The past few seasons, the Lot’s resident hibiscus has not done well. It gets out of bed late each Spring, and then doesn’t get too big before the neighboring Nicotiana, winter savory, and salvia rocket past it.  It grows fairly close to fence, not really receiving any sun until afternoon. But at that point the neighboring plants throw it into shade. Just this season I thought, “Hey, I wonder if the hibiscus needs more sun.” This is the point where all other experienced gardeners will face palm. Yeah, I know. “Duh.”

Here is the hibiscus when I dug it up in June.

And here is the hibiscus today, living in the newly created bed on the South side of the house.

It is so much happier now because it receives full sun all day except for a brief spell of dappled shade in late morning. When reading up on hardy hibiscus, there was a note mentioning the plant’s preference for damp soil around it’s roots. To achieve this in a sunny bed, it’s recommended to put a 3″ layer of mulch around the plant.

Bloom day is here already and the garden is bouncing back a bit from a brutal Summer season. We received 2.5″ of soaking rain! I swear I saw the plants visibly perk up as the rain fell. Here are a few shots from the Lot for the month of August:

The coral bell in Loki’s bed is beginning to do it’s thing. The plant in bloom in the foreground is one  that appeared last season. I did not place it there. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s the Love Child of the two other coral bells in the bed. Without the moderation of a gardener last Summer, it was freakin’ Woodstock on the Lot.

This past Spring, the sage was aggressively pruned back and thinned. It allowed for this little splash of plumbago to grow up a bit more than usual. I really like this little plant since it offers some blue during late summer and a beautiful Fall foliage later in the season.

Speaking of blue… SHAZAM! Check out this larkspur. It has an absolutely beautiful, almost iridescent coloring. Having moved here from Mom G’s garden in Zone 6a, this guy wasn’t doing well in the Spring. We had a huge Centaurea (perennial bachelor’s button / cornflower) in the same bed casting too much shade. Once the larger plant was moved to the back driveway bed, the larkspur sprouted up and into bloom.

This is along the fence bed next to an old rose Mrs. J donated to the Lot. The plant in the foreground is a winter savory in bloom. To the top left is a Nicotiana on it’s third year self-sowing. How that black-eyed susan (Rudbekia) got there, I haven’t the slightest. I suspect a feathered-friend may have planted it.

Here are some hardy mums. I read mums should be pinched back in the Spring so the plant is bushier in the Fall. I’d like to claim the fact I didn’t do so was in the name of SCIENCE, but it’s really because I never got around to it. So, I guess we’ll see what happens now.

Also blooming on the Lot is the jupiter’s beard, butterfly bush, lamium, phlox, coreopsis, hibiscus, dahlia, pepper, cucumber, and okra. Thank you to May Dreams Gardens for being the GBBD host. Be sure to stop over there to see what else is blooming around the world.

On-the-go Gardening