Things are changing noticeably around our property as fall approaches. In fact tomorrow is the first official day of fall. The plants in my large urn have completely filled in the space. The trailing, pale green vine is that of a sweet potato that now reaches the ground.

The cleomes continue to provide quite a show. I’m very glad to have them in my rose bed because the roses barely bloomed at all this year. I am thinking that it was due to uncooperative weather and they will be back in full force next year.

The cleomes are blooming in the bed back by our garden bench too. It seems that things we did not plant are doing best this year.  That would be the cleomes, snapdragons,  and butterfly bushes. What a gift they have been.

This butterfly bush was so prolific that we can’t use the walkway here. We couldn’t bare to trim it back earlier because we took such joy from the hummingbirds, butterflies, hummingbird moths, and even bees that frequented it. It is later in the year and not many come now so the bush will soon get a haircut. These flying creatures provided some of my favorite entertainment over the summer.

The verbena and hydrangea are still putting on quite a show. The hydrangea started from a small root piece that I bought for $3 at a discount store. They have grown into four large bushes that take up half of one our raised garden beds. Plants are amazing.

My favorite part of the garden this evening though was seeing this new bed around our Harry Lauder walking stick. That’s the name of the tree. The species was named after a Vaudeville actor who had a curled walking stick, just like the branches on this type of tree. The stone in the back is from a burgundy vein of Pennsylvania blue stone. The new bed is what appears when you have a very impressive husband toiling while you are away. Also amazing.

What conclusion do I come to after my evening walk of seeing so many plants that grow by chance doing well rather than the ones that I planted? And new garden beds that appear as if by magic? Life is good.