September in the Northern Hemisphere

[Gabriela]

They are fun to watch humming around Maggi. They love all species with nectar spurs. In spring and summer Aquilegia spp. are favourites (among others of course).
Very frustrating to photograph, it was just pure luck I got this one.

[ruweiss]

You can be lucky to have such wonderful and fascinating creatures in your country and garden, but I must
say, that almost all kind of birds are interesting and beautiful.

[Gabriela]

You can be lucky to have such wonderful and fascinating creatures in your country and garden, but I must
say, that almost all kind of birds are interesting and beautiful.

You are certainly right Rudi, all birds have their particular charm, colours, song....the hummingbirds here are not too colourful, comparing with the ones in South America, but the tiny size makes them very attractive to me

[Robert]

Some cheery plants from the Placerville farm. Nothing rare or exciting, however very pleasing for me. 



Origanum vulgare 'Betty Rollins'. An outstanding dwarf cultivar from an outstanding plantswoman Betty Rollins. She is long gone, however many of her wonderful plants remain. This form is also excellent for culinary purposes.



Most of the garden is overrun with weeds. This Rudbeckia nitida seedling looks great with Epilobium canum ssp. latifolia - at least after I pulled all the weeds out and away.



This is one of my best selections of Epilobium canum ssp. latifolia from wild seed. Very floriferous! They do not all turn out this way.



Another great surprise from under the weeds. Seedling pansies from F1 hybrid plants. Aaahhh, once again a "hybrid" that appears to come true from seed. Back at home I have started my heirloom pansy strains. If all goes well I will share photographs when they start blooming this autumn, winter, or most likely next spring.



A species Thymus creeping down one of the rock walls. I wish that I remembered its name!     

I will see what else I find from under the weeds. 

[François Lambert]

It's September, but the weather makes me more think of a normal month of July right now.  Subtropical temps here, bright sun from dawn till sunset, and what better than an exotic strongly scented ginger lily to enjoy this.  Hedychium Gardnerianum flowering almost a month earlier than last year and a real delight for the senses.

First pic is the opening of the flowers last week, next 2 pics were taken this morning.

[Yann]

Pulsatilla grandis ssp grandis, spring is now in september 

[Gabriela]

  Here as well Yann - took this yesterday

[Yann]

Oh yes anyway...

[Roma]

Some seedlings of Sedum telephium atropurpureum
Does anyone grow Nicotiana sylvestris as a perennial?  I was given some seedlings two years ago.  They were too small to do much but did produce a few flowers on rather short plants.  One did reappear last year but too slow to get to flowering size.  Here it is again this year.  Too slow again to do anything.  The season is too short here and the spot it is in gets very dry at times. 

[Robert]

Some seedlings of Sedum telephium atropurpureum
Does anyone grow Nicotiana sylvestris as a perennial?  I was given some seedlings two years ago.  They were too small to do much but did produce a few flowers on rather short plants.  One did reappear last year but too slow to get to flowering size.  Here it is again this year.  Too slow again to do anything.  The season is too short here and the spot it is in gets very dry at times. 

Hi Roma,

Here in our part of California Nicotiana sylvestris is more or less a short lived perennial. Up at the farm where it frequently gets below -7 C they can die-out during the wintertime (dry cold, not damp cold). Down in the Sacramento Valley where winter low temperatures are warmer they are perennial however they do better if they are renewed from seed every year. They enjoy well composted soil and tend to "run out of steam" after a few years. Virus infection will bring them down in a short time too. I have seen them thrive in the maritime Pacific Northwest (more like your climate), but always as first year plants in well composted soil. It is very difficult to ascertain from the photograph, but a 2 to 3 year old plant may be virus infected. That could explain the stunted growth. I am sure you were waiting for the 2 meter plus growth and huge leaves. Seed is easy to come by and just as easy to save. I know that it is unlikely that you have any virus susceptible tomato plants around.    They get many of the same viruses as tomatoes and it is very easy to virus index them, but not worth the effort unless one likes experiments like that. If infected, a susceptible tomato variety will show symptoms very quickly!

Anyway...., more of an answer than you likely were requesting, however good luck with them. I love their fragrance in the garden and usually take the time to grow a few. In good ground they will reseed themselves easily and they can be dug and move where they are wanted, I guess like Meconopsis in your climate. 

[Matt T]

Hi Roma, we had a plant of a N. alata cultivar that persisted in our greenhouse from a number of years and would put up new shoots from runners. Because it was under cover it did manage to flower each year, but eventually gave up the ghost.

[ashley]

N. sylvestris is perennial here under cold glass but has never survive the winter outdoors (wet rather than cold?). 
It 'volunteered' in the floor of my greenhouse a few years ago, but unfortunately the place it chose wasn't very convenient because of the size and large sticky leaves so I pulled it out.  However, new shoots appeared from the broken roots and now reappear every year.  I must try to dig it out properly and transplant to a better place because the flowers and scent are wonderful. 

[Tristan_He]

I have two difficulties with growing Nicotianas. The first is snails, and the second is slugs. 

Wind doesn't help either. Ah well, if I could grow Nicotianas I probably would not be able to grow Mecs.

[Tristan_He]

It's the daisy season here:



Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'. Don't be fooled by the picture - I did not pay attention to the plants properly this year and so there isn't much of a display. Unfortunately most of the later flowering plants need full sun and to be kept clear of competing plants earlier in the year. I neglected this this year, and the Rudbeckias have been nowhere near as good as a result. I need to move some blue Corydalis which is competing with it.



Helenium 'Moth' . I do not find Heleniums easy to grow well here. The oceanic climate probably doesn't suit them well, and the large populations of snails and slugs certainly don't. I've also had serious problems with a nematode which has killed most of the varieties in one bed. But they are beautiful plants and brilliant for insects. I tend to grow them with other slug-prone plants such as New York asters, and try to be disciplined enough not to crowd them.



Helenium 'Eldorado'. This is an earlier variety that is going over now. I really rate it as a garden plant.



Another option is to grow them in large pots, like this H. 'Salsa'. I am starting to do this these days as a way of bulking them up before planting out the next spring. It also acts as a quarantine against nematodes.

[Tristan_He]

Some other daisies:



S. x herveyi 'Twilight'



A. x frikartii 'Moench'. This is a mess this year as it was overgrown by a (now removed) Geranium palmatum. But the flowers are pretty.



Anthemis 'Sauce Hollandaise'. This was in a pot for several years but I've planted it out in the garden recently, which it seems to appreciate.