WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

There is still a little color in my garden

It won't be much longer before the garden will be pretty much colorless, so I am enjoying the flowers still blooming while I can.

Winter is not too far away

No, we do not have snow.....yet.....This is a photo from 2006 when we did have snow, a lot of it, I am making sure I am ready for whatever Mother Nature intends on throwing at us this year.
Yesterday it was a slightly breezy day, but warm, so I spent all day outside putting the summer furniture away, deadheaded the flowers which do not provide seeds for the birds, and most important of all, I drained the irrigation system, drained and rolled the hoses and put them away, and put away a whole lot of stuff which seemed to have found it's way under the carport. I also swept the pine needles from the front porch, which come from what was once a nice little potted Christmas tree. Many years ago, it was planted next to the steps up to the front door, and now towers over the front of the house, it looks nice but makes such a mess. As I swept around a potted plant, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, and discovered a tiny garter snake trying to get out of the way of my advancing broom. I let it slither away down into the garden before finishing the sweeping. I like to have garter snakes in the garden, as they help in keeping the insect population down.
There are still a few things I want to get done before the weather really turns nasty, but they will have to wait for another day, as today, Sunday, I need to rest a little (my body is telling me I did too much yesterday) besides it is a damp gloomy day,a good one to curl up in a comfy chair with a good book.

Sedum is a bug magnet

The butterfly, bee and wasp were all busy sucking up nectar from the Sedum.
The days are growing shorter, there is a nip in the air, and soon there will be no more bugs hurriedly going about their business. I am not a winter person, and get a trifle depressed during the long gloomy days of winter.

TAKE A VACATION AND THE GARDEN IS SURE TO PRODUCE WHILE YOU ARE GONE

We were away for just six days, and it was as if the garden knew it, and put on a spurt of growth.

There are plenty of beans to process and put in the freezer.

Two lemon cucumbers waiting to be picked as I first picked two very large burpless cukes which I thought may be past their best, but they were still crisp and tasty.

The kale is about three feet tall and leaned over under all that weight. It has since been staked.

I picked a couple of hand fulls of Sunsugar tomatoes, and there are plenty more ripening.

The ornamental gourds have fattened and I hope they will still grow a little more.

The two small blueberry bushes, just two years old, have produced about three pounds of fruit so far this year. As the fruit ripens, I pick it and place it in the freezer so we will have yummy berries on our pancakes during the dreary days of winter.

I am hoping there will be enough warm weather to ripen these couple of beauties, but judging by the forecast I may be out of luck.

WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

MONDAY MOMENT

Love in The mist seedpods, holding onto raindrops.

TROPICANNA CANNA 'PHASION'

This is one Canna I grow for the foliage as well as the flowers. It is hardy in zones 7-11 prefers full sun to partial shade. It will also do well in a large pot, and will grow up to 4' in the container, and 6' in the garden.

I love the shades of the multi-hued leaves, and it will be crowned with brilliant tangerine orange flowers. This year due to our cooler than usual summer, the plant is slow in showing it's lovely blooms.

WEDNESDAY WHIMSY