I had lots of successes with starting flowers from seed this year. In fact, my front flower garden is almost full of annuals I grew from seed:
Note the big non-blooming dahlia in the front, light yellow zinnias in middle and red and yellow zinnias to the left of those, and the mondo purple coleus in the upper left corner. Not quite the look I'd like to end up with, but I've definitely seen how annuals really are awesome fillers, and cheap to grow from seed.What I'd like to do next year is take the time to plan how I want the perennials to fit in, transplant what needs to be moved this fall, then use low growing annuals as accent flowers next Spring. And for any coleus I grow next year, I just might refrain from cutting back the flower spikes. I like their delicate contrast in the garden, as opposed to the overwhelming coleus bush that develops after pruning.
For the planning, I'd like to focus on color to set the garden mood. I love simple things, like the way these lavender-hued hosta blooms make this area feel so serene.
In the vegetable news, peas and lettuce will be going in the ground soon. There's a baseball-sized watermelon finally growing-- the vine climbed from one side of the garden to the other, and decided to fruit on the part that has climbed up the asparagus. We still don't have any zucchinis (how can I make those work next year?), but we've had enough basil to make some pesto, enough sweet peppers to cook with and eat raw, and more than enough tomatoes. The wild plums are ripe as well, but Mike only found a few decent fruit to harvest.
Overall, I'd say we're doing well! I think it's time to buy a garden magazine and spend my time off browsing for ideas and inspiration. I can't get back the weeks I worked non-stop this summer without ever stepping out into my garden (no more ICU months during the growing season next year!!!), but at least now I can relish all there is to garden at the end of Summer!
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