Last Day of Summer

 Today it is rainy and stormy. Autumn begins at 9 p.m. tonight.

Yesterday was sunny, clear and cool.  Fortunately, I did a bit of

deadheading and then went looking for my phone to use the

camera. The garden was full of bloom and bees and butterflies.

Here's a sampling of the colors, but no scents or flutters or buzzing.

Roses put on another show

Perennial Geranium reblooming

Gerber Daisy reblooming

The Lamium blooms look like

tiny orchids.

Cleome at starting to go to seed

Burgundy Sedum, White Balloon Flowers,

Cleome in Background

and a beautiful blue spiked bloom

in a pot that I cannot name.

It's the one plant I'd like to 

have again next year, of course!

Hints of autumn

and the Monarchs on the deck!

Good-bye, Summer!

Lazy Days of August

 We might be sitting listlessly on a chair on the patio

near the garden, cold drink on the table,

but too hot and lazy to reach for it.

Meanwhile the butterflies are busy

sipping nectar and pollinating, 

right-side up, up-side down

and sideways--

never pausing.

It's more movement 

than I can do

to capture them!

Back to the chair

and a cool drink.

The Exuberance of July

We had a week of perfect summer weather last week.  

The border was at its peak.

I had to take a photo tour to record the color.

The daylilies dotted the border with bright petals.

The cleome survived the rabbits.

Well, I did cage it for weeks until it grew.

tall enough to survive.

The lavender is ready to harvest.

It looks wonderful against the apricot roses.

I'm not sure about the color of this phlox.

It's a bit neon magenta for my garden.

Especially in contrast to the cardinal flower

and the butterfly bush.

The black-eyed Susan, the perennial sunflower

and the sneezeweed are my palette preferences.

Although this part of the border is

a monotone.  It could use a bright color.

The plants and their blooms are

doing their job to cover up the 

eyesores of the air conditioners,

ours and our neighbors.

And provide some privacy from

neighbor's windows when we sit

on the patio to enjoy our garden!

Even the birds enjoy some privacy 

for their baths with Yoga Frog.

Lovely Afternoon at the Lavender Farm

 

A nice day in a garden, not far away.

Just a drive over the river and through 

the woods to Killingworth.

Lavender Pond Farm 

was really the epitome

of July with a blue sky,

a breeze, and the smell

of lavender everywhere.

Lots of people, especially families,

were strolling around taking photos, 

admiring the lavender and other flowers.

There were lawn games to play: giant chess, 

tic tac toe on tree stumps, and

even lavender-themed corn hole.

There were a variety of lavenders on display,

but all are used in their products. 

This is not a

U Pick Garden!

There were great opportunities

for nature photos and selfies.

Views,

Resting places,

and more nature.

created an environment

that satisfied all.

You can walk around Lavender Pond,

over a covered bridge

to a shady lane

inhabited by fairies.

And you can buy some

Lavender-infused lemonade

to quench your thirst.

Everything that makes 

visiting this garden

a moment to remember.

Vacation Retreat Garden

On vacation last week at the shore in Rhode Island,

we drove up the driveway to find some nice

garden beds surrounding the rental house.

The pool house or casita as Barry explained

was originally just a bathroom, shower and laundry.

It was expanded with a living area, full kitchen,

a bedroom, a patio and an outdoor shower.

The garden bed near the casita's front door

had an old-fashioned mixture of dark-purple-leaved

Ninebark, Asiatic lilies (not blooming), daylilies, 

hardy geraniums, pink Spirea--and a resident frog.

A stone path led under the first arbor

covered with Wisteria. Barry said he 

had recently trimmed it back after 

it bloomed prolifically 

in long, cascading blooms. 

It still sent out long tendrils

we could watch grow each day from

the kitchen table inside the big house.

A second arbor led to the path around

the side of the house in the shade 

dappled with sunlight as seen

on this lime green Heuchera.

Another turn in the path led under

a third arbor and into a

small lawn full of sunlight.

 An old rock wall

defined a deep drop-off. 

Pines and two old trees framed 

the view of Ninigret Salt Pond and

 the Atlantic Ocean a mile away.

A perfect place to play after the beach!

 

Successes and Surprises

 

Surprise!

The poppies all bloomed at once today 

along with the pale pink peonies.

That confluence has not happened before in

13 years since I began this garden.

 

And they are blooming with

the peach roses, the purple and 

yellow irises and the blue

catmint.  What a colorful

treat they make for a

gardener--and a bouquet.

Success?

All the hybrid mountain laurels

are blooming too. The white laurel 

has a few blooms on a lower stem.

It has never bloomed before!

I read about a trick for improving

underperforming trees and bushes.

Drill 4 - 6 holes around the plant

halfway between the trunk and dripline.

 Fill the hole with slow-release 

organic fertilizer pellets for 

gradual release over 6 months.

Better results next year with

increased vigor and bloom?

We'll have to wait patiently

for success--or--surprise.

Success and Surprise!

I was able to use polymeric sand on

the patio pavers to fix the cracks

myself with not too much

time or effort.  I had some help

from Garden Man with the 50-lb.

bag of sand (The last one for sale

at Paul & Sandy's today!).

A push broom and a soft bristle 

hand brush with a dust pan

made the job easy.

So did the gentle breeze,

the clear skies and the shade!

Pat on the back

for an old gardener 

learning new tricks!