Up, Up, and Away

Most of the time, I buy plants for their flowers. But with Platycodon, what initially attracted me were the buds, which, true to the plant's common name (balloon flower), form what look like pale blue balloons before they open into lovely star-shaped blossoms.

We started our Playtcodon grandiflorus from seed back in 2008. The first year, the three-foot stems were a little spindly and definitely benefited from support. This year, I think they could have managed several months without support, but did need propping up later in the season.

In addition to the charming buds and flowers, I have to give this plant high marks for a long blooming season. This year, it started flowering in mid-June, and toward the beginning of September I had deadheaded all but one or two spent blooms, figuring that was it for the summer. But lo and behold, it's in full bloom again! (BTW, it's a good idea to wear gloves when deadheading this; it has a sticky, milky sap that beads up wherever the plant is cut.) And the icing on the cake is that it is untouched by disease or bugs or critters!

My Platycodon definitely came back much larger and stronger in 2009, and I'm eager to see how it matures in the years to come.

Foreign Flora

My husband and I just got back from an Alaska cruise and spent a few extra days in British Columbia, and of course what vacation would be complete without visiting some gardens? We stopped by Stanley Park in Vancouver, and the fabulous Butchart Gardens in Victoria. I'll post a link to photos as soon as I get them uploaded and captioned, but in the meantime, does anyone recognize this plant? We saw it growing in Skagway.

What about this one? It caught our eye in Vancouver.

Not a Peck, Not Pickled, but Peppers Nonetheless

It has been slow going for the peppers this year, perhaps in part because the summer has been cooler than normal. The sunflowers overshadowed the back row of sweet bell pepper plants, prompting them to produce only one pepper each. Two of the twelve 'Fat N Sassy' peppers that I started from seed damped off before I could get them in the ground, and I had to replace them with 'Red Bell' plants from Lowe's. Still, the few peppers I'm getting are gorgeous. I've picked four so far, and there are another 18 out there, thinking seriously about turning red.

I can't complain about the hot peppers—my four 'Volcano' plants have produced lots of good-sized peppers with just a touch of zing to them.

I've picked 11 so far, and there are another 25 in the garden that should also be turning red in the near future. I'm wondering how much fire they'll have when they're fully ripe (and whether I'll be able to eat them!). Fortunately, my son enjoys spicy stuff—I'm sure he'll find good uses for them!