Friday, September 2, 2011

I Refuse to Believe It!

I don't care what the calendar says. I'm not listening. I'm defiant. [Insert immature foot-stomp here.] 

Echinacea

This is how I feel about September. Well, not really September, per se, just when September chooses to happen. 

Sedum 'Vera Jameson' 

It's not even so much the now-ness of September. It's the impending-ness. 

Echinacea 'White Swan' 

I don't want summer to go bye, bye. 

Sedum 'Variegata' 

I know this is really stupid. Irrational. I mean just because it's September doesn't mean that summer is over. 

Honeysuckle

I know we're supposed to enjoy the moment. This is all we have, yada yada. 

Autumn Fern

Yet, like I said, it's just the impending-ness of it. 

Canna 'Pretoria' 

Remember when you were a kid on Christmas morning? You tiptoed out to the tree and saw the pile of presents. The anticipation of something grand awaited you. Then awhile later, after almost all the presents were opened and there was a huge mess of torn wrapping paper and ribbons and detritus, there was this indefinable moment when the let-down hovered over you. It's almost over.   



Bingo!

Horseradish

I know lots of you love fall. Especially my sweet garden buddies in the southern portion of the continent. For you, fall means relief from the unrelenting heat. I get that. 

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' 

And, admittedly there are still bits of anticipation right here on my own home turf.

Scabiosa 'Beaujolais Bonnets' 

The buzzers and hummers are oblivious. Maybe I should take the hint.



Enjoy the fruits of the season.

'SunSugar' 

Believe me, I have been!

Ground Cherry 

I guess I should stop whining. 

Persicaria 'Firetail' 

But I'm so good at it. 


30 comments:

  1. So very beautiful! I love to see all the different flowers you have, since mine have dried up :(

    September makes me a little sad; it's not long until winter and the weather does a complete turn around!

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  2. This touched a chord in me as I am feeling saddened by September at the moment. The harshness of last winter doesn't yet seem far enough away for me to be ready to face another one, and the coolness of this year's summer hasn't made up for it!

    You have captured the sense of impending loss combined with appreciation of the fruitfulness really skilfully.
    Jane Gray

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  3. Love that Persicaria! Grace, we are all whiners in the fall, missing the tremendous blooms and not liking the shrinking back of our gardens. I am better since I began planting for the seasons rather than just for July!

    I am hoping to keep many of my grasses up for the winter along with the sedum.

    Eileen

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  4. Having grown up in the Midwest, I still marvel at just how dramatically summer "shuts off" in the PNW in early August and just how daunting the impending fall and winter gloom is. I especially dread it this year, given our lack of summer.

    On a brighter note, I've added some pink flowers to my garden after seeing how you've used them so well. Prior to following your blog, pink was pretty much banished from my garden.

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  5. I understand how you feel. You are in a good place right now.If my garden looked that good I would not want to say goodbye either. Love that firetail!

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  6. LOVE LOVE LOVE this post- you said everything i was thinking - just read it to my husband because just today he was upset with me that is was upset summer was over. Thank you!
    http://huckleberrygarden.blogspot.com/

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  7. Oh good lord, you know how I feel.. I'm doing the dance of jiggy joy for September. :)!

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  8. Other than the overflowing wheelbarrow you should embrace September, your gardens look wonderful to me! I'm one of the southern gardening friends that would love a cool down.

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  9. You certainly hit a note with this post - those of us in the North certainly know how you feel. Last week it felt like fall, some leaves have started to turn and the garden was shutting down. Yesterday and today, it's been in the 90's and so humid you don't want to step outside. One last hurrah before the sadness sets in.

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  10. Ah Grace! You're cracking me up :) Maybe a nice compromise with an 'Indian Summer' here in the great Northwest? Your pears look soooo yummy!!

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  11. It has been 90 and over here for 3 days and I don't even care. I never want the summer to end, either. I don't know what winter is like where you live, but it's like living on the moon, here. People stay in and nothing lives outside! blech

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  12. Yes, the impendingness of September getting here makes me want to whine. We had a cooler evening, and someone somewhere spoiled my outdoor time by having a fireplace going. Larry didn't think it was anyone cooking. Someone somewhere was smoking, too. My lungs are sensitive to that stuff. I did get a 5 gallon bucket filled with stuff I deadheaded or trimmed back.

    Your blooms do look like they don't care about what time of the season it is, either. I love that persicaria!

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  13. I know exactly what you mean about the impendingness of September. I'm not ready for summer to be over either. I hope that September weather continues to be as nice as it has been so far, then I won't mind so much. Your garden looks like it's still enjoying summer. My sister just shared some Persicaria (I think it's 'Firetail'). I'm a little afraid to let it loose in my garden, does yours spread much? I love the Horseradish in the bucket!

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  14. I'm with you Grace...I whine all through our beautiful falls...I don't want to see my garden go and be buried under feet of snow...it is hard to deal with it for months...at least down S they don't have snow and can keep on gardening for months...I have been stomping my feet and saying noooooo....let's hope for a warm long fall :)

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  15. Totally get this Grace! It's me in a nutshell. I always have a hard time enjoying fall because of what follows. I dread turning the calendar to September. Yesterday we had highs in the low 70's for the first time in a long time and it almost felt chilly! Not happy...

    You have lots of gorgeousness all around you so just ignore the calendar and soak it up!!!

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  16. I have lately consoled myself with the knowledge that for we Oregonians, summer doesn't begin until July, therefore Autumn doesn't begin until at least October. That's my hedge against the impending-ness of it! Your lovely sedum Autumn Joy reminds me I need one - their ubiquity put me off for a while but they are wonderful late-summer performers!

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  17. I hear you, Grace! I am in summer zone too! September is a summer month here. We had cool May and June, so we deserve longer summer!
    P.S. Can you believe Costco started selling X-mas ornaments already? Insane.

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  18. Your wheelbarrow & mine ought to get together (pink & blue)! I really like yours. Can't remember ever seeing one that color...

    Oh, the echinacea! Be still my heart.

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  19. My sentiments exactly. I hate to see summer going because my mind goes straight to winter and no flowers or just slipping on the sandals and stepping outdoors.
    Maybe it is the Halloween and Christmas ornaments all ready in the stores that really forces it into my mind. LOL!
    Grace I love your Persicaria Firetail.Look at those yummy pears too. I am really digging the pink wheelbarrow.

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  20. Criminy Grace your garden STILL has more color than mine has had all summer combined! Just beautiful. I like the white coneflower-- And the pears. Fruit is our reward for being brave about autumn!

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  21. Oh Grace you say it so well and show it all so beautifully. I would not be able to pick a favorite but I am intrigued by that stand of Persicaria 'Firetail'.

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  22. I'm one of those few who love fall more than anything! While I don't quite want to think about winter quite yet...at least we have the luxury of long, leisurely falls here in the PNW...in the midwest, we got a week before it got freezing cold! BTW...I have 'Firetail' as well...but yours looks more pink than mine, which is a deep red.

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  23. Gorgeous Grace! You make September look less scary- and I'm jealous that everything is still so GREEN in your garden! Even though we've had a mild summer this year, my garden is nowhere as lush as yours! Someday!

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  24. fitting comparison to x-mas morning! I don't know. i've been so tired the whole year, I'm looking both very forward to the end of the season, and also very forward to a better year next year. This year I had a very crappy garden for my very crappy efforts.

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  25. Ok, so Jeff and I are sitting in front of a crackling fire and trying to figure out WHY you're down at the bottom of my list of favorite blogs...and why the link doesn't work.

    Jeff is working on it.

    Your garden looks GREAT. Remain defiant or I'll be disappointed in you.

    XX

    S

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  26. I agree with Jane that for you Oregonians September is the new July (like 50 is the new 35). I'm amazed that this persicaria does as well for me here in zone 10 as for you in the PNW. What a great plant. Loved your closing, Grace!

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  27. Fall and spring are gone in the blink of an eye. Your garden looks wonderful...what a big bunch of cuttings in the wheelbarrel. I need to get out in my garden now that it is a little cooler.

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  28. On the upside, my lawn mowing season is winding down. By the time I finish mowing our hilly acre, I am usually soaked in sweat and cursing the advent of mown grass as a suburban ubiquity. Phooey.

    Sign of the season: today I wore a sweater and was still cold.

    Christine in Alaska, no Periscaria/pears/pink wheelbarrow

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  29. Wow, lots of color !!!
    Very impressive Grace.
    Love the Sedum 'Variegata' it's so different.

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  30. I'm with you, lets click our heels and pretend it is still August. Hey, nhow come the Firetail you gave me and I planted doesn't look as fabulous as yours! Don't get me wrong, I love it, it's nice but yours has a better caretaker I'm afraid. Thank you for sharing your plants with me!
    Annie

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