At this point in the summer, it becomes increasingly obvious that things are changing. There’s a shift: more leaves on the ground, coneflowers looking past their prime, the yellowing of leaves after days and days of the hot August sun with no rain.
The sedum, always a spot of color in Autumn, is clearly gearing up for its show.
And then there’s my scappy little Chicken Wire Fence Garden. In this gardening zone, the morning glories don’t really begin to take off until mid-August. The zinnias start to bloom at the end of July and continue to bloom through August and September.
The Chicken Wire Fence Garden is cobbled together, planted in the soil in front of the rusty fence. It reminds me, more than anything around here, of a flower garden that might be found on a farm. It’s spare, almost utilitarian, but beautiful in its way.
A landscape designer wouldn’t be impressed by this, that’s for sure.
I like it’s scrappiness. I like the bare bones quality of it.
It’s such fun. It makes the end of summer much more bearable. The morning glories will bloom until the first frost. The zinnias are always a surprise, each one different.
Like this one that just started blooming – a welcome splash of yellow!
But gosh, the morning glory vines are slow to grow this year.
We need rain. I water them every day, but we really need a good, long soaking.
Here is the latest bloom, which just opened this morning.
Another view:
Sigh. I love my scrappy little garden.
There’s a new post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page – a book review of M. C. Beaton’s latest Agatha Raisin mystery, The Blood of an Englishman. Stop by!
And the winner of a copy of After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman is Lee. Congratulations, Lee. I’ve sent you an email.
Happy Wednesday.
Always nice to have a scrappy garden — especially one that blooms late. I’ve noticed the coneflowers here at work are fading…I am biding my time and then will snip some heads for the seeds!
Yes, they are definitely fading here. I keep them as is all winter for the birds – they love those seed heads.
This week we are having some pretty high temps and the flowers are starting to show it. Still I love any garden with flowers in it! Hope you are having a good week!
hugs,
Linda
I am – still pretty tired from the antibiotic but hanging in there.
Your scrappy little garden does it’s job very well, it lifts your spirits and provides the rest of us with lovely pictures. I noticed just yesterday that some of the leaves from our oaks are already turning brown and floating down. Those trees that thrill me so much of the year strike dread in my heart when they start shedding their leaves. We have decided to rake them up and move them to another part of our property and let them decay this year. We did some that way last year and the grass that’s begun to peep through is much thicker and lovelier than the rest of the yard. Currently I am watching the two 2 year olds I am babysitting play with a laundry basket. They are having a ball.
We do that with our leaves, Janie. We rake them up and dump them on another part of the property. Makes for good mulch, too!
Your little scrappy garden is a ray of hope! My flowers are definitely starting to wain…and I water them daily. My sedum is also getting ready to bloom….and I’m seriously thinking about adding some mums to a few pots by my front door. I’m looking forward to cooler temps…and we need rain! ;)
So do we, Donna. It was cloudy this morning and I was hopeful, but now it’s sunny. Drat.
hello dearest claudia!
this post combines two favorites: zinnias and the word scrappy.
it’s always a treat to read your writing.
happy rest-o-summer …
xo
elyse
So good to hear from you, my friend. Love to you and yours.
We have a scrappy little fence to keep Miss Bella away from the road and woods across the street. The morning glories do climb! I tried to plant peonies around the border but our soil in certain spots is too clay-ey (new word). I am still trying to think of a bush that is sun loving that would hide the fence. We do have deer that jump over it… Let’s call our scrappy fences charming! Maybe we could write a book: The Charming Scrappy Little Fence That Could!
Yes, we’ll call them charming, Patricia!
Same here with the flowers and our containers full of tomatoes are starting to look a bit scraggly..it’s always wonderful to go outside and pick fresh tomatoes for salad, sandwiches,etc..the good news is that it is raining..a nice rain yesterday afternoon and now today and through tomorrow..I wish I could send some to all of you who need it..
I like your scrappy garden, Claudia. It’s always the scrappy things that survive, isn’t it? Love the white wire fencing you show here too. Reminds me of the scalloped edge white wire trim my Mom used around her flower beds at our first house at the lake. They were always being dislodged or trampled by her six kids, our friends and most of the neighborhood dogs, so Mom was always pushing them in, pulling them out, trying to get them straight again. We’re having rain right now – hope it starts heading your way too.
**sigh** your morning glories are so beautiful. I forget how much I like them until I see gorgeous photos like these and them I’m like “why didn’t I plant some of those this year”