Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up September 2019: The Garden Transitions

September Garden 

Welcome to my September Long Island garden and thanks for joining me! As the late summer garden slowly transitions into fall mode, temperatures that were in the 80's and 90's have now dropped into the 70's, with a feeling of autumn in the air. There are still plenty of blooms to be seen, along with some surprises, and even some unexpected visitors! Follow along with me to see what the September garden has to offer.

Dwarf Butterfly Bush 'Pugster Blue'

There's something special about the changing seasons in the garden. While some look at the end of summer as a time of decline in the landscape, I take it as a time of autumn blooms and late summer visitors. Since I became retired from teaching and immersed myself even more so into a love of landscape design, I have concentrated on extending the season through the addition of certain plantings.

Hummingbird Moth!

One plant in particular is this dwarf Buddleia 'Pugster Blue', which I keep in a planter on the patio and overwinter in the garage. It is a magnet for butterflies, including Monarchs, Swallowtails and Painted Ladies, but there was one more unexpected visitor...this Hummingbird Moth!

Hummingbird Moth Closer View

I had seen Hummingbird Moths from a distance in the past, but never had I experienced one up close, at least not until now! It's colors are stunning, as it hovers around the flowers of the Butterfly Bush in a dancing motion similar to that of a hummingbird; hence, the name. 

Backyard Island Bed

Other interest in the garden in September are these Sedum Brilliant' in full bloom. Come closer and you can also see the Burgundy Glow Ajuga groundcover in the foreground and Caramel Coral Bells in the backdrop. The three make for a wonderful combination of late summer color.

New Dwarf Solidago 'Little Lemon'

New to the garden is Solidago. I saw it at a nursery and couldn't resist its bright yellow blooms! Better yet...it is Solidago 'Little Lemon' which only grows to a height of 10-12 inches tall and stays compact.

Painted Lady Butterfly Enjoying Sedum

Here is a Painted Lady butterfly visitor on the Sedum...

Hemerocallis (Daylily) Stella D' Oro Still Blooming!

and look...Daylilly Stella D Oro is still blooming! How?...you may ask. I rejuvenate them. Get the scoop and other tips in my first book, A Guide to Northeastern Gardening! (Sorry...shameless plug.) Now, onto the rest of the tour!

Poolside Garden Late Summer

Let's visit the southwestern section of the poolside garden. Here is dwarf Maiden Grass 'Yaku Jima' in the background showing its feathery plumes, definitely a sign of autumn on the way!

Knock Out Roses Still Blooming!

Knock Out Rose Double Pink are still blooming in September. They will continue to do so until the first frost.

Kousa Dogwood Greensleeves and Rudbeckia 'Little Goldstar'

Other signs of autumn are the blooms of Rudbeckia and the sighting of red fruit on Dogwood trees. This Rudbeckia is a dwarf, compact form called 'Little Goldstar' and the Dogwood is 'Greensleeves'.

Kousa Dogwood Fruit

Here is the fruit of the Dogwood up close.

Last View of the Pool this Season

Here is a last glimpse of the pool while open. It will be closing for the season within the next couple of days. I'll just take it all in for now as we bid farewell to summer and look forward to new adventures.

Dwarf Maiden Grass and Sedum

Next to the pool is another view of Maiden Grass 'Yaku Jima' and Sedum 'Brilliant'. The Sedum is so vibrant!

Weeping Japanese Maple

Let's venture to the front lawn. The foliage on the Weeping Japanese Maple will be changing its colors soon. 

Front Walkway

Along the front walkway are Blue Star Juniper, Golden Euonymus, Sweet Flag, Japanese Garden Juniper, Variegated Liriope and Caramel Coral Bells...

Front Walkway Entrance South Side

and here is Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, surrounded by Mugo Pine and more Sedum 'Brilliant'. 

Walkway Eastern View-Variegated Liriope and Mugo Pine 'Slowmound'

Back around to the walkway is Variegated Liriope up close with its spikes of deep purple blooms. In between the Liriope is Mugo Pine 'Slowmound'.

Front Island Bed

The new plantings on the front island bed are doing well. Here is Weeping Norway Spruce and Hosta, with a little glimpse of the new Osmanthus (False Holly) in the foreground.

Rozanne Geranium Blooming!

The 'Rozanne' Geranium is happy in its new home as well.

Annuals Still Blooming-Sunstar Pink Egyptian Star Flower (Pentas lanceolata)

Last, but not least is this wonderful annual from Proven Winners, called Pink Egyptian Star. It is still blooming in September and looking just as beautiful as it has all summer. I have been enjoying it alongside the back patio. Also meet the newest garden member, a Hypertufa planter with dwarf Hinoki Cypress, Juniper and Variegated Boxwood.

Hypertufa Planter

It was an impulse buy...but I love it!

Thank you for Visiting!

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my September garden! Thank you for visiting! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Dishing It & Digging It on Sunday with Angie the Freckled Rose, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Homestead Blog Hop  and Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays.

For gardening and design inspiration along with personal musings...

Visit my Author Page/Purchase My Books

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations and my latest...

Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener

As Always...Happy Gardening!

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2019. All rights reserved.

This Month in the Garden: Long Island Places, Sunflowers, and Childhood Dreams Come True!

This Month in the Garden

Welcome to This Month in the Garden! I have been a gardener all my life and ever since I was a small child, I have had a fascination with sunflowers. Every summer my parents and I would go for a Sunday drive out east here on beautiful Long Island, a tradition which I continue to honor along with my husband of 37 years. While growing up back in the 60's, sunflower fields were not readily available to the public and I would gaze in awe each time we traveled past the fields of yellow discs pointing towards the sky. Times have changed and just recently in 2018, farmers have opened up their fields to the public. I am thankful to have for the first time last year experienced standing among acres of sunflowers, I couldn't wait to revisit the fields this year. Come along! 

Late Summer Perennials at Verderber's Garden Center & Nursery

On the way out east, there are some amazing nurseries on the way, some which are more like botanical gardens. Here is a late summer display of Black Eyed Susan, Joe Pye Weed and Russian Sage, each perennial being an attraction for pollinators. They can be seen at Verderber Nursery out in Aquebogue. The family owned business comprising of 300 acres of conifers, shade trees, perennials and shrubs is run by husband-and-wife team John and Maria Verderber and their three children, aged 26 to 28, all who possess a love of horticulture.

Verderber's Nursery

This beautiful Natchez Crape Myrtle is in full bloom for the late summertime into fall. It's one of my personal favorites for late summer interest and enjoyment in the garden.

Perennials at Verderber's Nursery

Here is Joe Pye Weed close up with a  butterfly visitor! Now that I've gotten my nursery fix, onto the sunflowers!

Bayview Farms & Market

One of the local farm stands we regularly visit on our rides out east is Bayview Market & Farms, a 200-acre farm in Aquebogue, Long Island. The farm, owned by the Reeve family started when Orry Reeve floated wagons across the Peconic Bay to peddle produce to Southampton hotels. As the family expanded and after many years of selling fruits and vegetables off the back of a truck, George C. Reeve, Sr. and his sons George Jr. and Bradford Reeve built the first roadside stand, which they named Little Chief, after George's favorite variety of sweet corn. In 2002, Bradford Reeve, Sr. and his wife Lorraine, built a larger farm market, returning it to the original name Bayview Farms and Market. In 2014, the Reeve family further expanded, building a second market in Jamesport.

Sunflower Field

Here is the family owned sunflower field that lies on the property of Bayview Farms. This was our second year visiting it and it was just as beautiful as the first time!

Sunflower Maze North Fork Long Island

Continuing on the journey, my husband and I visited the North Fork sunflower maze for the second year. The Sidor sisters, Cheryl and Maureen, decided to open the fields to visitors in 2018 after growing sunflowers at the site for several years. They tried doing a sunflower maze back in 2012, and after a six-year break, they decided to bring it back for the 2018 season by popular demand. The fields are grown in succession with a variety of different types of sunflowers, each producing a differently flavored oil for the production of their well-known potato chips.

One with the Sunflowers!

Life is the accumulation of memories and experiences. The meaningful trip out east in 2018 and being able to stand in a field among the glorious sunflowers sparked childhood memories, and ended up opening an idea for a chapter in my latest book, Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener, recently published in December of 2018. It is amazing how experiences, memories of childhood and a love of horticulture can make dreams come true. After much research and accumulating past and present memories, the words for Chapter 4 materialized. The meaning and uses behind the mysterious sunflower throughout centuries of garden history and folklore made the memories I have even more dear to my heart.

Long Island Sunflowers-Sunflower Maze 

I will look forward to the next encounter with my field of dreams. Now...onto the rest of our journey!

Wisteria Arbor Jamesport, Long Island

I am a Long Island native and continue to be amazed by all the beauty and history that exists here. On our way back, we stopped to view this Wisteria lined pergola at the Jedediah Hawkins Inn, a historic property nestled in the town of Jamesport. Jedediah Hawkins, born in Stony Brook in 1837, ventured to sea at the young age of 12 and became the master of a trading vessel by the age of 18. He and each of his four siblings later moved eastward and settled in the town of Jamesport.

Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Jamesport, NY

Jedediah Hawkins built this Italanite style home in 1863 on a 22 acre plot in Jamesport, Long Island, New York. The home was occupied into the first half of the 20th century, but became abandoned in the 1980's. The home was acquired in 2004, just days from planned demolition, and restored to its original form. Jedediah Hawkins Inn opened in September of 2005 and was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2008. 

There are numerous features on the grounds such as this beautiful fountain...

and scenes like this garden bench surrounded by Weeping Japanese Maple, Hydrangea, Black Eyed Susan, Nepeta and Hosta...

and this welcoming gazebo surrounded by beautiful gardens.

Monarch Butterfly

The gardens at the Inn are full of pollinator friendly flowers and August and September are Monarch season, so there are plenty to be seen. This Monarch Butterfly stayed and posed for me!

Long Island Sunflower Maze, North Fork

I hope you enjoyed This Month in the Garden for September. Be sure to stop by on the 1st. of each month for This Month in the Garden, as I share gardening tips, information and horticultural adventures! As you can see, there is always more to explore within your own backyard and childhood dreams can come true. 

Visit my Amazon Author Page and Books

To read more about sunflowers and other musings, check out my newest book...

Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener

For gardening information and design tips, check out my other two books:

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9 
 and Landscape Design Combinations 

~As Always...Happy Gardening!~

Linking with:  Floral Fridays, Macro Monday 2, Friday Photo Journal, Image-in-ing Weekly Photo Link-Up and Dishing It & Digging It.

~As Always...Happy Gardening!~

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2019. All rights reserved.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up August 2019: Welcome Late Summer Blooms!

Welcome to My August 2019 Garden

Welcome to my August Long Island garden! I am glad you could join me, and do come by often. As the month of August has set in with temperatures in the 80's and 90's with humidity and occasional thunderstorms, the garden is going through its fourth round of blooms. For Bloom Day the temperatures have cooled into the lower 80's and it is very pleasant in the garden. Come along with me to see what is blooming for the later part of summer. The dragonflies are out and abundant. You may even get to see some!

Echinacea Pow Wow Wild Berry

As we start the tour, one of the most prominent of blooms during the month of August are those of Echinacea. Here is Echinacea Pow Wow 'Wild Berry' in the front garden along the street.

Rozanne Geranium (‎Cranesbill)

New to the front island bed this summer is perennial geranium, Geranium 'Rozanne' with its ongoing blooms from late spring into mid-fall. I always wanted some of this long-blooming perennial for my garden, and having to do some re-vamping of the front berm allotted me the needed space to put them. They seem to love the location with the perfect combination of morning shade and afternoon sun.

Backyard Island Bed

Now, moving along to the back garden, here is Hinoki Cypress 'Compacta', Mugo Pine, Palace Purple Coral Bells and a combination of annuals Amethyst Verbena and Raspberry Rush Petunia on the edge of the island berm. It's funny that I was never much of a fan of annuals, but Proven Winners has me hooked with this welcomed dash of color in late summer!

Back Pool Garden with Weeping White Pine and Astilbe

The Weeping White Pine in the back pool garden gets more majestic with each passing year and Astilbe 'Sprite' blooms beneath it during late summertime.

Backyard Pool Garden with Stargazer Lilly and Weeping Norway Spruce

During early August, the Asiatic Lilies are in bloom! This one is the well-known 'Stargazer' Lily with its combination of vibrant colors and deep fragrance. You can get a detection of its perfumed aroma with the slightest breeze. Their blooms arrived a little earlier this summer and are finished now, but since the tour is virtual, they certainly needed to be seen!

Perennial Border August

Watching the perennial border change throughout the seasons is a favorite pastime. There is quite a bit blooming during August, including the blooms of Stachys (Lamb's Ear), Echinacea (Coneflower) and Hemerocallis (Daylily).

Patio Surround Perennial Border

Follow me around to the patio side where you can get a long-view of the garden. 

Playtcodon (Balloon Flower) along patio garden

Here is the infamous Platycodon grandiflorus 'komachi' Balloon Flower. This variety does not open up like the others, but remains as a true balloon. As you may have read in previous years, guests love to pop the blooms once they dry out. It's makes a similar sound as popping bubble wrap, which you may have done as a child, or adult!

Driveway Border with Coreopsis, Nepeta and Echinacea Blooming

Now that we've passed by the Balloon Flowers, lets take a quick detour to the front to the driveway border. Here are Weigela 'Spilled Wine', Coreopsis 'Zagreb', Nepeta 'Walkers Low' and more Echinacea, this time being 'Cheyenne Spirit'. The low lying evergreen is Japanese Garden Juniper.

Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit

The Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' changes a little bit each year. This summer the brighter oranges and pinks seem to be more prominent.

Skylands Oriental Spruce in Back Border

Back around to the western portion of the property is the newest Skylands Oriental Spruce, which has grown several feet since last year. It seems to like its new home.

Endless Summer Hydrangea Twist & Shout

The Hydrangeas are having a good year as well. Here is a lacecap form of Endless Summer Hydrangea known as 'Twist & Shout', with a combination of blue and pink blooms.

Rudbeckia (Dwarf Variety)

Here is Rudbeckia, 'Little Goldstar', a dwarf variety of Black Eyed Susan, which is more compact and clump forming. It resides in the back border beneath the Kousa Dogwood, which you saw blooming back in the spring.

Sedum Sunsparkler Lime Twister

New to the poolside border is Sedum Sunsparkler Lime Twister. I love the foliage on it and it also gets pink flowers late summer into early fall. I am looking forward to seeing the blooms!

Stargazer Asiatic Lillium

I wait all summer for these Stargazer Lilies to bloom, so we need to take in another view, this time up close! I cannot get enough of them! Let's venture to the back of the pool area. Oh my...a visitor!

Dragonfly Visitor

I have always had a fascination with dragonflies and even dedicated an entire chapter to them in my latest book, Dream, Garden, Grow! They are so prehistoric looking and yet so beautiful. They are known throughout garden folklore and hold various meanings to different cultures.

Dragonfly Visitor

This one loves to hang out by the Rhododendron and will stay for several minutes.

Dried Allium Flower

A garden possesses much beauty and sometimes it can be as simple as a dried Allium flower once it has expired. I leave them as interest until they can no longer stand up in the wind. I like to think they add a certain artistic touch.

Variegated Boxwood in Shade Garden

As we come to the end of the tour, here is a perfectly rounded Variegated Boxwood that my husband brought attention to just the other day. I never do anything to maintain it and just take its presence for granted. I now have a new appreciation for the big Boxwood ball, seeing it through my husband's eyes!

Variegated Boxwood Another View

Here it is from another view! You can get an idea of its size.

(Lagerstroemia) Crape Myrtle 'Sioux'

It wouldn't be August without the blooms of Crape Myrtle 'Sioux', so here they are. The blooms started at the end of July and go through September, one of the many joys of late summer in the garden.

Crape Myrtle 'Sioux'

Here's a close up of its voluminous deep pink blooms!

Hydrangea 'Tardivia'

Another late summer joy are the blooms of 'Tardivia' Hydrangea. Fragrant elongated while panicle flowers cover this large shrub in early to late August.

2019 August Long Island Garden

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed the tour of my August garden! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Dishing It & Digging It on Sunday with Angie the Freckled Rose, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Homestead Blog Hop  and Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays.

For more gardening tips and design inspiration along with horticultural musings, you may be interested in my books. You can click on the author page or visit each book individually to find out more about each one.😊

Visit my Amazon Author Page 

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations 

Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener

As Always...Happy Gardening!

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2019. All rights reserved.