My late summer cottage garden is a riot of blooms that are busy with pollinators. Froggy Pond is full of water lilies and dragon flies. The verdant Serenity Garden calms with its beautiful hydrangeas and pretty hosta flowers. I don't want to think about all this loveliness coming to an end, but the signs are there with the prevalence of die-back requiring lots of deadheading. Hastening the process of decline are the frequent heavy rains. I hate to keep complaining about the weather. I awoke this morning, however, with a feeling of dread that Hurricane Henri may reach far enough inland to damage my garden. It was pouring when I stepped out onto the porch. The rain garden is full and overflowing but I'm glad to say that, although it has rained all day, we are not getting strong winds. They are not so lucky in New England. I pray for all those in the path of the storm.
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| Rain from Hurricane Henri soaking my garden. |
Yesterday I took pictures of what is blooming now. I know you have seen so many pictures of these same plants so I have tried to include something new to my garden in each collage.
I labelled the flowers clockwise from the top left picture in each set
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| Pretty, red zinnia / lobelia in the rain garden/ pole beans / the tuberous begonia just gets bigger and bigger |
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| Hydrangea 'Limelight' / coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea Confections™ 'Milkshake') / white turtle head Chelone glabra with blooms tinged with lavender |
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| Surprise lily - I had only one this year / Can't resist showing the lavender again - Look how much more it has grown! / Great blue Lobelia / Obedient plant |
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| The reblooming daylily flowers when all the others are finished / will Henri destroy the petunias in the hanging basket? / Rudbeckia black-eyed Susan / tall black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia maxima) |
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| A nice, color-coordinated mixture of yellow, white, and red -- Coreopsis and Lilium |
There was a lull in the rain earlier, so I rushed outside to pick some flowers. They will give you another idea of what is blooming now.
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| Hydrangea 'Pinkie Winkie & 'Limelight', zinnia, cosmos, obedience, yarrow 'The pearl', and shasta daisy |
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| I'm using the vase on the bottom right for the first time. It is another of Duane's great thrift-store finds |
Finally, the Kitchen Garden gave me a nice bounty last evening:
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| The first of the pole beans, red beets, the first cherry tomatoes (some are hiding in the picture), the last of the cucumbers, and some lovely carrots. |
I don't really wish that the gardening season would last for ever because, I have to admit, I am getting a bit tired. And I have to conserve some energy for a major fall project-- creating the meadow garden that I mentioned earlier this year. I'm a glutton for punishment.
Stay safe, dear gardening friends!
Love,
Pamela x
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| The last hosta to bloom this year |
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.
I’ve often said that I should live where I could garden year round. But I’ve come to realize how welcome the winter rest can be. I hope Henri leaves you alone!
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DeleteHenri didn't do a lot of damage to my garden, but did give us 10 inches of rain -- a record I believe.
DeleteBeautiful blooms and yummy vegetables. What could be better reasons to garden? Good luck with your fall project.
ReplyDeleteYou made me think of the saying: Gardening is better than therapy and it gives you tomatoes.
DeleteYou have such beautiful blooms Pam and your garden is always such a pleasure to visit. Happy late summer!
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping your beautiful garden didn't get hit too bad! I know that originally Henri was supposed to make landfall on Long Island.
DeleteLovely blooms, and a kitchen full of flowers and produce, too. Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteYes, Beth, I feel blessed!
DeleteIt all looks utterly delightful. So satisfying when the rain garden works as intended.
ReplyDeleteThe new vase and vibrant flowers are a very happy pair, almost as happy as the young lavenders!
I am thrilled with the progress of the lavenders. I just hope they can survive a Pocono winter. 'Phenominal' is claimed to be the most hardy, so we shall see.
DeleteYour gardens look lush and well watered. I love your cut flowers, and your vases are beautiful. I understand about hating to see the gardening season end, but there is a reality with regard to being just a little tired. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your nice comments, Judy. This season, with the rain, my gardens are definitely lush, bordering on overgrown. Every year is different, isn't it?
DeleteThere's still so much colour in your garden and it looks like an abundance of veg too. I can feel autumn creeping in here with the nights drawing in and a chill in the air, I'm not ready to let go of summer yet.
ReplyDeleteWow it is so lovely to see the flowers and the amazing bounty from your kitchen garden. I'm sorry glad you were far enough away to not suffer with the strong winds from Storm Henri.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
As always, your gardens are lovely and you grow a lot of happy plants. I'm impressed with the basket of veggies. This year I grew the old standbys of tomatoes,zucchini and beans. I planted okra from seed as a trial,and it is a great producer. Talk about rain! I had installed a drip irrigation system, and have not turned it on since August. There's always something to do.. I doubled the size of the herb garden. I'm prone to moving plants around. Kinda needing that winter rest, too.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a beautiful garden. Your flower photos are so pretty. I would love to be able to pick bunches of fresh flowers like yours for the house, wonderful.
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