At least you could say we didn't have to water very much. Except for a couple dry spells in early summer, I rarely used the sprinkler. I also decided that I didn't really have to mow every week. By going to a biweekly schedule, I just cut my gas consumption and noise pollution in half.
As for the flowering plants, there are some good things to report among the newbies in my garden. Without a doubt the #1 easy-care plant was 'Baby Wings White' begonia. I didn't do anything to these plants all summer except provide occasional water. They filled in to form a solid display in the shade under a saucer magnolia and were totally self-cleaning. 'Baby Wings White' is a smaller version of the equally terrific pink and red 'Dragon Wings' begonias that came out a few years ago.
A new rose that has me excited is 'Home Run', a single-flowered red that is purportedly disease-free like the Knock Outs. But what wowed me as soon as the first flower opened is the velvety, rich red look of the flowers. Normally I hanker after olde-tyme roses with their gazillion petals and quartered form, but this one won me over. Also, it started forming new buds even before I had deadheaded the old spent blossoms.
By mid-summer my garden was nearly taken over by phlox, (note to self: cut those clumps in half before the next growing season). In wet humid summers, leaves get mildew or turn yellow, but the new 18-inch 'Volcano' series of phlox stayed reasonably attractive. They produced large handsome flower heads in several colors (rosy purple, white, pink), they started blooming early and stayed late. Some leaves turned a little yellow, but on balance, I think these are good plants. It was a hard year for phlox, so I'm willing to cut them a little slack.
In the vegetable garden, another winner--'Tomatoberry', a cherry tomato from Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine. A little larger than the usual cherries, 'Tomatoberry' has "real" tomato flavor, unlike all those delectable sugary varieties that could pass for dessert. The fruit tasted great right off the vine or cooked (just one minute during the final minute of boiling any pasta will do it). Yield was heavy too.
And then there were those infamous August storms. While eggplants and basil got battered down by wind and rain, I was amazed to see that the 6-foot tall variegated polygonum I discussed in the Sept-Oct cover story ("The One That Got Away," page 61) didn't bat an eye. And the 'Lady Elsie May' rose that came out a few years ago continues to strut its stuff with aplomb--continuous salmon-pink blooms, no disease and good winter hardiness.
There are many, many "good" plants that we can buy and sometimes I buy something I know will be trouble just because I like it (lavender anybody?), but the plants discussed here are superior plants. They worked well for me in 2007 and I feel confident they'll do the same for you.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007
