August in an Indiana Garden
J.E. Shields (Sat, 20 Aug 2005 14:03:31 PDT)

Hi all,

Around Indiana towns, the white trumpet flowers of Hosta planteginea
(spelled?) are much in evidence now. So are the stalks of pink flowers of
Lycoris squamigera.

In my garden, the last reblooms of Crinum variabile are starting to
fade. Hardy Gladiolus of South African origins like G. oppositiflorus
salmoneus (salmon colored) and G. x-gandavensis (light yellow) are just now
in flower.

The most striking flowers in my garden, in colors and in numbers, are the
hardy Lycoris. In full bloom are Lycoris sprengeri, L. longituba, and L.
chinensis. One bulb of L. [longituba X rosea] is blooming for the first
time, with large spidery pink flowers. Other Lycoris hybrids are just now
shooting up scapes, including L. [chinensis X x-haywardii] and its inverse,
[x-haywardii X chinensis].

Heavily mulched Kniphofia hirsutus is sending up rebloom scapes, probably
thanks to all the rain we have had here in the past few weeks.

In pots and containers, Hymenocallis acutifolia is sending up its first
scapes; Cypella coelestis is starting to bloom. Under the benches in the
lath house, Cyclamen africanum is blooming prematurely, again probably due
to recent rains.

We don't have any late summer wild bulbs, but along the shady edges of the
woods and streams, wild sunflower (Helianthus sp.) and the tall bellflower,
Campanula americana, are in bloom.

This is late summer in Indiana.

Jim Shields

*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA