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What grows well in your garden? Well, grow more of that.
There are hundreds of thousands of different plants available for the inspired gardener to seek out and grow. You can choose everything from lilies to Aloe, boxwood to basil, Magnolia to daffodils. There are uncounted genus and species and cultivars of every imaginable plant, in abundance. How to choose?
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Tri-color sage, a culinary herb, can take heat and dry soil.
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I enjoy experimenting with plants. I bring home many flats of this and that, some planned purchases and some adopted on a whim. And yet as I walk around, hose in hand, during this July heatwave in coastal Virginia; I’m brought up short by which plants in our garden struggle and which thrive.
Let it be said that my beloved roses struggle at the moment.
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Through the vagaries of climate change, they never had a good start this year; and I’ve been too busy with other matters to give them the attention they require.
In fact, my instinct this morning was to rip out of most of the pathetic little shrubs and be done with them. Perhaps heavy pruning and heavy rain could bring them back to beauty.
I might whistle a different tune by October. But in this moment, they aren’t earning their garden space.
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Trailing purple Lantana fills several of our hanging baskets this year. It can take heat and drought and still give consistent color.
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Even the geraniums look rather ratty this week. In fact, as I look around and survey recent purchases, it is clear that some have clearly not lived up to their potential here.
Most of our perennial geraniums were heavily grazed by our resident rabbits. They’re supposed to be fool-proof, aren’t they? The annual geraniums struggle in their pots against the unrelenting summer sun and oppressive heat.
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Last year’s potted Hydrangeas, nipped by late frosts, never took off in early summer. Add a few grazing deer and…. well, you can imagine the nubs without a photo, can’t you?
But on the other hand, the Caladiums, Cannas and Colocasias look great. The Basil is taking off, and our sage, Thyme, Santolina, Germander, mint and Rosemary still look fresh and strong. The Crepe Myrtle trees are beginning to bloom and our garden remains filled with bright Hibiscus blossoms.
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Echinacea can hold its own in July, attracts wildlife, and holds its color for several weeks. It grows easily from seed, and may self-sow.
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It came clear to me earlier today, as I was watering our new shade bed, that while the ferns looked fresh and healthy, most of our newest Rhododendrons, right beside them, look terrible.
I’ll be very surprised if any of them survive. I was calculating the dollars I spent on them and remembering my great confidence in their coming years of beauty….
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The first Rhododendron we planted this spring to stabilize a gorge caused by erosion over a vole tunnel. It doesn’t look this perky anymore….
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Let’s acknowledge, first of all, that we are in the midst of rapid climate change. What ‘always worked’ before has become irrelevant in this year’s garden. Every month is a record breaker as our climate warms. Neighboring communities flood while our garden bakes and the soil hardens.
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Mahonia is one tough shrub. It looks great year round, blooms in winter, produces berries for wildlife, and require very little from its gardener.
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Weather aside, we all still face our own particular challenges based on our soil and where our garden is situated. We deal with a virtual zoo of insects, rodents, and other creatures who dine in our garden. Like generations of gardeners before us, we can either adapt or stop trying to garden.
I vote, ‘adapt.’
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Ajuga and creeping Jenny make a dependable ground cover throughout the year.
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Adapting means adjusting to what is rather than working harder to create some fantasy of what used to be so. For us, that means finding better ways to care for our plants. And it also means growing more of the tough plants that thrive in the conditions we can provide.
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This native perennial ageratum spreads itself around the garden. I used to ‘weed it out’ in spring, but have grown to appreciate its tough beauty.
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Mid-July is a good time to take a hard, honest look at one’s own garden. What looks good? What has already died this season? Which plants are barely hanging on?
Whatever is doing well, then plant more of that!
We have a few self-seeding perennials we have learned to enjoy. Black eyed Susans, Rudbeckia hirta, is a beautiful native perennial that conquers more of our garden real estate each season. I allow them, while also digging up lots of spring seedlings to share with neighbors.
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This is our largest patch of black eyed Susans, bordered with a few Zantedeschia and other perennials..
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Another self-seeding native perennial, Conoclinium coelestinum, is a hardy Ageratum or mist flower. While I used to buy flats of annual Ageratum in years passed, now I just allow the native form to grow undisturbed. Echinacea and Monarda return and spread each summer.
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I also allow our hardy Colocasia, Hibiscus and Canna to spread a little more each year; and invest part of our spring gardening budget in hardy ferns instead of flats of tender annuals which won’t make it through the hottest part of summer.
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Begonias hold up well in heat and humidity, so long as they have shade from the mid-day sun and consistently moist soil.
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Gone are my hanging baskets once filled with Petunias and ivy geraniums. Instead, I planted some trailing Lantana, ivy and scented Pelargoniums that can take intense heat and dry soil. Because Begonias hold up to our heat and humidity, if sheltered in some shade, I keep rooting cuttings and planting more of those, too.
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This ‘volunteer’ Crepe Myrtle tree is taking its place in the border. After several years of TLC, it has grown to about 10′ tall and is covered in blooms this July.
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Planting more of what has proven successful, instead of planting once loved plants which no longer thrive, gives us a fuller and more vibrant garden. The butterflies and hummingbirds still visit. Goldfinches appear once the Basil begins to go to seed, and hang around for the autumn ripening Rudbeckia and Hibiscus seeds.
And, for the budget conscious, propagating more of those plants which grow well sure beats sowing or buying a lot of new plants each year, which might fail!
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Rose of Sharon, tree Hibiscus, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Dozens of seedlings pop up in unexpected spots in the garden each spring.
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Each passing season in this garden teaches me to ‘allow’ more and plant less. Native and naturalized plants are winning out over showy annuals or the latest new perennial.
I’ve come to see that the garden hones the gardener, just as much as the gardener shapes the garden. Struggle melts into harmony, and work becomes play.
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Phytolacca americana, common poke weed, fills a corner of our garden with spectacular berries during these ‘Dog Days’ of summer.
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Woodland Gnome 2017
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“Green Thumb” Tips:
Many visitors to Forest Garden are amazing gardeners with years of experience to share. Others are just getting started, and are looking for a few ‘tips and tricks’ to help grow the garden of their dreams.
I believe the only difference between a “Green Thumb” and a “Brown Thumb” is a little bit of know-how and a lot of passion for our plants.
If you feel inclined to share a little bit of what YOU KNOW from your years of gardening experience, please create a new post titled: “Green Thumb” Tip: (topic) and include a link back to this page. I will update this page with a clear link back to your post in a listing by topic, so others can find your post, and will include the link in all future “Green Thumb” Tip posts.
Let’s work together to build an online resource of helpful tips for all of those who are passionate about plants, and who would like to learn more about how to grow them well.
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #1: Pinch!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #2: Feed!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #3 Deadhead!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #4 Get the Light Right!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #5: Keep Planting!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #6: Size Matters!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip # 7: Experiment!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #8 Observe
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #9 Plan Ahead
Green Thumb Tip # 10 Understand the Rhythm
Green Thumb Tip # 11: The Perennial Philosophy
‘Green Thumb’ Tip: Release Those Pot-Bound Roots! from Peggy, of Oak Trees Studios
Forest Garden 
Another good one!