What worked?...What didn't?

[amid chaos]

As the growing season for most of us comes to an end....I am interested in finding out what worked for you this year and what didn't.

I'll start.

The morning glories definatly needed more support from the trellis up to the roof...i'll use the string again next year.

I liked the nastursiams in small individual clay pots.

Sunflowers do better in pots...or is that ON pot.

Don't buy white wave petunias...they don;t wave very well and look leggy early on.

I like the miniture annual dahlias in pots.

Don't buy from the big expensive nursery close by...cost alot and they have bugs.

Start stuff from seed earlier.

Late blooming poppies...what a special treat.

 

[Snowwark]

Wait a minute Vanessa! Your morning glories grew up to your roof? Are you feeding them the same stuff you gave to the sunflowers?

I'm going to get some poppies, one of these days!

Okay, first off, my bush beans. The pole beans I planted last year were far better!! The raised bed I have is so small, that I should of stuck with pole beans again, but thought I'd try the bush variety.

My cherry tomatoes look like they're on steroids. The nursery must of had the tags wrong! I'm going to take a pic of them and post it.

My 'David' phlox is putting on quite the show right now, but I made the mistake of putting a obelisk in front of it (with the Tye Dye morning glories), and it's really obscured the view. Dumb idea..lol.

My 'Pia' Pink Elf hydrangea did great, but the hydrangea I have in my garden has been lacklustre, at best.

My Columbine were beautiful in the early summer! I'm very pleased with their peformance. A 9.999!

The 'Pardon Me" daylilies have done well also. They're just finishing up now.

I'm waiting for my Windflower (Anemome - September Charm) to bloom. Last year it didn't do much, but has taken off this year. I think it might bloom a day or two before September...we'll have to see!

I know there's more to report.....but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Next???

 

[mommytotwo]

Since it doesn't snow here and we live in a tropical area, things are able to grow all year round. My morning glories didn't do good at all this year. My sunflowers were ok. The seeds are coming out and I will give them to our birds when it is ready to be harvested. The things that worked the best for me are my dahallias and my gladdiolas.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I didn't work hard enough this year to take credit for things that did work.

The geraniums in my planter look great this year, as do the petunias in my wishing well.

The cucumber plants are creeping over the asparagus plants, and they are very tasty.

My "not so successful" issues have to include the water lilies in my pond. I've had no pink or small yellow flowers this year, and just an OK number of large yellow ones. They need fertilizer but the water indicates that there's already enough nutrients. The fish are healthy and they are my main concern. I like to watch them, but the water has been greenish for much of the summer. DH and I will tackle that next spring. I did think we did enough preparation this spring, but I was wrong.

The weather was lovely this evening, and I went out and weeded, and that's an accomplishment!

Bobbi

 

[chessie]

I too think my grape tomatoes were mismarked. I think they are actually some type of Roma. Oh well. I have 5 quarts in the freezer so far, and there are still tons on the vine.

Even though I bought my wave petunias from the same nursery they performed differently then the ones I bought last year. I learned from my Buds here on the F&G board that all waves are not created equal.


One very important thing I learned this year is that I am allergic to poison ivy. I had to do the steroid routine and everything. Remember those peonies I was trying to move? Well, that is where the poison ivy was. I went to the local landscaping center to find out how to get rid of it. He told me not to pull it but to kill it. Round Up was the answer. I carefully held back the peonies with a piece of cardboard and sprayed the poison. It took some time to get it all but I think I have it conquered. Needless to say the peonies are still where they were. I built the butterfly garden around them.

 

[DebºoºS]

alert longwinded reply:

This season the pond, flowers and veggies had to survive on minimal attention from us. I promised them next season they'll get my undivided attention.

I will never plant Morning Glories again. Prob never have to they've reseeded themselves anyway. The flowers are pretty but scary how they spread and strangle.

This years wave petunias really spread but I didn't deadhead enough and they made a mess of the deck. Learned not to plant red geraniums in planters on the white deck.

Tomatoes reseeded themselves growing mega plants. I too had some mismarked plants. Some cherries have the plum shape and others have the grape shape. They all tasted great though. Beefsteak split as per.

Carrots would've been huge if Chucky had left them alone. Still waiting for them to really come in.

Cuke fence worked well when they climbed it. Even with traing they didn't learn to grow up pup.

Green beans are overshadowed by the corn. I'll have to move it next season.

Melons and pumpkins have gone wild. Next year I'll try and contain them, ha!

The freaky gourd plant went in too late. I hope I get something from it.

My roses suffered the most from my absence. Chucky the woodchuck, bunnies,blight, fungus,bugs and more almost wiped me out. I learned there is better living through chemistry. Spectricide (only on the roses) and fertilizer. Roses are now on the road to recovery.

Happiest pond day was in mid July when I discovered wee little black baby fish in the upper pond. DS counted 20 fishies intially. We're down to about 12 now. One of them is turning orange and black. I think they're goldfish. The goldfish in the lower pond must've had eggs that were carried through the filter up into the fountain and down the catch basins into the frog pond. The 3 tadpoles grew along with the fish. We now have 3 frogs and lots of fish.

 

[Margie J]

At the condo:

* The snapdragons and dianthus grew well and are still in bloom in the window boxes (with careful squirrel patrol).
* The new windowbox prep I used was great. First was a layer of styrofoam peanuts for drainage. Then a layer of garden fabric to hold the soil in. Followed by a soil mix of Bayer Advanced Garden potting mix and extra peat moss.
* The red salvia did great in the large pots I have. The Celosia and Royal Delft Ageratum mixed in didn't fare well.
* The Allyssum in a large pot is growing but not blooming.
* I lost about 1/3 of the petunia that are in the whiskey barrel. Those still there are blooming.

At the house:
* Mixed results with the purple and white wave petunias.
* Pink Celosia looks weak.
* The violets are coming back after being beaten down by the roofing guys in July.
* Purple salvia look good but sparce. I will have to plant extra next year.
* The Scotts lawn treatments and seed are fantastic. I managed to fill in a major patch of torn up lawn this spring using Scotts seed, starter fertilizer and a loose cover of dried grass clippings. The seed I put down elsewhere popped up too. The Scotts weed and feed fertilizer has kept the lawn green and I have far less weeds than previous years.

At the cemetary:
* The red salvia have filled in and have been blooming since June.
* The allyssum grew like crazy from June to July with masses of white blooms. Sadly I found them dried out last week. I think the crew sprayed them with weed killer (telltale brown marks on the grass).
* The Ageratum that had been hidden by the allyssum are now popping out and in bloom.
* For soil prep I used extra potting soil, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite plus a granulated, slow release fertilizer.

 

[gina2000]

What worked?

The weeds. As I look around my garden....the weeds....the weeds....the weeds....it always happens to me once we start travelling and hanging out at the pool. My garden goes kaput.

The columbine and astilbe did great early in the season! The best I've ever had!

Black eyed susies were magnificent.

The cukes got weird. All round and fat. What's up with that?

I didn't cut the broccoli in time and harvested NONE. I thought they were going to get bigger and all they did was get flowers! Guess this is what happens when you try veggies you've never grown before!

Two new flower beds did great with transplanted divisions of old plants. I'm going tried and true from here on in. I just don't have time for exotic.

White phlox did terribly. Looks like something ate it. SOMETHING BIG!

The weeds....the weeds.....oh....the weeds!

 

[Mamu]

While I started out with a bang and for 3-months worked diligently creating new beds, redoing old beds, moving shade loving plants, adding sun loving plants, deadheading, weeding, watering and taking care of veggie garden.

August has shut me down completely. I do not function well in the heat of the summer.

Fall is almost here, maybe my energy level will rise.

What did well almost everything did well considering I divided and moved so much. There are a few things I'm not happy with where they are and will move them when the weather cools. Plants need a year in the ground after dividing, next year will be the determining year on whether the plant stays or goes.

Veggie garden producing more then I can handle. Spent the weekend cooking. Thank You AC.

Some new plants I loved.
Perennial Gerennium, "Sue Crug" Megenta flowers w/dark veins and center.
Japanese Iris "Dramatic Moment" Light violet w/dark violet veins and yellow center.
Hanging plants for pots Calibrachoa "Starlette" Loved these. Lots of colors that bloomed all summer and draped the pots beautifully.
Annuals The new Stain-Glass Coleus, for the sun. Loved these also.

A few problems, Rodents! Rodents! Rodents! Squirrels, Chipmunks and Moles. After spending tons of money on repellents that don't work, lost over half my hosta and bulbs. Tons of tomatoes, cukes and squash. Resorted to something very sad. A 6-letter word that starts with P.

 

[Crankyshank]

I have learned I will never again plant morning glories.
They are beautiful but they spread everywhere and choked my lavender!

I could not stay on top of my weeds this year. It was horrendous.

On the other hand, my dahlias were gorgeous. Definitely my most successful flower. The climbing hydrangea I had big hopes for, but didn't do anything. Next year, hopefully