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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Plant Evaluations In a Vase on Monday September 26, 2015

Today I am linking with-

Skywatch Friday hosted by Yogi, Sandy, and Sylvia

Orange You Glad It's Friday hosted by Maria

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

In A Vase On Monday hosted by Cathy


Now that it is fall, it is time to evaluate how various plants I grew this year have done and also make decisions about what I want to grow next year.

A small plant I'm really impressed with is Dianthus Barbarini red Sweet Williams.  Usually Sweet Williams I have grown have been around 18" / .5m or more tall, but the Barbarini variety is a very low growing plant, and what is amazing to me is that it sends out a runner or side branch that makes another  nice little clump of a plant to the side.  It also is day length neutral unlike most Sweet Williams so has been blooming pretty much continuously since June 20.  This is actually just 3 plants, the original plant with a cluster of flowers on top of the former clusters-

The camera can't seem to capture the darker tones in the flowers, but pretty anyway-


I would like to start more of them this winter and have them cover a bigger area.

The Ageratums I started bloom continually, but don't make the big heads that I've seen in the nursery-

Ursinia has been long-blooming but is a tiny wispy plant with tiny flowers so doesn't really make enough impact, I want to try direct-sowing to see if it will do better, shown with Browallia, under deer fence-



Salvia 'Lady in Red' took a very long time to bloom but is pretty, I think I would like it better in a pot so I could bring it indoors in winter and keep it for another year-

Tropical milkweed, which is called an annual here, did not bloom the first year but I did have it in pots so could bring it indoors for the winter, and it has bloomed nearly continuously this spring and summer-

I haven't grown sunflowers before, and 'Red Velvet' was not red or velvety, but did get 4-5' / 1.5m tall and blooms a lot.  I read that sunflowers can make hedges at heights of 2' / 600cm  all the way to 12' / 4m so I'm interested in using several next year to try to fill up some areas that tend to get weedy.



Gaillardia 'Tokajer' has been a good bloomer this year, but is rather tall and I was hoping for a low mound of flowers, but Goblin that I also started either didn't bloom or disappeared.  I will try other low varieties for next year.


I took in a couple more chickens from my daughter-in-law who lives in the city, a surprise rooster from her spring chickens, an enormous Dark Brahma with feathered legs and feet, and companion little Red Yokohama joining Cocoa the Blue Maran hen.
Who's the boss?

This is my entry for In a Vase on Monday this week, take hostess Cathy's challenge to find materials in your garden to plonk in a vase, and decorate your house.

This is the last of the pinched vases I made, it is only 4"/ 10cm tall, the flowers are some aged Endless Summer Hydrangea blooms, Japanese Anemones, the wonderful old garden rose Clotilde Soupert yet again, and a Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, which is one of the flowers I remember from my South Carolina grandma's garden.  I grew it from a cutting and it is a 10'+ / 3m+  tree now.


I decorated the vase with another of the pendants I made with a broken piece of a Mt. St. Helens ash ball and copper foiling,



With the pendant and moved to a different setting to try different lighting, the Rose of Sharon looks wildly lopsided here-

And with my birthstone, Turquoise-

And for latest garden delicacy, a Delicata squash, delightful to eat and even the skin is edible-

I'm still getting lots of beans, tomatoes, here with a pumpkin and Delicata squash-


In the right back is my 8' tall deer fence enclosing the garden, I had to put plastic sheeting on the outside to keep the deer from eating the bean vines I'm growing on the fence-

 my eggplants are doing the best ever probably thanks to the hot weather, long Japanese eggplant Ping Tung-

Short Japanese eggplant Dewako, both from the Kitazawa Seed Co.-


and the fall greens are growing and great eating.   I'm looking forward to perhaps being able to photograph the next lunar eclipse coming up Sunday evening for the feast of Sukkot.   Hannah



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I had a comment about problems with leaving a comment here.  If you are having trouble commenting on my blog, you can send me an email at  z8hannah8z@gmail.com to comment and let me know of your difficulties.  Thanks!  I looked up solutions on Blogger and apparently Wordpress has not updated their Open ID servers, so to comment on Blogspot blogs, you must select OpenID then enter your address, changing it to plain http://address  instead of https://address.

50 comments:

  1. Oooh! I do love it when you feature your chicken pictures! The plants that you tried this year seem to have turned out well for the most part. I especially like the sunflowers and the 'Lady in Red' salvia, and your vase arrangements are lovely.

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    1. Thanks, Dorothy, I was thinking I should take out my good camera and tripod and try to get a better photo of his beautiful feathers. I'm sad the Salvia started blooming so late, I'm considering trying to dig it up and put it in a pot so I can try to save it for next year. The vase was fun.

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  2. Hello Hannah, I love your pretty flowers and lovely skywatch shot. I have some of the salvia and the hummers love it. Your pendants are so pretty, I love both of them. And cute captures of the chickens. Great post and photos.Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, I haven't seen clouds like that, with a ripple, before. The chickens are highly amusing, I wasn't sure they would get along and it's fun to see them snuggled up on their perch together at night.

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  3. Beautiful flowers and veggies!
    I like the chickens, too!

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    1. Thanks, Lea, it's been a happy vegetable growing season.

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  4. pretty blooms in a variety of colors! i like that aqua stone pendent!

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    1. Thanks, Theresa, I never really warmed up to turquoise as a birthstone until I found that pendant. I'm hoping to find better flowers next year, even.

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  5. Beautiful blooms! Thanks for the info on that squash. I will try to eat it the next time I bake it in the oven. It is my favorite squash next to the Butternut. Love that pendant and the vase.

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    1. Stephanie, I had never eaten Delicata squash until a couple of years ago, and I liked them so much I stocked up on them for several months, and also grew them the last 2 years. I hadn't really used many of my vases until I got involved with the In a Vase on Monday meme.

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  6. I can't believe that Fall is here already..love th colorful pics you have and the pendant as well! Cheers from NYC :)

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    1. Thanks, Indah, summer went by quickly, though we are having some warm days for a while, though the cold nights are enough to make our heat come on. Hopefully we will have a nice long fall before frosts hit.

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  7. How is our world if without flowers?

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    1. Yes, flowers lift our spirits with their beauty, even if only for a while, I hope we get enough rain to see a lot of mushrooms here this fall, last year seemed lacking in mushrooms, especially a black one I found one year.

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  8. I love your pinched vases, they are very special and make any arrangement a success. Do you find the Hibiscus lasts well in a vase, I rather thought the flowers were very short lived.

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    1. Thanks, Christina, they were fun to make. I don't remember how long they last, I think they do pretty well, but I will have to try to notice.

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  10. I love the Hibiscus and what a propagation success! Your vase is truly unique and beautiful too. (I removed my first comment due to a spelling error!)

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    1. Thanks, Ann, I was surprised that they were so easy to root in a trade, and that one got so big and has lasted so long too. Another cutting did not get big like that one.

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  11. We are at the other end of the plant story - spent some time this weekend working put what types of tomatoes to plant, and what other herbs to grow with them. Same planet - different season.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. I will be doing that too in a few months, now I'm working on what perennials to start for next year. I try to get them started early in hopes I will get blooms next year. It's fun to see your spring flowers now.

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  12. The vase is really beautiful...almost does not need any flowers...but the flowers need a vase. Lovely pictures.

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  13. The vase is really beautiful...almost does not need any flowers...but the flowers need a vase. Lovely pictures.

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    1. Thanks Noelle, looking at it makes me almost want to make some pots again.

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  14. Lovely flowers and beautiful vase, thanks for sharing, Hannah!

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    1. Thanks Anca, I enjoy seeing everyone's vases on IaVoM.

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  15. Beautiful selection of pictures !

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    1. Thanks, Gattina, the close of summer is bittersweet, still lots of lovely flowers.

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  16. My red sunflowers did not turn very red either this year....and your veggies look very similar to mine at the moment although mine are just about to peter out...Delicata is a favorite of mine!

    The vase is lovely and in another homemade vase that I love....

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    1. I'm on a quest for a true red sunflower, Donna, there are good candidates on IaVoM. I'm amazed how the beans just keep on going. I have the most beans ever since I took a leap of faith and planted them on my deer fence. Delicata went crazy for me this year. My vases were not being used much until I started posting with In a Vase on Monday. It's fun to get them out and find flowers to put in them.

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  17. Good to see your chucks - if you look back on my blog I showed our new ones a few weeks ago. That rose of yours is particularly beautiful and the vase and jewellery set the contents off most attractively. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks, Cathy, I'll have to look for your chucks. I've been enjoying Clotilde Soupert so much this year. So many years it is raining and the blooms all ball. Drought has its perks. I've been enjoying dusting off my vases to use for IaVoM. Thanks for hosting.

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  18. It looks like you were quite successful. We had lots of lovely flowers, and that is the end of that! I'm happy season is over, I'm just tired. We still have leaves falling, too.

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    1. Thanks, Jennifer, my flower season won't be over until frost. I finally got my first Dahlia bloom today, and many buds to follow. I can't rest yet, I have a lot of weeds to get rid of and beds to clean up, and seeds to order for next year.

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  19. I think all vases should wear necklaces, Hannah! I love that Hibiscus and think I should try growing it here again - there's something about our soil here that it doesn't like but perhaps I can grow it in a pot.

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    1. The other Rose of Sharons I have are in drier gardens, and are still small and struggling, Kris. Perhaps that one got its roots down into some water or something to get so big. I'm going to try growing some other hardy Hibiscuses next year, like Kopper King, Heartthrob, Patio Party Crasher, or from seed the Luna mix.

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  20. I love your pinched pots and to put jewelry on them is brilliant - your talent is admirable!

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    1. Thanks, Eliza, I am resting on the laurels of my past accomplishments. Perhaps I can get inspired this winter to do some crafts. It occurred to me that the pinching created a "neck".

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  21. Hi! It's nice for your harvest season. Many vegetables look very delicious. I like your Gaillardia photos very much. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, Minoru, I'm enjoying the harvest time of the year, I hope the weather stays nice for a long fall.

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  22. Yep, this is the time for assessing the successes and failures of the season. Looks like you had mostly the former. We are such optimists: always looking forward to the coming year.

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    1. I do tend to be an optomist when ordering seeds, Ricki. I'm researching plants and nursery offerings now, I may get carried away like last year but hope I don't plant too many, I may try some winter sowing, or look for more seeds I can direct-sow so I don't have so many under lights to plant out.

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  23. Yummy eggplants! I grow them in the greenhouse.
    Love the color of the vase!

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    1. Thanks, Villrose, I wish I had a green house to grow them, I had better eggplants this year because of all the hot weather.

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  24. Looks to me like you had a lovely garden this year.

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    1. Thanks, Tina, the flowers were lovely but not as many as I would like, they don't fill in well, like the weeds can.

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  25. Dearest Hannah; OMG, what colorful post this is♡♡♡ Beautiful flowers and Harvest and cute critter (haven't seen one with these colors). You know what I LOVE the beautifully arranged flowers and the vase with pendants♬♬♬

    Thank you SO much for your thoughtful comment, getting better except the little distorted vision p:-) Hope your are doing fine under the change of season, Dear friend.
    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako

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  26. Thanks, dearest Miyako, I'm glad your eye is doing well, I hope your vision continues to improve. I'm glad vases with necklaces appeals to you. Hugs from the PNW, I liked your framing of your moon shots.

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  27. How creative. I love your photos. Your necklaces are wonderful, too.
    I'd love to have chickens, but hubby cannot eat eggs!
    I simply have given up on veggies, too. I enjoyed seeing yours!

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  28. I love your vase, such a pretty shape and colour and a beautiful arrangement . Nice chooks too.

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