Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Next Come The Mums

It ain't over til it's over. On the first day of October there are more flowers just beginning to open in the wild cultivated gardens. The Yellie Mums are here.

They came as a gift from Fairegarden several years ago and have formed fat colonies since. One patch got zapped by a late freeze last spring and then proceeded to get mildew and isn't looking so great. It's still loaded with buds. The other patch four feet away is perfectly fine.





















Now there is a new truly pink mum. It fell out of the ground at a client's garden last spring and followed me home. There are four small patches to show from tiny root pieces. It has bloomed just a wee bit earlier than the Yellie Mum.



























Mums and asters are in the same tribe.



























The mums just tend to be a bit more garish. They're almost an affront to the season of vegetation that is well on its way to winding down. It's hard to object to or resist a season extender like this though.

The salmon pink Sheffie Mum still lives here. Most of them have been engulfed by the Lush. I may not even be able to see the patch in the roadside bed it is buried so deep. The mums really need a bit more elbow room. That is a project for another day.



























Before there are mums there are the asters. I could live without mums before I would give up my asters.



























I don't know of anything else that can turn an entire mountain blue half way into October.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The yellie mums seem to be taller and more vigorous than their parent sheffies, has been my experience. But don't abandon the dear peachy sheffies. It wouldn't be fall without them. Good thing you don't have to choose between the asters and the mums, anyway.
xo
F

Lola said...

Love the mums but like the native.

Christopher C. NC said...

Frances it was on my list to move some Peachy Mums this spring and I never got to it. I only need a few runners to start more so it's good. I have plenty. I find they move better in the spring for me.

Lola I love my asters. I may need to introduce some new kinds.