Sunday, September 3, 2017

End of Summer View


My gardens are a tangled mess -- well, most of them. The echinacea's heavy cone-like flowers are bowed down among the shasta daisies; morning glory vines wind around hydrangea and obedience; zinnias squabble with the marigolds dashed down by rains. Never-the-less, I went outside with my camera to record the end of summer vistas and, I'm glad to say, the resulting pictures don't show all the jumble.  I intended posting on the last day of August but the deadline for my September newspaper article took precedence. I am, however, linking with Steve who now hosts the meme 'End of Month View' at Glebe House Garden. Sorry I'm a bit late, Steve, and thanks for hosting. (Do check out Steve's amazing garden in England.) I have so many photographs, I will try to group as many of them as possible, and cut down on my narrative to keep this post manageable.

The Kitchen Garden continues to produce tomatoes, beans, peppers, and the occasional cucumber, but it is totally dominated by the stand of sunflowers that bloomed so late. The aforementioned zinnias and marigolds in the cutting garden (housed in the Kitchen Garden) are providing lots of color. I planted some cold-season veggies in the cold frame. I'm hoping to have produce for several more weeks, but with temperatures 10°F below normal for the time of year the seeds are slow to germinate.

The Kitchen Garden
Abundance Garden along the kitchen garden fence.

I am so happy with Joe Pye Weed 'Baby Joe.' I'm glad I purchased the miniature and don't have to strain my neck to see its fabulous blooms.

Eupatorium dubium Joe Pye Weed 'Baby Joe.'

With the cool wet summer many plants bloomed late or continued blooming longer than normal. Cleome flowers are usually done by now but they are looking fabulous.

Cleome -- an annual that self seeded.

My roses didn't do well this summer because it was too wet for them. The 'Peace' rose looks good today though.

Hybrid tea rose Rosa 'Peace'
The Cottage Garden Border

There's still activity in the Cottage Garden border as you can see in the following pictures.


Cottage Garden
Clockwise from top left: foxglove (flowered every day since spring), Phlox 'Bright Eyes', Shasta daisies with blue mist shrub Caryopteris x clandonensis, and perennial geranium 'Roxanne' in front of Lamb's ears.


The delphiums rebloomed -- Wow!
I adore my new Smoke bush
Hyssop continues to delight the bees and me. The pink flower is hollyhock.

On the patio the herb garden is still very productive and the canna lilies bloomed at last -- I'd given up on them.

Nasturtium in the herb trug; Canna 'Striata'
The leaves of the banana plant are stunning.

The pond garden is also a tangled mess. Closing it will be a challenge with so many plants needing to be repotted.

Pond and waterfall. Note the sedum in bloom behind the angel

The Serenity Garden is lovely again; now fully recovered from the trauma of the felled tree.

The Serenity Garden
Turtlehead (top) and hydrangeas are the stars.
Can you spot the hummingbird on Turtlehead Chelone 'Hot lips?'
Well, Japanese anemones, bloom already!
Hydrangea 'Limelight' turning a bit pink for some reason.
Colorful coleus guide you on the path to the front door

Finally ...

 ... the pollinator garden at the entrance to our property is the messiest.

You may wonder why there are no pictures of the Woodland Walk. I was afraid to enter it because Billy was acting strangely -- he was very spooked, wouldn't eat, and just stood there staring toward the back of the paddock. I feared a bear was somewhere near. Billy is a very good 'bear forecaster.'


Billy is spooked, but Dude just continues eating -- nothing scares him.

I hate to see the end of summer -- it flew by this year. In my garden there is a definite feel of autumn in the air.

The breezes taste
Of apple peel. 
The air is full
Of smells to feel -
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive
Well-honeyed hums,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze. 

John Updike, September


Love,
Pamela x




I love reading your comments. I hope you leave one so I’ll know you visited! 
I look forward to visiting your blog in return.

17 comments:

  1. Your garden is delightful Pamela, here it´s also like a wilderness but that belongs to the time of year I think. I see it´s still full of colour but with the shades of late summer, just what I like. And what should I say, who are we without animals. Billy and Dude make your garden and life complete.
    Regards, Janneke

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    1. I love my animals, Janneke, but wish I could add some chickens like yours!

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  2. Your late summer garden is beautiful Pam and I don't' see a single bit of "jumble" ! Your grounds are always amazing and such a delight to visit. My favorite view is the one of the Abundance Garden with all those gorgeous sunflowers...one of my favorites!

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    1. There is jumble, believe me Lee. And some of my new plantings this year are too close to their neighbors so I have some 'moving' to do. You would think I had learned by now ...

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  3. Hello Pam, lovely to see your garden again! I always envy you the abundance of echinacea you have, I can't for my life grow them in my British climate and soil, your pollinator garden is a sight for sore eyes! Lovely also to see Rose 'Peace' which I had in my previous garden, in my climate it was much more peach than pink and in the winter (yes it flowered all year round) it turned almost cream. I miss it, maybe I must get one for this garden too.
    Hope you have a splendid autumn and enjoy your harvest.

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    1. Sometimes, Helene, I think my 'Peace' was mislabeled because it is rather more pink than it should be. I forgot that they flower all round in some parts of England -- not in the Midlands where I am from. So happy you visited!

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  4. Hi Pam, no matter how entangled and chaotic our gardens maybe, they can always be beautiful in pictures as we don't see the whole garden in one piece as in the naked eye, hahaha! That is already very organized than what you will see here in the tropics. I've always thought why gardens in cold climates are so organized and somehow easier to manage than here in the tropics. Of course we are always more envious of what we are not! hahaha

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    1. I feel the same way about gardens in England -- they always seem so much more organized than here in the U.S.

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  5. A beautiful garden. Tangled or not, it is the perfect garden for me.
    I love Joe Pye Weed. Mine have flopped everywhere this year but bees and butterflies still manage to reach them:)
    Limelight is one of my favourite hydrangea.

    Lovely post.....Billy and Dude are charming.

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    1. I'm glad I planted the miniature Joe Pye. 'Little Joe' doesn't flop as much.

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  6. Your gardens still look great! You got lucky getting the shot of the hummingbird. Happy gardening till the frost kills it all.

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    1. For the humming bird picture I used my zoom lens and took many, many shots.

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  7. Your garden is still looking fabulous. So many blooms on the sunflowers, will you leave the heads for the birds? I had to look hard to find the hummingbird but I did spot him.

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    1. Yes, Jo, I leave the heads of the sunflowers for the birds.

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  8. I'm giving up on cannas. The ones we planted from bulbs/tubers barely came up, and those that did never bloomed. I find my limelight hydrangeas always show a bit of pink, and I love it that way.

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  9. This is my first time reading your blog. I love your gardens! One day I will have gardens like yours. Thank you for the beautiful pictures, and inspiration. Dawn

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