The one nice thing about winter's arrival, and having to say goodbye to the garden, is that some of it can come indoors. This bowl of succulents thrived all summer and even survived the first night of frost (we forgot to cover it!) but now it's safely tucked inside near a sunny window. We're hoping it will survive a winter inside and be able to take its place on the bridge baluster once again in the spring.
Bringing the garden inside for the winter
Autumn's first frost
We made it to the end of October before our first frost. We covered quite a few of the pots so the porch and decks still have some color, but the leaves are falling and the garden is fast going to sleep for the winter.
Deeper into Autumn
Please click to enlarge. Stunningly beautiful! Nice to have neighbors with gorgeous trees!
Octoberfest
October 4, and the garden designer has declared that the entryway is perfect - just as he envisioned it. (We won't tell him that the assistant gardener took some clippers to the willow on the right, or no visitor would be able to pass...Hmmm...maybe that was his intention?)
Mum is the word...
September is quickly coming to an end, and today we "replanted" our scraggly petunias in the compost heap and replaced them with gorgeous fall mums. With the air crisp and our hands in the dirt, for a minute it almost felt like spring again. But autumn is my second favorite season, so we're savoring every minute.
September peaches...just for looks
We planted this Bonfire Dwarf Peach tree two years ago and I think it's been the best $25 we ever spent on the yard! Gorgeous pinkish blooms in spring, deep purple palm-like leaves, and late in the summer, hiding underneath, perfect little peaches (that don't taste very good, but look luscious!) These dwarf trees get about 10 feet tall, and this one is close to halfway there now.
Rearranging the garden...furniture
We rearranged some furniture in the house, which brought a garden bench from our bedroom out to the front porch, which brought this cafe set (an anniversary present from my husband a few years ago) out to a corner on the back deck. I love it here. It's the first thing I see when I look outside every morning, and it always seems to be inviting me to come out and enjoy the day.
September rains
A cool September morning and we're getting a gentle rain here in Kansas. My favorite thing about rain here is that the rainspout sets off the "fountain" Ken fashioned from a holey rock. A simple concept, but really neat to watch.
We'd just about given up on the Confetti Lantana in the pot and I'd started to fill in with ivy and coleus cuttings. Wouldn't you know it...when those took off, so did the lantana. It's a beautiful combination - one of my favorite pots of this summer.
Prairie grasses
The prairie grasses along the fence are headed out and so top heavy they keep falling over. Recent rains haven't helped. They look lovely and graceful swaying in the breeze, but they are a pain to mow around. We have several varieties including Big and Little Bluestem, Side Oats Gramma, Prairie Dropseed, Dallas Blues, Indian Grass (the tallest, most prominent grass you see in the photo above) and probably some other varieties I'm forgetting. The grasses really are the stars of the landscaping.
Coral Bells and Blue Mist Spirea
The Blue Mist Spirea is blooming much earlier than last year, which seems odd given our very late spring. We've really enjoyed the Coral Bells this year, too. We have two different varieties, one just planted this year, and the other a year or two older. They really add some nice contrast in the garden and remain attractive into the fall and winter.
Crouching kitten, hidden roses
A scene from our late-August garden. Things are so much greener and prettier than they usually are this time of year, thanks to an abundance of rain and unseasonably cool weather.
Overgrown entryway
The front entry is turning out just like the master of the house envisioned it: over-grown and just a little wild. When it gets to the point where a thin man can no longer get through without a machete, I think the mistress of the house might have to sneak out and take some pruning shears to the willow. In the meantime, it is rather pretty.
August, and it's cool!
What an amazing summer we've had. We finally got some triple-digit days the first week of August, but now, on the 8th and 9th, we've had clouds, rain, and temps barely reaching eighty. Today's high was 75! What a treat.
Foggy July morning
Today is the last day of July and I must say I have never seen a more unusual July than 2008's has been! Lots of rain, and a few evenings that were actually chilly. We've only had a couple of triple digit days this month, too.
Yesterday I actually sat out on the patio at a restaurant for a noon lunch with a friend!
And this morning we woke up to thick fog. These photos don't quite capture it, but it was so beautiful, lying over the garden like a veil, and making the colors of the flowers and grasses extra brilliant.
[As always, with any of the photos on this blog, you may click on the picture to get an enlarged view.]
Rare July rainbow
It's not often we get a rainbow in July...it's not often we get rain in July. But we got both, and this was a stunning, span-the-sky double rainbow.
Determined Dahlberg Daisies
The Dahlberg Daisies have seeded themselves into our yard for the second summer in a row, and I must say they are even more delightful popping up where they please than they were when we planted them in pots. Plucky little patches have popped up in half a dozen spots between the pavers on the back patio and they are in full, glorious bloom in mid-July.
A riot of color
July 9 and the garden is in its prime. The wildflowers along the fence are in full bloom. We have wild bergamot, cupflower, coneflowers in two colors, wild verbena, and a few things we can't identify. Whatever they are, they are lovely, and we are enjoying every minute of watching them bloom. Click on the photo for a larger view.
What (who) the garden was made for
At the end of June our two little grandsons (and their mommy and daddy) came for a week-long visit. The weather was perfect and we were thrilled to get to spend lots of time outside with them. This is the yard at its best, filled with the people we love.
Chilly July morning... Huh?
That's right! It's the 5th of July and the cool weather chased me off the deck. Sixty-six degrees this gorgeous summer morning. Very unusual for July in Kansas, but you won't hear us complaining. Beautiful!
Secret garden growing slowly more secret
We're trying to create a "secret garden" in the space between the garden shed and the house. The plan is eventually to train the English ivy up the side of the shed, and maybe even into an archway over the alley between buildings. It's a years' long project, but already it's a prettier spot than it used to be. The Rose of Sharon screens the air conditioning unit and the flowerbed also hosts Moonlight Broom, Golden Creeping Jenny, and Catmint, which was especially beautiful this year.
Veronica Golden Creeping Speedwell
Golden Creeping Speedwell has done so well this summer. It took two years to get the Stepables established, but now it's taking off, filling the spaces between pavers in the arbor garden. Its bright green color makes a nice contrast to the rose bushes and dogwood.
"Pretty in Pink" Petunias
The petunias have been so pretty this year. We didn't have good luck with them last year, and I think one thing I was doing wrong was packing too many into a pot. We split them up and planted sparsely this year and now, near the end of June, they are going to town! They're such cheery flowers, it makes them worth the little bit of deadheading they require.
The view from the deck
Every morning when we come out to the kitchen for breakfast, we're greeted by such a pretty view out the dining room windows. Sometimes it entices us to have breakfast outdoors. The trees (both ours and our neighbors') have really filled out and are starting to provide shade and privacy. I can't wait to see what this view will look like five years from now.
Green skies
Early June and we've been under a weather advisory all day. This picture doesn't quite capture it, but at times the sky - the whole atmosphere, really - has had that eerie greenish cast it gets in tornadic conditions. It would be rather pretty if it wasn't so scary!
Roses galore!
What a year for roses this has been! They are lovely in shades of pink and yellow and everything in between, and coming on by the dozens. I love roses! (Click on the photos to get a larger view.)
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