Last Gasp? of the 2026 Rock Garden

 The rock garden is pretty weedy. It did not get weeded in September or October. And it's not looking good that I'll go through it yet this year. But there are a few final things to see.

This is just a color shot. The red in the middle is the Sedum Elecombeanum. It reliably looks great in all the seasons. Sembervivum 'Black' behind it, and just some moss phlox and a stray vine from the vinca in the front.

The Sedum 'Atlantis' continues to be one of my favorites. The larger patch still looks nice, and you can see the tiny red buds of next year's growth down near the ground.

Here's the old standby, Sedum 'Autumn Joy.' It still has a little color.

This one makes me really happy. I just hope it survives the winter. This is the variegated Sedum sieboldi that I got in August. Despite being new, it got one flower stalk. And the leaves seem to also turn red.

Finally, the Gaillardia 'Spintop Red' is still blooming! It will probably keep it up if I'd deadhead the old flowers. We've had a killing frost, but it's still hanging in there.

I'm working on putting garden things away. I'll keep the tools out for a while in case I do a little weeding.

And it might happen. I'm finally starting to have some extra energy, and not feeling so sore and unwilling to move much.

Spent most of the day working on things on the computer. And that casserole I made yesterday? Meh... it's OK, but definitely not worth the time and energy to make.

See Final Hurrah of the 2025 Rock Garden

2026- Rock Garden Report #3

 There hasn't been a full rock garden report since May! Somehow, it wasn't a great year, although things are filling in quite nicely. I haven't weeded a third time, and that's not going to happen at all unless the weather is still cooperative in late October.

This angle made a nice-looking view today, though.

I'm not sure if it was the heat or what. I thought I was doing a good job of watering regurlarly when it didn't rain, but anyway, some of the sedums have nice blooms. This is 'Dazzleberry.'

'Coraljade'- one of my favorites because it changes a lot over the season.

This one was new last year, and I'm also happy with it. 'Oriental Dancer.' It's spread quite a bit.

Here's the one from friend Margaret that seems to be reliable. The tall sedums are mostly renamed as Hylotelephium. I think this is 'Rosenteller.'

Perhaps the best looking one this year is 'Vera Jameson,' from my friend Betty.

This is not rock garden, but the Coleus have held their own, and certainly look better than nothing in that part of the front bed.

This has been a fast, no-frills report, but I'm in flat-out panic mode now. I was doing well, but several things this morning took way longer than I expected, and now I'm in a rush. And it looks like I'll have to pack the car in the rain in the morning. O well.

In other news: errands all morning, including a chance for a short visit with my friend Betty who has had some serious health concerns this year. None of us is getting younger.

I finished the mowing in a light drizzle. I finished one of my major projects, and am within an hour of finishing the other one.

All the stuff to go in the car is in the middle of the kitchen, but it is not packed or organized yet. And there are a couple of things I have not been able to find. Not so happy about that. Nevertheless, I will leave mid-day tomorrow!

See 2026- Rock Garden Report #2

Miscellaneous Blossoms

A few things have been blooming, but most not spectactularly. Still, they make me happy.

The first one is in this post only because it wasn't blooming the other day. This is the other of my day lilies, called 'Young Love.' I'm hoping there will be a day when the all bloom together and I can get a pic of that.

Here is the Sedum 'Atlantis' that I like so much. But this is the first time it's bloomed for me.

Also just starting to bloom is this rosette of the Sempervivum 'Black.' They all look pretty much alike when they flower.

Betsy gave me a small Dahlia. I missed getting a picture of the first flower, but it has another. I have no idea which Dahlia it is. And you have to take them in for the winter. We'll see if that happens.

Here's the best of all although it didn't succeed at looking very good. That white oriental poppy I bought was determined to flower, even if late. It made a bud, but then it was trying to open those days when the air quality was so terrible. I don't know if that affected it, but this was the best it managed. Still- I can't wait till next year!

Then it quickly dropped all the petals. But I think it's interesting that the seed pod is not black like the other colors, but reddish.

I managed to get a lot done today- editing, watered the gardens, mowing, some gardening, a long phone call, and then I walked 4.5 miles on roads. OF course, since I watered there was a pop-up rainstorm! Quite windy right now.

Miles walked in 2026: 232.2
Miles for Onekama Challenge: 44

See Let the Day Lilies Begin

I Think I Suceeded!

This little beauty is growing in my rock garden. OK, it's not too beautiful, but I'm pretty happy to see it.

This is the weed native plant I've been trying to get to seed itself in the rock garden, Bigbract Verbena. You might recall that I first identified it in 2106 growing along the shoulder of the road. Then it disappeared for a few years.

Then I decided I wanted to try to get some started in the rock garden. But it's an annual so I need seeds. Thought maybe I got those last year.

And, I am prety sure that I have some growing!

I showed you the tiny flowers last week, but we'll have to wait and see if it really develops those runners with the bracts all around.



I didn't get a lot done today becuase I still had people here for a while, and then others came later. Got in some garden time, but not much in the way of computer work.

Also, annoyingly, Google has changed the links to older blog pix, so almost every place where I showed an older photo on the blog for a second time to illustrate some point, the link is now broken.

I forgot somewhere I was supposed to be this morning. Hoping I'll be more with it tomorrow.

See Tiny Flowers

Gaillardia and that OTHER JOB

Here's the blanketflower you've seen for the past several years. It's still going strong. This one is Gaillardia aristata, 'Arizona Sun.' It's so happy in the rock garden, in fact, that I decided last year that I wanted another one, but a different variety.

The blanketflowers start blooming in June and they just keep going the whole rest of the summer.

The one I selected to add was 'SpinTop Red,' for having nearly solid red flowers. It was in an online shopping cart. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to cruise the garden center at Meijer, not expecting they would have anything I haven't seen there already. And, wow, this exact plant was there at half the online price. I've been waiting to share it with you until it had several flowers open at the right angle to show up well.

The OTHER JOB:

Are we the only people that seem to need a toilet repair incredibly often?

This time, I needed to pull the entire downstairs toilet and replace the wax ring.

At least the PVC flange wasn't damaged. Had to cut one of the bolts to remove it, but at least I have the tool for that. Got it all cleaned up and the new bolts await the ring and the toilet. (First trip to the store)

But, I'm sorry to tell you, I'm no longer strong enough to lift the whole toilet and set it onto the bolts. Cathy came to the rescue, and the two of us easily did it. Got it back together today, and then the stupid bolts that hold the tank to the base were seeping (Second trip to the store).

Replaced the gaskets. I'm not sure it's fixed yet. The porcelain is weeping with condensation, and it's difficult to be certain if the extra moisture is that or if one gasket didn't seat well. However, if I have to take that apart again, it's not such a big deal or such a big mess.

I did all the usuals, too. The temperature was down a few degrees today, but I didn't have much time outside due to laundry, and some housecleaning. There will be real people here this weekend. I need the place to be a tiny bit better than my hermitage mess.

See No category

Next Round of Sedum Bloomers

This is one of my favorite rock garden plants, Sedum ellacombianum (now a Phedimus- guess I need to sort out what the new genera mean). I've had some of it in my rock garden since the very beginning, although recently a friend, Deb, gave me more of it.

It mounds up nicely so it's not invisible and the leaves have a nice greenish-yellow color. When it blooms it's covered with bright yellow clusters of flowers. It consistently looks good throughout the season. I do try to deadhead it when it's finished blooming, but that's not too hard since the flowers are clustered.

The other one that's in full bloom has two different looks. I'd been misidentifying it for years because the leaves usually turn deep red in the sun. So I thought it was 'Pork and Beans.' But last year, I wised up to the white flowers. It's Sedum album- album means white. And I think 'Pork and Beans' is larger. You can see the nice contrast between it and the S. ellacombianus side by side.

However, in shade, or occasionally even in sun, the leaves stay green. This is the same plant.

This little creeper is now everywhere in my gardens and yard. And it all came from one small pot long ago.

In other news, I managed to get outside for a few minutes this morning before the heat started blasting. Then I edited and all that stuff. Started a nasty project in the basement this afternoon. I've been saving it for this week because it's cooler down there than upstairs. Got it to the first stage and made a store run for parts, and then stopped for groceries too. I need cold pop and ice cream to get through this week. Open windows and fans are my friends.

Maybe I'll try another short round outside this evening. There are plants that need to go in the ground.

See More Sedum Fun

More Sedum Fun

Yesterday, I said I'd looked up how many Sedums there are, and it's between 400-500. Of course, now they've added three new genera: Hylotelephium, Petrosedum and Phedimus. Most everyone is still calling them all sedums or stonecrops. But the numbered species doesn't account for all the varieties- there are apparently more than 500 recognized cultivars. So... a lot.

Not all of those are hardy enough for me to even try in my gardens. My records have 58 entries, but a few of those are repeats for a second acquisition. Not all are still alive as I pointed out in the link about Sedum failures.

But I've added three this week. I got this one yesterday. This is the one the nursery had no clue about. It's one I've previously tried, but not the variegated form. This is Sedum sieboldii (but now one of the Hylotelephium.) I'm really happy to have found it. It can get about 8" tall. Some sites say hardy in my zone, some say not.

And this is one Betsy gave me that I didn't previously have. This will form a mat that drapes all over. It's Sedum stolonifera, still a sedum. I don't know much about it, so we will watch it mature together.

Betsy also gave me this. This is Sedum hispanicum, of which there are at least 5 cultivars. I have two of them, but I think this is the basic version. She raised it from seed! It needs a little time to fill in more. This is a mature clump of the 'Pinkie.'

And then, this is the next wave of sedum to blossom. This is the Sedum reflexum (and I see they've changed it to Petrosedum). There are at least 6 cultivars of this. I have two and covet two more. This one is 'Blue Spruce' because the leaves look a lot like small blue spruce branches. Here is a side view.

It moves itself around a lot- after it blooms, those stems often die back and it pops up with new stems nearby. But it likes to get into cracks between rocks, so it often fills in spaces where there isn't much else. It's easy to rip out of places I don't want it, so I pretty much let it do its thing. Here is a top-down view, and I think you can see the little spruce-y stalks.

The garden is getting a little drink right now before the temperatures start going up tomorrow, and then I'll be going to lie down.

It's not really a secret about my tiny summer job. I'm helping with laundry and cleaning at a local resort. I spent 3.5 hours this morning vacuuming couches! I'd never thought of that as being strenuous, but I'd never done nine of them in a row before. Stopped at a store on the way home and did a tiny bit of gardening in the afternoon. Betsy brought more plants!!! But mostly... I'm beat.

See Sedum Failures

Icing the Ice Plants

For some reason, ice plants just don't do well for me. The rock garden appear to have everything they should like, but it's a no-go. Or at least a no-thrive.

Here is 'Red Mountain Flame' this year. It's the one I've had the longest- about 4 years. It's also the happiest. (with a weed I missed pulling)

At some times of the day, the way the sun hits it, it seems to sparkle!

The other one that is just barely hanging in there is 'Granita.'



This is the 'Ocean Sunset' that I really liked. Here it is in 2024. That one died.



So I bought another one last year. Want to see what it looks like this year?

Yeah. Well, apparently there are some varieties that are tougher. The yellow one- 'Cooper's - is supposed to be really tough. But I have a ton of yellow in the summer and don't really want that. There is an orange one called 'Fire Spinner' that's supposed to be more hardy, and 'Dancing Embers' is sort of a pink-orange. The descriptions of all of them say they are OK in my zone, so who knows.

I'm tired of buying new ones and having them do poorly. Probably no more ice plants.

In other news: I edited. I finished my column for the Daily News. I finished weeding the rock garden and worked a little in the other gardens, and finished mowing the lawn. I'm beat, but it's all good!

Funny story from last night. I forgot to close the fencing at the bottom of the rock garden. I was looking off the deck and darned if that little 13-lined ground squirrel wasn't digging in the bottom of the garden. I clapped and yelled and he got himself back to his hole. He was digging where there are some bulbs, but I don't think he got anything. Fence is now closed. You can believe that!

See Ice Plants

Swapping Plants with Betsy

Betsy asked if she could stop by because she had some plants for me.

She wasn't kidding! She brought me a whole tray of plants, with 13 different things in it! And they've been cared for so they are as nicely established as anything from a nursery. Some are for the rock garden, and some for other places.

I did get three of them planted. It takes a hot minute to figure out where I want new plants to be.

This is Sedum ternatum, Woodland Sedum. It also grows wild and rambly in the woods, although I can't honestly say I've ever found it in the woods. I'm not sure that it likes full sun. I guess I'll find out. Supposedly it tolerates it, but it may not be as sprawling and drape as well as if it had some shade. It will have white flowers, and will contrast nicely in any season with the 'Firecracker' Sedum- the purple to its left.

Anyway, I'm trying it here where the purple rock cress was. That is barely alive. Not sure why- it should be very happy where I put it. Anyway, it's now in a pot and will hopefully recover.

She gave me two Sempervivums that I did not have. I'd been thinking I needed something like these for the spaces between logs at the top of the garden.

This one is 'Chocolate Kiss.'

And this is 'Blue Boy.'

There is some other plant news on the horizon too, but this is certainly enough for one day.

In other news: I edited, I got groceries. Then Betsy came. She already has most of the things I have available to share, but I did send her home with a few plants. It's fun to have a friend who likes the variety of plants as much as I do!

And, you know, I'm contemplating another garden space in my head.

See Betsy's Rock Garden