2021 Finale

 It was a bit too early to put the garden to bed last weekend. Even though we were past mid-October, we hadn't had a night in the 30s yet to begin the final frosts necessary to cut back some of the perennials and annuals.  The same was true of the predicted peak of leaf-peeking season. Around our area, we had little color besides green and yellow. We decided to travel a bit to see if there was some leaf color in the hills of northwest Connecticut. Our destination was the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge in Simsbury.

The baskets lining the bridge

were still sporting some

color, though muted.

Back home, it was the same, 

maybe a little more golden

light in the late October

afternoon sun.

Definitely time for 

the finale!

Revival

This post is a belated celebration

of my summer garden 

after a stormy, sweltering summer.

Grocery store miniature rose

(can't remember how old!)

Dahlias (new)

Coneflower (new)

Cardinal Flower [new)

Bush rose (new)

It revived before the Fall equinox

which is Wednesday, Sept. 22nd.

Water, Water Everywhere

The rain gauge is overflowing.

I forgot to dump it after the 

third 4-inch rain.  Then we had

5 inches with the hurricane.

Then an additional inch!

It stops at 9 inches

(on the other side).

We staked up the hollyhocks.

And moved the lima beans

out into a sunnier area.

I was able to find lots of 

bloom.  The flowers are still

doing their thing despite

this crazy weather.

Summer Phlox

Cardinal Flower

Orange Zinnias

No rose blooms

after the torrents

of rain!

Daylilies

Blue and White

Balloon Flowers

Dahlias

Coleus and Petunias

More Daylilies

and Sunflowers.

I wish!

 

The Circle of Life

LIMA BEANS planted in April as a Didi School project. Harvested in late July from a planter with a trellis of sunflower vine. Still amazing after all these years gardening!

Wildflower Cliff

On the cliff behind our garden bed,

there is a wildflower field.

Including wild mountain laurel

Sweet William

Foxglove, near and far

and in nooks in the cliff.

So nice to see things grow

without care from a gardener!

 

Is It Really June?

 

First there were three days of rain and then

a hailstorm that actually accumulated

on the deck and in the mulch

of the landscape in front.

It looked like April --  or winter!

Next we've had four days with

temperatures over 90 degrees.

August?

The poppies suffered the most

damage.  I lost about a dozen stems, 

broken by the hail and heavy rain.

I brought them in and amazingly,

they bloomed in water.

The peonies, too, were fine

inside after the storm.

June Days

There is no better time to sit and read in the garden than a sunny day in June.

After reading a few chapters, I cannot resist a walk through the border. 

June is a'bloom.

Back to the book!

First Evening Walk-Around the Garden

 It's 6:30 p.m. and still 82 degrees.

Time to see what's occurring in

my late May borders.

From the cul-de-sac, I 

headed first to the right

along the garage wall.

The variegated iris 

bloomed this year

after being transplanted

two summers ago.

The bunnies are eating the

asters and the yarrow.

I found a plant they are

not supposed to like.

It's too stinky!?!?

The May Nights salvia 

are at their peak 

for the first bloom.

They have performed

steadily for a decade.

Down in back,

another iris is blooming 

a deeper purple.

A new At Last apricot rose

replaced the hydrangea. 

I planted a different salvia

on both sides of the bench,

New Dimensions Blue,

 to keep the purple color

going around the house.

And, rabbits don't like

it either??

We shall see...

I planted a cardinal flower 

and some Phlox

Flame Purple Eye

and some lavender.

Will they become

brunch?

Around the patio,

the peonies are

ready to bust out.

The Miss Kim lilac is too.

I can already smell it!

The shade garden

is filling in with a

ghost fern, astilbe,

wild ginger and some

garden ornaments--

including a fairy garden.

And up the hill, the

bleeding heart and

primrose are passing

with the heat and the

late spring season.

The weigela is blooming

over a carpet of blue

wildflowers.

And the hostas are rising 

up as the lilies of the valley

fade under the birch.

End of May!

Here comes summer!