Carol Mumford saw the post in which I shared some of my favorite plants from the previous year (check it out here), and she decided to share some of her own. (I hope you will too!)
Hi Joseph,
I enjoyed seeing some of your favorite garden plants today. I’ll have to grow the moon flower once again. It certainly beats the heavenly blue morning glory that takes forever to bloom here in Connecticut.
We had our killer frost last weekend, so there is much to do for cleanup. I’m sending you photos of plants that bloom late in the growing season and were quite impressive this year, probably due to the rains we had all season.
Pollinators just love hardy mums (Chrysanthemum), and they bloom for a very long time.
Monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii, Zones 3–7) is such a late bloomer that it sometimes doesn’t make it before frost.
Angel trumpet (Brugmansia, Zones 8–11) displays its last hurrah. I have several, both in pots and in the ground. The pots get stored in the basement for the winter. I take cuttings from those in the ground and keep them in water in the basement. I like this plant as a tree rather than a shrub, so I prune and select cuttings accordingly.
Another view of angel trumpet
No matter how hard I prune these two Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’ (Zones 3–8) back, they reach 6 to 7 feet every year.
My Fothergilla (Zones 4–8) put on a spectacular display this year.
This Plecthrantus ‘Mona Lavender’ (Zones 9–10 or as annual) is an annual in a pot among my hostas. I brought it into the house, and although the color has faded, the plant is still impressive.
Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans, Zones 8–10 or as annual) is another annual that sometimes does not make its bloom time before frost. It surely was different this year!
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Comments
Wow, Carol, you have some awesome favorite plants and I'm especially inspired by your inclusion of some late season annuals that can be showstoppers if seasonal temps give them time to bloom. The plecthrantus in full and glorious bloom is spectacular. I didn't know it was such a shade lover but since it thrived potted up among your hostas, I guess so. Do you bring it in every winter or will this be the first time?
Hi Michael,
The photo shown was a plant I purchased this year. I did winter over last year’s on my porch at 50 degrees and it did bloom for me but was not as spectacular as the new one.
I winter over others on my porch as well, lantana, hibiscus, rosemary, mandevilla, and cordyline.
Nice content
Great idea to reflect on the season’s fav plants and include some of our “golden” citizens like The Fothergilla -beautiful
Thank You.
Nice to see all the flower photos. I've heard of Monkshood, and seen photos but none as spectacular and clear as yours! The Angle Trumpets have my attention too. Thanks for posting, I enjoyed this.
Thank you for sharing, I am definitely curious about the Angel Trumpet. I always try to have something of interest in every season, thank you for sharing yours.
Wow - the color of the monkshood is gorgeous! What a wonderful selection of plants you have and the photos are terrific.
Thant photo of the Brugmansia, looking up with it's flowers backlit is truly stunning!. Not sure if you accomplished it with any photo manipulation to make the background a clean white - indistinguishable from the page that surrounds it - but it is mesmerizing to see the translucency of the exquisite shaped flowers. I could see that image co-opted for lots of uses, like calendars or even a postage stamp design. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I took the picture of the Brugmansia (looking up) at the sky with my iPad, just holding it under the flowers. I’m glad you liked it.
Thanks for this post! Really informative!
I really appreciated the work!
I really want to plant a fothergilla but I cannot make up my mind which one. What kind is yours?
The Fothergilla species is gardenii. I prune it back every year just after it blooms to keep it below the window.
Thank you!
Love the fothergilla! wish everyone would plant it instead of burning bush and barberry!
brilliant contribution! and love your color and design sense.
now where will i ever find that plectranthus...
fwiw, blue shadow is the fothergilla to get, but it is wicked slow..
My fothergilla is a gardenii.
Thanks for sharing this information!
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