Dahlia season has arrived!
Actually, I got them in late so they are running behind schedule.
Perhaps I should plant some early and late next year so we have a longer time to enjoy them.
Not a bad idea. Enjoy!
Dahlia Season
Category Archives: Country Life
Roses
Fall may be coming fast on the heels of summer now, but the roses are still hanging in there.
Fall Approaches
As fall approaches, it is a lovely time to hang out on the patio. Cassius approves. The cooler weather allows more time for focusing on lounging, less time required to keep chasing shade. We move the furniture around when it is hot so as not to sit in the hot sun.
The flowers are not at their peak anymore, but they are still beautiful. The gladiolus are putting on their final show of the season. In a month or so it will be time to dig them up, dry the bulbs for a few days, then put them into paper sacks to await next year’s planting. There are still flowers to look forward to this year. The dahlias will open any day now. And of course it is chrysanthemum time.
And so, the view is good. Next year this new flower bed will be totally different. It went in mid-summer so I grabbed some impatiens to fill out the few plantings we had for it. We will plan over the winter and put in some perennials in the spring.
In the afternoon, there is still time for a snooze after a busy day of frisbeeing.
House Guest
We have a house guest for the next week or so. This is Paisley. She is staying with us while her family is on vacation. She is little but mighty at 20+ pounds. Full of energy and likes to play with the big boys.
Actually, I don’t think she cares what size the other dogs are, she just wants the frisbee.
Paisley is also affectionate. And she calms down nicely too.
She appreciates hanging out and chilling on the patio just as much as the others.
Birthday Pie?
What do you do for your wonderful mother in law’s birthday cake when she is a pie person?
You search Pinterest until you find a pie recipe fitting for the occasion. Then you drive to the farm market to get the good peaches before going to the grocery store to get the other ingredients needed. You make the peach custard pie with crumb topping.
You add a decorative rose made of pie dough.
And then the hardest part, you make sure not to eat any before her big day!
A Day at the Beach
We may not live near the ocean but we are fortunate to have a Great Lake just over an hour away. So, we spent Monday on the beach. The weather was perfect. Warm with just enough cloud cover to keep us from roasting. And let me tell you, that SPF 50 sunscreen is good stuff! Previous years I used SPF 30 and was burnt for days afterwards. With the 50, I was just nicely tanned.
The day is also special because my husband and I spend it with our grandchildren and our daughter. We have traditions to go with our annual day at Lake Erie. Most revolve around food, especially the ice cream before we hit the road to head back home. I got the Lake Erie Salt Mine again this year-dark chocolate ice cream with swirls of salty caramel and caramel truffles. Yum!
I’m already looking forward to next year!
The Progress of the Olive Tree
Early in the year, I wrote about our olive tree that wintered in our spare bedroom. I wasn’t sure if the growth was blooms or fruit. Well, it turns out what we had then was blossoms.
The plant has been outside for a few months now and folks, we have fruit. Granted it is still in the early stages but I’m claiming it!
In fact, with the olive tree, the pot of herbs, and the stone walls, I may just pretend I’m in Italy!
Seasons of Summer
Time for a quick stroll around the patio garden. It was hot over the weekend so that is my inflatable pool chair behind the hibiscus.
This is one of my $2.00 clearance finds from one of the big box stores. It is a mounding annual vinca vine.
Another clearance find. This is called pentas. I wasn’t familiar with this one but I am enjoying it.
The coleus growth is slow this year but they do provide a lot of color.
The Peruvian lilies are getting their second round of flowers.
Mandevillas are a perennial favorite at our house. Pun intended.
The hydrangeas are becoming quite spectacular. This one is a little confused. It is part bluish purple and part pinkish. This might be good for a yin-yang theme.
Here is a picture of our newer flower bed with Cassius lounging in the background.
The roses are doing fine and as you can see, it will soon be the season for gladioli.
Summer is good to measure in mini seasons, for maximum enjoyment. Lily season, rose season, glad season, and so on. There is always something to enjoy, and something to look forward to.
Patience Pays Off
We almost dug up this rose at the beginning of the season with the intent of trashing it in the compost pile. It died nearly down to the ground and had not produced a bloom in two years. We thought the extreme cold for our area over the past two winters had killed the grafted portion. This would have left the rootstock which is likely a wild rose with many thorns and very small, wild flowers. Something more weedy than flowery.
The plant showed new growth so we decided to give it one more chance. We patiently watched while a bud developed. It was nearly ready to unfurl that bud so we could determine the color and see which type of rose it was, when…something, most likely a chipmunk or possibly a skunk, ate the bud! We went out to check the flower the next morning and it was gone.
Luckily, there were more buds on the way. And when they opened up, we discovered that it was indeed the climbing rose that we hoped for. We may have to mulch and cover our roses to help them survive and be healthy if those colder than usual spells continue. But we are glad to see our old friend blooming once again on the trellis.
A Day In the Garden
It was a beautiful Sunday for hanging out on the patio and enjoying our gardens. Here is a video I took so you could enjoy it too. Life is good!
Sanctuary Acres 