I am getting more and more fond of Common Garden Verbenas (Verbena hortensis). They have so many colors available in the stores nowadays.
The flower is extremely drought tolerant and therefore very suitable for the summer cottage since I am not always there to water.
I planted this individual to the driest and sunniest spot and it still made it blooming beautifully.
This year I am not able to spend much time in the summer cottage and therefore needed to select varieties that tolerate neglecting.
California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica ‘Aurantiaca Orange’) are easy to grow and do not need much watering. They are ideal flowers for those who cannot be in the garden all the time.
I planted the seeds by the lake to the full sun and the poppies are doing well. They just started to bloom and survived the two week long heatwave without a blink. Just love the vivid color they have.
Something new to the garden. Fell in love with the blooms Brachyscome (Brachyscome hybrida) has.
It is a small flower, only about 15 centimeters tall at this point. It should double its hight during the summer.
Placed it to full sun. The only problem is that it requires regular watering when placed like that and I will not be here to do it.
It is always a bit tricky to grow Dahlias (Dahlia) up here in the north. They would need a longer summer to bloom well.
This year I decided to buy ready grown plants instead of trying to grow them by myself. At least this way I am able to be sure that I can see the blooms.
Found two that I liked from the store and brought them to the summer cottage. They are very different from each other but were the ones that caught my eye.
Because of the rapidly cooling nights I was forced to collect the bean harvest a bit earlier than I wished. They could have used two more weeks to ripe.
Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco Nano (Phaseolus vulgar–is ‘Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco Nano’) is the other bean variety I tried this year for the first time. They grew well and going to continue to grow them next year as well. I like the way they look and the unique coloring they have.
This variety is also called with the name Tongue of fire. There seem to be several different recipes what to make out of the beans. Cannot wait to try some of them.
Just made it on time to the summer cottage to see the Sunny Boy (Dahlia ‘Sunny Boy’) to bloom before the frost got its hands on it.
Sometimes I wonder why do I bother to grow dahlias up here in the north. The summer is too short and they barely start to bloom and then they are gone. I guess the answer is simple. The blooms are just stunning.
I guess I need to start buying them cultivated in stead of trying to grow them from root balls. This way I could enjoy them all summer. The thing just is that growing plants is part of the fun and when buying them fully grown you loose that part of the enjoyment.
I have never tried to grow beans before. Out of curiosity planted two different varieties in the spring.
It is said that beans are sensitive to cold nights when sewn but despite being put into the ground a bit early they made it.
Prelude (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Prelude’) made a fair crop in the end and cannot wait to taste them. Though must save some seeds to next year.
Only one sunflower managed to bloom this year. I had several varieties growing but Autumn was simply too cool for them even though the summer itself was warm.
Luckily Sunspot (Helianthus annuus ‘Sunspot’) grew large and beautiful bloom to save the summer. I had it growing in a large pot with other flowers.
Sometimes this just happens up here in the north. For certain flowers our summer is simply too short sometimes. Better luck next year.
Love the light blue color the Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) have.
The summer has not been the best possible for them even though they are easy to grow. This plant grows best in loose, organically rich, well-drained acidic soil in full sun to part shade.
The garden pollinators also love this flower
I am usually quite self sufficient when it comes to the Sensation (Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sensation’) seeds but this spring bought some to ensure that all the color varieties are there.
Cosmos likes the warmth and this summer has been good to them.
Sensation grows and blooms quickly which is good for the short summers we have.
Gardening in the North 