October Hues

 

It was so lovely

in the afternoon. 

I decided to 

sit and read on the

patio with the mums

in view right over

the pages of my book.

I had seen a Monarch

in the asters at the 

side of the house

earlier.

So, when I took 

a break from 

reading, I headed

up the hill at the 

side of the house.

 

Only to find this.

Such a sad event

to come upon

on a perfect day!

The male Monarch did

not move.

I don't know where his

journey began,

but it ended here

in Connecticut,

much short of

his destination in

Mexico.

Cusp of Fall in the Garden

We've had the house and deck

power washed.  Then the patio pavers 

were relaid to level it out for chairs.

We've used the deck and patio

several times this summer

social distancing with friends

and family during Covid-19.

The stone walk to the patio

had to be raised to match

the new level of the pavers.

We did it ourselves!

I like the combination of pavers,

local stone, landscape and pea gravel 

with the mulched plantings.

The only true fall-blooming plants

are the liriope or lilyturf, a

groundcover near the faucet.

and the Black-eyed Susans.

The marigolds are at their

peak now too.

The annual butterfly weed

is dispersing its seeds

like a milkweed plant.

A neighbor gave me a

hint to increase bloom right now

on the cusp of fall as 

the blooms in the garden decrease.

She uses 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts

in a gallon of water and sprays

everything blooming or not.

I tried it and got great results.

The fuchsia in the hanging 

basket revived.

The zinnias bloomed

despite the slug damage.

And the balloon flowers

popped up again.

The dahlias in their

pots rebounded too.

I didn't spray the huge

butterfly bush. I haven't

seen many butterflies 

recently, but the fat-bottomed

bees are prevalent.

Oh, no! Are we on the cusp of

deck repair now.  This bee is also called

carpenter bee because it burrows into

wood structures...

 

Post Hurricane, Pre-Fall

The hurricane this week created quite a mess in town with hundreds of trees and branches down and streets blocked. My garden survived with not much mess to pick up.  Some oak leaves, a few bent and almost broken branches of butterfly bush and perennial sunflower were the only casualties I found to clean up.

But as I worked, I felt a strange coolness in the breeze of a sunny day in the 80s. The feel of fall could be arriving now that it is mid-August? I looked around to see some color still prevailing above the green and (now I noticed) brownish leaves of the plants.

The very last day lily...

The insects were busy. As I mentioned, it was in the 80s, temperature-wise. The sun above was in a deep blue sky dotted with white, puffy clouds. A perfect summer day.

How quickly the peak passes!

End of July To-Dos

Nancy DeBrule wrote in her Natureworks email newsletter today about plants that host beneficial insects with their nectar:

Shasta daises, black eyed Susans, Stokesias, Heliopsis and Helianthus (perennial sunflower), Coreopsis, Echinacea...the list goes on and on. Simply by incorporating them into your landscape you will help your habitat to thrive.

I'm happy to report that I have many of those plants in my garden:

Nancy also recommends deadleafing right now at the end of July:

Now THERE'S a term you may have never heard of before! You have probably heard of deadheading, but deadleafing? Go outside and look at a clump of your daylilies or bearded irises. What do you see? You see lots of brown and yellow leaves. Removing those leaves is called deadleafing! It is a great way to groom your garden AND it will help prevent disease issues. 

Here are mine deadleafed: daylilies, iris,  hardy geranium and coreopsis:

I call it "finger combing"

in the day lilies.

Iris traditionally trimmed in a fan cut.

A little seaweed fertilizer and 

they might bloom again!

While some plants are all green, waiting

to have enough energy to bloom again,

some of the day lilies

will still be full of bloom

into August.

The work and the enjoyment never stop

this time of year in the garden.

Glory Days

Sunflowers reach for the sky

Bees a' buzzing

Fountain flowing

Day lilies delight

From one end of the border

To the other!

Challenges in the Garden

I have different challenges 

in the garden this year, 

compared to drought years

 in the past.

One is slugs

with the recent

wet weather.

The pulmonaria

bloomed well

this year,

but the leaves

are getting hit now.

The hosta are being eaten also.

But I'm not doing 

anything about it

except letting

nature run

its course.

My miniature rose

alternates between

blooming and 

being eaten alive.

I have resorted

to organic insecticide.

The daisies near

the drain from

the eaves above

are an uneven height.

I'm not sure if it is

from the rain runoff

or the landscaper

spraying for weeds

in the drain area.

The hydrangea blooms

are hidden down in 

the leaves, but I have

been cutting some stems

away to reveal them

and allow some sun in.

The salvia spikes and

the petunias (drooping)

are having a hard time.

I've added a

petunia fertilizer

which is supposed

to encourage blooms

along the stems

but it doesn't

seem to help.

I tried seaweed fertilizer

and it does help

for a couple days.

I've cut the petunias back.

What to do next?

Check back later for

progress with the

problem planters.

Hurricane Fay Skirts our State Tonight

But before she comes through,

I cut some more blooms

for my second bouquet

of the summer.

It includes daylilies, hydrangea and

butterfly bush, all newly 

blooming in the garden
now that it's high summer in mid-July.

Some photos of blooms,

birds and bees

from previous years'

gardens are in the background.

They've all been on this blog!