The stack of dog-eared garden catalogs sit at the foot of my chair in the porch. Several torn envelopes with scribbled lists are scattered nearby. 'Tis nearly time for the fall purchases. Of course, to compile a proper list (oh how I LOVE lists), I've spent some time touring the garden figuring out how last year's purchases are working out.

I thought it would be kind of fun (and useful) to see how this year's winners and losers compare in our little gardening community.


For me, this year's big winner was purple emporer sedum. That little fella can really take the heat and drought. Its dark maroon foliage looked great all year. I can't wait to see it flower (it shouldn't be long now.)

Amber waves heucherella is a runner up. It doesn't look much like the catalog picture -- the foliage on the picture was a more uniformed peachy gold -- mine is more a mosaic of orange, browns, and magenta. However, the colors seem to look pretty nice against the stone wall of its new home. (Sunspot heucherella is on my "may buy" list for next year -- has anyone tried it yet?)

This year's big loser: black magic geranium. OK, it really hasn't done all THAT poor, it is just that I had such high hopes for it. It didn't flower well -- and certainly didn't flower long. But most disappointing is the foliage. I expected it to be more maroon, but the leaves are more brown. Hopefully it will perk up a bit next year.

So, what were your biggest winners and losers this year?

My biggest winner by far was my basil. The best I've ever seen! My biggest loser is my foxglove. I purchased plants & the plants died. They are my favorite flowers & I can't seem to grow them.

All the squash I planted was a wash out. I can't imagine a year without zuchs & they are 75cents a pound at the commissary. My Hill Country Red okra & Ping Tung Eggplant have such beautiful plants and taste delicious. I don't know about how much they will end up producing but as I am the only one who eats it, I only planted 2 of each.

This years fav is the Echinacea Razzmatazz. I finally got my one plant after being on the waiting list for 2 season's (at a cost of 19.95!!) but the flowers are so beautiful! Now, if it makes it through the winter and increases next year, I'll be even happier. Losers.....almost everything else! What a horrible gardening season I have had. The six week drought just ruined everything even though I watered every other day and twice a day on the days over 100 degrees it still is a mess. Looks like I won't even get a watermelon! Almost all my tomatoes have been red on the bottom and green on top, the peppers are just now producing some on distorted looking plants, I got one picking of yellow squash. But I love looking at my echinacea!

Deemartin, I understand what you are saying. We were in Arkansas and couldn't believe how dry it is and the lakes are so low. And it's bad when your water smells like rotten eggs (sulfer) because the water tables are low. We spent a few days on Bull Shoals Lake near Lead Hill.

My winner this year would be eggplant, huge plants loaded with eggplant. Loser would be winter squash, it's just not being very productive.

TOMATOES yay! They're tasty and still growing. Some are over 6 ft. tall! Last 3 years they've all been dead from blight/wilt for a while by this time and the ones we got weren't very good at all. Thanks again for the magic recipe,Mumsey. :x

Hmmm...This is a hard one. My winners are the popcorn, Cuckes, and carrots. All have produced well, and I can't WAIT to taste that popcorn. Mmmmm.... Also, My Mexican Sunflower held up nice, even though I moved it in mid summer. Beautiful blossoms, that attract the hummingbirds, and butterflies. Also my herbs are winners also.

The losers. WEll, its hard to believe, but my 'Supersonic' Tomatoes. I stupidly cut off the growing tip in early to late July. STupid me! And also, the deer have a taste for the tomatoes now....Ugh. My ohter loser is probably my Moonflower. Didn't set a single flower.

But for all those losers, I am going to buy a lot of bulbs this fall...Oooh! I can't wait. B-)

Chris J>

My big winner this year is the onions plants I picked up at the grocery store. They are yellow onions and that's all I know about them, but they've done fantasticly well considering what they've been thru.

The other winner would be the "Peach Melba" heuchera I bought on clearance a few weeks ago. I'm not terribly crazy about the color, it seems to always look sunburned. But I'm just tickled with it because I transplanted it, the weather got real hot and it has survived, even thrived.

Can't say that there are really any losers this year, just a lot of mediocre stuff.

Big winners: 'Juliet' grape tomatoes+'Bonbon' winter squash. 'Metro' butternut squash...,wow,it has made a lot of little squashes on two plants!
'Dragon Tongue' bush yellow beans with purple stripes are delicious!
Flowers: 'Indian Summer' Rudbeckias, dianthus 'Ideal Pearl',
zinnia 'Dreamland' rose,pink and cream color. California poppies!
Can't beat those geranium'rozannes' for non-stop purple color
and the white of 'becky' shasta daisy and 'David' phlox.
Losers were: anise hyssop and 'eva cullen' phlox with the black spot disease. (both got shovel pruned)
'Pencil pod' bush yellow beans were tasteless!

Message was edited by: franeli

You're welcome. Makes an amazing difference doesn't it?

Oh yeah. I gave tom plants to my co-workers and one got the wilt early and all died. But NEXT year we know what to do!

franeli,

Were your Juliet's winners because of taste or productivity?

I put in grape tomatoes for the first time this year. (I didn't really want them, but since I supply the seedlings for most of my family and friends, I ended up with some "leftovers") They are beautiful plants, with lots of bunches of pretty tomatoes, but I think they are kind of tasteless. I'm hoping to find a better variety for next year.

I'm with you 100% on the pencil pods. I got mine because that's what Granddad used to plant on the farm, so Mom had wanted them for sentimental reasons. Mine transform from immature to old, tasteless sticks in a twinkling of an eye. Even the dog won't eat them.

My Moonflowers were a dud this year as well! X-( and my cucumbers were a big disappointment. My winner was my 50 cent geraniums! I was wandering around the little greenhouse looking for seedlings last spring. As I was checking out, the cashier offered me a deal on some sad looking geraniums. They were basically a stick in a pot. I laughingly bought them and babied them and now they are the pride of my yard. :x

One variety I am definitely growing again is Chinese red long bean - a red version of the yard-long bean, which has great flavor and is more productive, and produces much longer, as well as staying on the plant longer without drying up and getting podded down.

One eggplant type I was not impressed with is Fairy Tale, which has small plants, low production, and the fruits grow slow and are often old and seeded when picked, even though much smaller than they are supposed to be. Neons and Ichiban double in size in one day, but not this one. And it didn't even produce first, which it touted in the catalogs.

Dave

Wow -I'm interested in hearing how many folks listed eggplant as their winner! I'd love to grow it well and keep on trying, but it never does well. Decimated by flea beetles. Even if I cover with floating row when young, as soon as I remove it the bugs are back, and plant is sapped. What's your secret?

My winners this year: gotta say Cala lilies - just cause I got about a dozen gorgeous burgundy ones from one of the bulbs I got at Phila Flower Show last year. A few yellows as well. I just love them - they last forever inside too. Another winner: sweet olive tomatoes (actually red and more the size of Romas) but amazingly prolific. Green zebra has been almost as prolific for me here in DC this hot summer. My loser tomato has been pineapple -- which has always done so well before. Go figure! And no matter what I grow great green beans!