Gillette's Habitat GardenField notes / Observation
2026 Bloom and Wildlife Log: Columbus, Ohio Zone 6b
Dated 2026 field observations from a Columbus, Ohio habitat garden: first goldenrod August 18, royal catchfly August 16, night moth sessions, and fall plantings.
Dated field observations for the 2026 season, newest first. Late August was the peak of the record: first goldenrods, the royal catchfly surprise, and 'Purple Dome' opening at full size. Bed numbers link to the garden pages.
| Date | Bed | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 27 | Yard | Callery pear dropped most of its leaves early; New York aster 'Wood's Purple' collapsing (Bed 2); old-fashioned bleeding heart dormant (Bed 6) |
| Sept 21 | 11 | Sand pocket found in the summersweet hole; the buttonbush hole was normal clay |
| Sept 19 | 2, 6, 8, 11 | Planted woodland sage 'Marcus' (2), lungwort 'Twinkle Toes' (6), yarrow 'New Vintage Red' and Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' (8), buttonbush and summersweet (11). Bed 11 measured and started. Celery looper nectaring on fall asters at night. |
| Mid to late Sept | 1, 2, 4, 5 | Night sessions: two yellow-collared scape moths on smooth blue aster; bumble bee males roosting on goldenrod; loopers on calamint; slugs on August lily |
| Sept | 2, 8 | Meadow phlox moved from Bed 8 to Bed 2 |
| Sept 13 | 1 | Case-bearing leaf beetle larvae on milkweed |
| Aug 30 | 2 | Garden phlox 'Laura' in bloom after cutback |
| Aug 29 | 1 | 'Purple Dome' New England aster first blooms at full size. Blue sage still in bud. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' heads coloring. Little bluestem seed heads emerging. Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm' at peak. |
| Aug 29 | 6 | Zigzag goldenrod blooming |
| Aug 29 | 7 | Great blue lobelia and sweet coneflower blooming; limestone wild petunia budding; Section A down to hyssop 'Blue Fortune' alone |
| Aug 28 | 6 | All three peonies removed |
| Late Aug | 1, 2 | Garden phlox 'Jeana' finished with no rebloom; catmint 'Walker's Low' reblooming after a hard shear |
| Aug 25 | Front beds | Six-plus sweat bees (Lasioglossum) per goldenrod panicle a week after first bloom |
| Aug 18 | 1 | First goldenrod open (Ohio goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis); cardinal flower and great blue lobelia in bloom together |
| Aug 16 | 4, then 2 | Royal catchfly first bloom, later than the published June to August |
| Aug 12-17 | All | About 10 in of rain; no standing water anywhere, including Bed 11 and the Bed 8 channel |
| Aug 8 | 2, 8 | Planted late purple aster and sky blue aster (2), two heart-leaved asters and Virginia mountain mint (8) |
| Late July | 5, 6 | August lily begins blooming |
| July | 9 | Big-leaved aster blooming, well ahead of its published range |
| July 29 | 2 | Fly-killing fungus (Entomophthora) on flies at the harebell tips |
| May | 7 | Common lilac frost-damaged; no bloom |
| May | 1 | Black swallowtail caterpillars on golden Alexanders |
| Spring | 9 | Great white trillium, no bloom (stress year); spring beauty emerged then collapsed |