Our garden is having a last hurrah before the snow arrives this weekend. The flowers amaze me with their tenacity.
They keep producing a nice display for us even during the cool fall temperatures.
I found a few poor, confused rhododendron blooms that I snipped and brought inside so we can enjoy them all evening.
The garden is still a beautiful and relaxing place to pass some time. If you wear a coat!
I finally took some time and worked on fall chores. I dug up all my gladioli bulbs to store them for winter. We are in Zone 5 so you never know if they will survive to come up in the spring or not. It just depends how cold it gets. If I leave them in the ground, sometimes they come up the next year and others they don’t. I have enough bulbs now that I don’t want to take a chance.
So I take the time to dig them up so we can enjoy them again next year.
Once I have dug them up, I spread them out so they can dry for a few days to a week. If they are all clumped together they can retain too much moisture and rot.
After that I put them into several paper bags. They need to have air circulation but still be in the dark. I store the bags in the basement so they don’t freeze. And that’s it. Come spring time I will break off any dead parts from the previous season and separate bulbs that have multiplied but stuck together. Then they will be ready to go back in the soil and we can enjoy them all over again.
Saturday was a good day. The weather was pleasant, finally a break from the rain and gloom. It’s hard to complain too much when portions of the rest of the country have suffered from ongoing flooding. As fall progresses, our garden is still a very enjoyable place.
We have a beautiful aster and still lots of datura in bloom, as well as many other flowers.
And pups to enjoy them with us. How lucky can one girl get?
And we got a portable fire pit so as the fall weather continues to cool, we can still enjoy spending time outside. I think the pups approve.
We resumed going on walks starting today. The temperatures are just right to make them really enjoyable. We drove to a nearby town and walked and looked at architectural details on houses. And you’ll never believe who was the most well behaved dog was on our outing. Zekie! I never thought I would be saying that!
Dahlia
Clematis is stillness blooming
Datura
Morning glory. First time the purple ones have bloomed. Better late than never.
Sedum
Giant mushroom, about 8 inches across. Not something we planted but still impressive.
The garden is still providing beauty and magic, even this late in the season.
I have been enjoying all the butterflies and moths in our garden. They are constant visitors right now.
The most common one I am seeing is this yellow tiger swallowtail. There are often several at one time.
This is the pattern on the bottom as one feeds while hanging upside down. We also have a few monarchs but they are much more skittish. Every time I am almost close enough to snap a photo, said subject takes flight.
I also captured a photo of this little guy. I believe that he is a moth that is active during the daylight hours. I see a few of these each day. It’s wings stand up when it is at rest so I think that makes it a moth.
If you look closely, you can see a hummingbird moth in this photo. Their movement is fast and jerky like a hummingbird but they are actually a moth.
One of the things that all of these have in common is that they are drawn to our house by our butterfly bushes. We purchased the original bushes from our County Extension Office. They reseed and come up prolifically. Gladiolus and petunias are also a big draw.
These flying gems are an added bonus to our garden. They bring much enjoyment along with them.
It’s that time of year. This was yesterday’s harvest from our vegetable garden. We get this much every second or third day. There are zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and turnips. We also have basil plants that are the size of shrubs.
We are fortunate to have such gifts from the garden. I have already made two batches of zucchini bread. One year we had so many yellow squash that I used them to make scads of muffins for grandma’s 90th birthday party. No one realized they weren’t zucchini muffins.
My coworkers will soon be gifted with vegetables. In fact, if you see me coming, you may want to keep your car windows up, lest you return to find produce on your seat!
1. Cleome
The cleome are an added bonus. We have not planted any in about five years. They are a prolific re-seeder. We just move or weed out what we don’t want and enjoy the rest.
2. Morning Glory
The morning glories are also re-seeding plants. I have never planted any. They were here when I moved into this house 14 years ago and have come back every year.
3. Gardenia
The gardenia provides blooms with a two-fold gift. Not only are they are delicate and beautiful, their scent is also divine.
4. Verbena
I have to say, this particular verbena is the best one I have ever grown. I believe it is called “Cherry Blossom”. It has become the focal point of this urn.
5. Hibiscus
The hibiscus put on such a show! They have large, tropical blooms and new ones open up every day.
Stay tuned for more photos of new blooms as they arrive!
I was taking an evening stroll around the garden. The hibiscus are, of course, always impressive. It was only upon seeing the digital images though that it registered that they are impressive because of form as well as color.
It made me realize that there are different types of perception within each sense in addition to between the senses. I will try to be more mindful now.
Plants are amazing things. From tiny seeds, or sometimes bulbs, an entire plant springs forth. For most of the plants we are past the stage where they invest all their energy in growing stems and leaves. Now the buds that developed are bursting open and into flower.
The plants put on a show and enter one of the most beautiful times of the year. Certainly the most colorful.
These are all plants from our gardens and around our yard. We are blessed to live with such beauty.
This bed has plants that are loved by butterflies. We are just recently started seeing butterflies for the year but I anticipate many more to come.
And we must not forget the plants that bless us with beautiful scents. My husband brought this gardenia bush inside and tended it all winter. This is the year’s first blossom. It is the first of many as the bush is loaded with buds. On a summer’s eve few scents are sweeter.
May you enjoy similar such gifts from the lowly seed.
These are my Sarah Bernhardt peonies. I’m so glad I planted them. Peonies are my favorite flower and all my other types are fading and nearly spent. But this cultivar is just now peaking. They extend my peony bloom season for nearly two additional weeks.
I researched peonies and while I did not find a repeat bloomer, I did discover that there are peonies that bloom at five different times from spring through early summer. I apparently only have two of the five covered so I will have to see if I can find others to extend the season.
My other peonies are of the type above. I’m not sure what they are. They were here when I bought this house and since it was built in 1830, I have no idea how old they are. They could be very old or a more recent owner could have planted them. I did move them about 10 years ago because a large ash tree was shading them out.
The peonies outlived the tree though. We lost it to the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, as we have lost all our ash trees. This did leave us with plenty of firewood. So plant more peonies!
(I think the lesson is beware of invasive species, but in my opinion you can never have too many peonies!)
Sanctuary Acres 