My Gardens Continue--
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(12)'SOLOMON'S PLUME OR 'FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL' (Liliaceae,Lily family)
Solomon's plume is a pretty woodland wildflower. It has deep-green, shinny, pointed oval leaves. It blooms in plumes of small fuzzy white flowers in late spring. Little red-and-white speckled fruit, follow close behind the flowers. It likes to grow in moist, humus-rich, neutral or acidic soil in light to full shade. But I have found that it will bloom more freely with some sun. The clumps should be divided in early spring or fall to control their spread.
Solomon's plume looks really good when planted with hostas, ferns, and lungworts. I've enjoyed this one for many years and can't remember where I got it.
The true Solomon's Seal blooms is small single flowers that appear up the stem where the leaf joins. I have a new one, but its junst beginning to grow. Maybe I can get a photo of it in the spring. I think the false solomon's seal is prettier than the true thing.

(13)'TOAD LILY' (Tricyrtis-Lily family)
Toad Lily is a unique plant. It's not very showy at all. It should be planted close to a walk or at the edge of a border so it can be seen and the small bloom appreciated. The blooms are clustered in the leaf axils along the upper part of the stem. They are light-purple spotted tiny lily shaped blooms that face upward. It blooms so late in the fall that it is often killed by frost before fully blooming. I've been lucky for the last few seasons, because our first frosts were later than usual.
Toad lilys like evenly moist, humus-rich soil in light to partial shade. They are really easy to grow. I've read that they self-seed in climates where the season is long enough for their seeds to ripen, but in this part of the country thats never happened. I have it in my shade garden near my bleeding heart. When the bleeding heart goes dormant, this comes up and fills the gap. Works real well.

(14)'CELOSIA' (Amaranthaceae or Cock's Comb family)
I love this fall blooming flower. These, as many of you probably know, self seed. They don't come up until mid-summer. When you have forgotten about them, here they are. Sometimes they turn up in places you don't expect, but they are so pretty in fall when so many plants have stopped blooming, that I just have to save a few. They bloom in red, pink and yellow plumes. There might be more colors, but that just happens to be the ones that I have. I like their cousins the cock's comb, but don't have any that came back this year. Could be I pulled them up thinking they were more of the colosia. :) The next photo coming up is in this same family----



(15)'ROPE PLANT' (Amaranthaceae family)
These are the oddest plants I think I have ever seen. I've had these for years and here again, I can't remember where I got my first plant. I'm sure it was given to me by some of my gardening friends. I just keep one or two each year. They can grow so tall and big that they can be as unsightly as pretty. One or two is an eyecatcher, but more than that is just plain ugly. The rope-like flowers can get as long as 24in. and I've had some as much as 2in. in diameter. This one is not at its largest yet. Don't know how big it will get. I have it tied to a tall tree stump. The tree was old and died, so I had my husband leave the trunk tall when he cut it. I told him it would be a nice place to grow ivy or some other climbing plant. These self-seed and come up in early-summer, when the birds don't eat all the seed. There is so many seed in that rope that the birds really just shake them to the ground. They can just eat all they want. There will plenty for them and my garden next year too.
Notice my tall fall Asters in the background. They are as tall as my fence. There are two colors there, one light pink, the other dark pink. I love Asters as you will see a little later, on this page.

(16)'LUNGWORT' (Pulmonaria-Borage family)
This plant is one of my favorites for early-spring blooming. It comes up and blooms before any other perennials ever open their eyes for spring. As you can see in the photo, it blooms pink and blue. When the bloom first comes out its pink, then with age it turns blue. Its so attractive. The clumps, as you can see, get really big. I divided it after blooming this spring. I have it in 3 or 4 different places now. It has silvery spots on its leaves, which makes it pretty even when its not in bloom. The lungwort likes part to full shade. It is drought-tolerant when well established, but will wilt in hot, dry weather. I have some plants that get noon-day sun and they don't like it at all. I like them there just for their pretty folage, but for their sakes, I think I will move them in about a month. If you like a pretty plant that blooms when everything else, except tulips and daffodils, are still sleeping, try these. I don't think they will disappoint you.

(17)'AUTUMN JOY' (Sedum family)
Autumn Joy Sedum is one on the most favored gardening plants in my part of the county. I don't think I've been in anyones flower garden and not found Autumn Joy growing somewhere. They are liked for their attractive leaves from the time they pop through the ground in spring until they bloom in the fall. They have large, white to pink, flat headed, blooms and bloom in mid-summer. In fall the blooms turn to a bronzey brown making them pretty when planted near yellow garden mums. They have thick, rubber like leaves, grow in large clumps, and grow as tall as 30 in. This photo is not the best to show their height. We had some pretty strong wind, and this one got blown over. I didn't get out to this one to get it tied up, or at least straighted it back up and it grew on the ground. When I finally went to work with it, I thought it looked pretty just as it was. There isn't much to tell you about a sedum. Just get one and set it out, divide it every 2-3 years, and enjoy! It likes any kind of soil and will grow in sun or shade. This one gets about 3 hrs. sun each day. I have others in my garden that get full sun. They are more sturdy, and bloom earlier but I think this little guy is just as pretty. Everybody needs an Autumn Joy----Notice the pink asters in the background. They are tall, too. The wind got them and they too, got to lie around on the ground all summer. :)

(18)'ASTER' (Compositae-Daisy family)
Oh! My! Here were go with my absolutely favorite fall perennial. I've found after many, many tries at growing garden chrysanthemum, that these beauties do so much better. I've read that there are 2-3 types of Aster. Some are low growing and will not grow where the soil is too wet. They like sunny days and cool nights. They all like sun but there is a woodland variety that will grow and bloom in light shade. They will grow in any good, loose garden soil. All types grow from creeping rhizomes.(roots) They range from 8-l0 inch plants to 6 feet and range in a variety of colors from purple to lavender, rose, pink, red, and white. I don't have them all yet, but you can be assured that every time I see one that is different, I will get it, in a garden center or from somebodys garden, whichever comes first! :) This one in the photo grows to be about 30 inches tall, when the rabbits don't eat it up. Rabbits LOVE aster in the spring and summer when they have young,tender shoots. This one has always been in a large clump. As you can see those raskels only left me with 2 stems for fall flowering. I have the neatest blue aster that is the same size as this one. I didn't have any of it left for blooming this fall. I noticed that there are a few low-growing shoots still there that might make it for next year. I've GOT to do something about those rabbits. I can't figure out just where they are getting in through my fence.

The next photo is one of the taller varieties. My fence is 6ft. tall and my neighbors enjoy it every year. I experimented with this one this year. I cut it back when it got to be abour l8in. tall, much like I do a chrysanthemum. It didn't get quite as tall this year. It didn't stop it from blooming, did it?
This Aster self-seeds and next year I'll have some I won't want, but that is no problem for me. I've heard some of my gardening buddies complain about it, but I just pull them up as I weed. They're too pretty to let that little fault keep me from growing them.





This is one of the tall varieties. The photo turned out light at the top, but I hope you can see the light and dark pink contrast. As you can see by the fence (6ft.) that these get tall, making them a perfect backdrop for shorter plants in front during summer while they are growing for their fall display of bloom. I love these, don't you?

(right)This little white aster grows wild here, as I'm sure it does in lots of places. I just love their little white flowers. They are a good showy addition to fall gardens.

This is all of the perennials that I have photos of right now, but by all means is not all that I have in my garden. As they bloom next spring, I'll be adding more for you to see.

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Here I'm going to show you some of my annuals and little extras that I have scattered throughout my perennials.


(left)A mixture of Impatients, Begonia, fern and baby wondering Jew vine.

(right) A barrel of purple and pink vining Petunias. Last year I only had purple wave in this barrel. This year I mixed them with pink.





(left) I made this wheel- barrow from a picture I saw in a magazine. The wheel and legs are from an old one. The hen was given to me by my sister Reba. A couple of doves raised a family in the half pot planter on the fence this year.
(right)This is one purple wave petunia. Next year I will put three in and make it fuller.



(left) This garden plaque was a gift from my daughter, Dorenda. Isn't it nifty?



(right)My bird- bath was a gift from my kids a few years ago. Notice my cock-atel sitting on the little girls head. She loved it outside.






(left)This is a good place to rest,

(right)but here is where I sit each morning with my coffee, the swing faces the bench and garden.






(left)This basket of Impatients sets beside my front door on the porch. I love my basket, it came from an Amish store....

(right)This is my hen/chicks container with Begonias, which I like better in it. I'm not very good at growing hen and chickens. This is a good conversation piece.



(left) Dahlia, petunia and marygolds planted around my birdbath....

(right)Impatients in front of a painted fern. This spot gets no sun. Theres a moss cover rock under the impatients.


A close up of my wishing well is the last of my collection right now. This is an older picture as you can see from other glimpses that you have gotten of it. This was taken right after I made it. It has cedar shingles on the sides and roof and the rest is treated material. I made it to withstand the bad weather, because there is no way it can be moved inside. Its weathered well and now looks old like I wanted it to look. In this photo you can see the old oaken bucket!!
I truly hope you have enjoyed your tour. I tried to made it as interesting as I could. I don't want anybody to leave my gardens bored here, or visiting in person.

Tell your friends about my gardens and that I'm extending an open invitation to everyone interested in flower gardens, or anyone who just likes to look at pretty flowers. Thanks for visiting Come back soon!!!

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