Our late-summer week-long heatwave is now a thing of the past. As much as I detest extreme heat, I'm kind of sad to see it go. It's been replaced with cloudy skies and an occasional chilly breeze, a harbinger of change that I don't find welcoming at all. I'm a summer gal. I like having the windows open, breathing the freshness, hearing the birds, the trickle of the fountain just a few steps away from the door. I'm not ready to close up shop and relegate the flip flops to the back of my closet.
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| Anemone 'Pamina,' a luscious lavender-pink late bloomer. |
The upside is that the garden is still lush with color as the fall bloomers, a banal presence in the garden since spring, have their time at center stage. You've got to love those little internal DNA clocks that alert a plant to its time to shine. Fascinating stuff.
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| Aster 'Alma Potschke.' It doesn't get any pinker than this! |
The garden albeit a bit unkempt due to my alternate activities of late isn't ready to close up shop either.
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| Aster 'Woods Pink,' a bee-lover's paradise! |
Unkempt can pretty much sum up my garden at any time of year and the longer I tend to it the better I'm getting at enjoying it rather than fretting over its blatant imperfections.
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| Cyclamen hederifolium peaks out from under the bushes. |
I'd like to believe that this thinking stems from my evolving enlightenment, you know? The fact that I'm not getting any younger, that the moments really are fleeting and that all I have is
now. The truth is though that some of it is just laziness. Sometimes I don't feel like removing all the brown Calla foliage from under the burgeoning Fuchsia shrub.
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| A Pink Dahlia... the name escapes my "evolving" mind. |
To hell with those annoying Pear tree suckers invading the lawn.
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| Fuchsia something or other |
Besides, I've already got this sweet little bouquet in my grasp. I'd have to put it down if I were going to, say, lift that annoying weed snaking through the Sedum and throw it into the bucket that has the nerve to situate itself a great distance from convenient.
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| Gaura blooms |
The weed will wait. The spent foliage will keep. I'll be back.
I love all of your colorful beauteous blooms. Your gardens must be such a treat to walk around in.
ReplyDeleteI envy you your cooler weather. It is still hot and steamy way down here.
Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
I'm not ready for the cold either!!!! It's funny, I took a bunch of pictures in the yard yesterday for the first time in FOREVER and have been getting a post ready for tomorrow as well. I haven't done a thing out there in what seems like weeks. But I still don't have the heart to start ripping things out when they're still blooming their little hearts out. Problem with that is, the rains will be here any day now and then things will be left until spring. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that anemone you have and the pink dahlia too. So, so pretty.
Our summers are so fleeting. By the time they're here, they're gone again. Here's hoping for a sunny October.
Grace,
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly the queen of pink! The asters are just gorgeous and cyclamen coming up in the garden, just bought some today for indoors.
Eileen
I'm with you, so not ready for autumn. I love having the windows open and listening to the outdoor sounds. My garden is very blowsy lately too. Lots of stuff to cut back or even pull, waiting for stems to brown completely so I can save seeds, etc. I don't want the heat back, but some sun and temps in the low 70s would be nice. You still have lots of pretty flowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely fall blooms!! I've fretted all summer about the heat; now that it's cooler, I'm already dreading winter. Fall makes me a little sad; maybe because I associate it with me being in the fall of my life. Anyway, I've been looking at your pages of vintage garden stuff; love it!! Now I'm on a search for things, hoping next year will be better for us.
ReplyDeleteNot ready either! Over the last few days the pine has been dropping needles all over, that is my least favorite part of fall. I wish that internal DNA would turn off :)
ReplyDeleteLove the Anemone. Isn't it nice that there are still so many late bloomers to keep the garden pretty and help us ignore the weeds?
I am feeling quite lazy in my garden. From a distance it looks pretty good, though! ;)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers, Grace!
Such pretty pink blooms today. My favorite is the Anemone's. Your Asters are so lovely but they always lay down for me.
ReplyDeleteI am so not ready for Fall and shorter days. I need Light! LOL!
Sometimes I feel lazy, too! But, just enjoy the moment. Your blooms are gorgeous. These pictures of perfection are what will remain in our memories.
ReplyDeleteI am with ya! The list of garden chores grows longer by the day for me, but I don't feel the urgency at all!
ReplyDeleteYour anemone are gorgeous, they look like dahlia to me!
That first paragraph is EXACTLY me!! I like those same things. I'm a girl who will take heat others won't just so I can keep the windows open and feel like part of the great outdoors. We need to live in the Mediterranean somewhere!!
ReplyDeleteGood for you adopting a more laid back attitude. It's way too high maintenance to keep everything very neatly manicured. Every view of your garden that I've ever seen has looked inspiring and spectacular.
Your pinks are fabulous this post.
Gracie, I spent some time pulling weeds and yanking plants over the weekend. You have some lovely blooms for the middle of September and they are suprisingly 'pink'. Chat in a bit!
ReplyDeleteI can't NOT pick weeds....I pull them when I see them....all the time and believe me, there are plenty to pull.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the windows open and listening to the owls at night. Too hot in the summer to have open windows. This is the time of year I can spend oodles of time outside.
That ruffly double pink aster is amazingly pink!!!
Your garden may be tired but it does look beautiful. I can't imagine what it would look like if you hadn't been so "lazy". Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGrace girl you truly are the "Queen of Pink" : ) I love all of them and you have inspired me to look more closely for next Autumn's plantings .. more PINK I say !! LOL
ReplyDeleteJoy
Oh Grace beautiful colors, that aster is absolutely stunning, just a wow really.
ReplyDeleteAh happy to hear someone else feels lazy, I was just thinking I need to do some work out there. It's nice to sit down and just enjoy it.
If I want to see pink, I come to you, Grace! Beautiful! Really. I am not ready for the new season yet. And some of my plants too. For example, Black and Blue Salvia just developed the very first bud!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a poetic way of rationalizing what you call "laziness" but I cal "laissez-faire".
ReplyDeleteHi Gracie,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures as always. I need to go through all of your old posts to catch up!
Hugs,
Annie
You have some wonderful plants for September.
ReplyDeleteI love A. Pamina... and your unnamed dahlia. Double pinks are fun.
I am at the same place with my garden, but I was losing the battle today with enjoying it in spite of the chores needing to be accomplished. I should just go sniff some flowers tomorrow, because they are only going to last another two weeks (ugh!!!) before frost. So sad.
Yes, September is amazing, isn't it? How many aster blooms do you think there are?! wow.
ReplyDeleteGreat attitude. I couldn't agree more at this time of year.
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