Do that for five years and the soil will be able to grow anything -- it's free and you're doing the ecologically right thing.

I may try to build some more raised beds, but everything has gotten so expensive anymore, for what the weather resistant lumber costs I can about buy the metal above ground beds, but wood looks so much nicer. I'm going for the butterfly trifecta next year, zinnias, purple sage (salvia), and passionflower (a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary). I may look for a spiny ash to plant in the yard as well, because they are host to tiger swallowtail butterflies. I had one years ago that was a volunteer, and they grow quite well here.

 

[greybeard60 33]

mum buds

Hibiscus center DX

 

[SquarePeg]

Mid September morning in the garden. Mostly dahlias and zinnias but there are a few summer flowers hanging in there.

 

[greybeard60 33]

 

[terri60 1]

Mid September morning in the garden. Mostly dahlias and zinnias but there are a few summer flowers hanging in there.

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Don't think I didn't notice the Major Wheeler bloom you snuck in there. I have 3 plants now and they focused more on growing and spreading about the trellis this year than blooming. Maybe next year!

You still have a lot in bloom! We've had a beautiful long, warm dry spell here, but it still drops down every night to the upper 50sF or lower 60sF and, aside from the potted annuals on the deck, my garden is done for the season. I had great success with a single dahlia plant all summer and it’s really faded just over the last 48 hours.

Enjoy the beauty!

 

[SquarePeg]

Don't think I didn't notice the Major Wheeler bloom you snuck in there.

I knew you’d catch that!

 

[cgw143 169]

Mid September morning in the garden. Mostly dahlias and zinnias but there are a few summer flowers hanging in there.

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Always gets me how pre-fall temps/day length delivers this last flush of exuberance. Yours is truly pretty. We throttled back efforts at the family ruin this season due mostly to squabbles with the patriarch over strategies. Maintenance and caretaking took the place of past seasons' reclamation and renewal as a compromise. At our base camp, we did have success this year with annuals from seed which we'll use in future at the ruin.

 

[Jeff1574 74]

Lily

 

[SquarePeg]

Grow big or go home!

 

[nerwin]

Stopped at my sunflowers on the way by with the tractor, I don't think I'll plant sunflowers in this again haha. Maybe I'll find something else that might be cool. These sunflowers got big though. Probably my biggest ones yet!

 

[terri60 1]

Stopped at my sunflowers on the way by with the tractor, I don't think I'll plant sunflowers in this again haha. Maybe I'll find something else that might be cool. These sunflowers got big though. Probably my biggest ones yet!

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I'm sure the local birds love them! And other assorted critters. They look great!

 

[terri60 1]

Lo and behold, the Major Wheeler has some late blooms!

The 3 combined plants spent most of the summer just growing and trying to fill the trellis. Sparse blooming, but I'll take these late blooms as a potential good sign for next year.

Even better, earlier a hummingbird was spotted out there, so the blooms are doing their job.

 

[jeffashman35 8]

Nex year's garden is in the planning stage. Roselle (hat tip to @Ysarex ) in 15 gallon grow bags. The rest of the plants will be natives that should do well in North TX, including Turk's Cap, Lantana, Mealy Blue Sage, Gregg's Mistflower, Rock Rose, Mexican Mint, and Esperanza. Depending on space, I may have to pare that list down, but we'll see. I need to order some metal raised beds, and some 15 gallon grow bags for the effort. I'll be experimenting with ollas to keep the grow bags moist enough to keep the plants from drying out and dying in our Texas heat.

BTW, with the demise of shorthand in the office, Gregg went into gardening... you might be as old as me if you get the reference...

 

[SquarePeg]

Nex year's garden is in the planning stage. Roselle (hat tip to @Ysarex ) in 15 gallon grow bags. The rest of the plants will be natives that should do well in North TX, including Turk's Cap, Lantana, Mealy Blue Sage, Gregg's Mistflower, Rock Rose, Mexican Mint, and Esperanza. Depending on space, I may have to pare that list down, but we'll see. I need to order some metal raised beds, and some 15 gallon grow bags for the effort. I'll be experimenting with ollas to keep the grow bags moist enough to keep the plants from drying out and dying in our Texas heat.

BTW, with the demise of shorthand in the office, Gregg went into gardening... you might be as old as me if you get the reference...

Why grow bags instead of pots if you’re worried about them drying out? I use grow bags for some of my dahlias but mostly because it makes it easier to “dog” them up in the fall. In summer I need to water them every day. One of the growers in my dahlia club puts her grow bags in a kiddie pool to help keep them watered. Not an attractive look but effective.

 

[cgw143 169]

Why grow bags instead of pots if you’re worried about them drying out? I use grow bags for some of my dahlias but mostly because it makes it easier to “dog” them up in the fall. In summer I need to water them every day. One of the growers in my dahlia club puts her grow bags in a kiddie pool to help keep them watered. Not an attractive look but effective.

Those big bags we used for spuds are HEAVY! My "Game of Thrones/Vikings" cast-size kid moves 'em alone but not me! Gro-bags are thirsty but we cached enough from the rain barrels to keep 'em going. The town's limited water use rule got finally lowered this week=last shot of watering+clean and paint-sealed car! Going light on bulbs here and at the family ruin this fall.