Tag: Pentas
My Summer Containers for Sun: Meh.
The good news is that I continue to gain useful experience on how to put together summer containers for sun. The not-so -good news is that this year’s containers are pretty unsatisfying. One lesson from last year that I tried to remember in 2015 is that when you have a whole bunch of containers, not …
A Couple of Lessons That Took a Long Time to Learn But Now Seem Kind of Obvious
Beth over at Plant Postings hosts a meme called Lessons Learned, which is about pretty much what it sounds like. This is a good thing, as it’s extremely useful to compare notes with fellow gardeners. So I’m taking this opportunity to write about a couple of lessons I learned over the summer. Lesson Number …
Hummingbirds!
There is only one species of Hummingbird in the Chicago aea, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. They spend their winters in Central America and arrive here in May. Throughout the summer, though, there was almost no sign of them in our garden this year. That changed about 10 days ago. Since then, we see hummingbirds almost …
Containing My Enthusiasm
I’m not real thrilled with my containers in sun this year. Each of the individual plants is nice, but they don’t collectively have the impact you would wish for. Back in the spring my containers were filled with tulips or pansies with a bit of stock (Mattheola incana). They had real visual punch. Now my …
My Favorite Plants for Attracting Hummingbirds
I’ve been thinking about Hummingbirds a lot lately. This may seem odd in that the snow along my curb is piled about 4′ high and the temperatures lately have varied between really cold and brutally cold – not exactly Hummingbird weather. But perhaps that is why thoughts of Hummingbirds are such a pleasant diversion. Plus, …
A Quiet Autumn: GBBD, October 2013
Autumn seems to be pretty subdued in these parts. Very little foliage color, and fewer flowers than normal. My theory is that many of the flowers threw in the towel early because it has been pretty dry since the beginning of August. And the warm fall has kept the leaves green late into the season. …
What The Heck Is This?
I noticed several of these enormous caterpillars on my Starflowers (Pentas lanceolata) this morning. Enormous and, I might add, really ugly. Note that the head and the butt (do caterpillars have a butt?) are kind of brown and slimy looking, as if it were pooping at both ends. Apparently Pentas are a host plant for …
Containers for Sun – August Update
It’s August, a good time to evaluate my plant choices for containers in sun, particularly those I am trying for the first time. There are some definite stars, and one surprising disappointment. Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea). This guy is also known as Cigar Plant, but Firecracker Plant is both more descriptive and lacks the negative …
Summer Annuals For Containers In Sun
So the first weekend home after a long series of business trips came to an end was cold and intensely wet. I pretty much guaranteed this when I invested in a new set of soaker hoses, just as you increase the likelihood of rain when you remember to bring your umbrella. I am looking forward …
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