Diascia back in bloom!

I'm a huge fan of Diascia (Twinspur). This pot bloomed hard all spring until the worst heat of summer, but now, even after a beastly hot summer (spent in the shade of the front porch) this little beauty is back in bloom and covered with delicate pink flowers. I love it because it tolerates the shade and blooms at least 5-6 months of the year. I'll bring it inside when the nights get too cold and enjoy it for a few more weeks, but you can be sure Diascia will be on my wish list again next spring.

Maiden grass heads out

The maiden grass headed out while we were in North Carolina mid-October. I'd forgotten how pretty it looks once the heads "bloom"––especially on a windy day like today. The Autumn Blaze maples across the street from us our gorgeous. The one in our own back yard lost all its leaves in September. Overall, our yard looks pretty sad, thanks to the hot, dry summer. : (

Mum is the word

A late October cold snap took a few of our plants, but the mums offer pops of color on the deck. The dragonfly was a gift from our friends in New York. We spent a fun few days with them in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, watching a marvelous display of autumn color.

October rain

I love the way the rain makes all the colors more intense. We had a wonderful week of mist and rain to welcome October. Much needed and much enjoyed. The grasshoppers, on the other hand––not needed and definitely not enjoyed!

September morning

Another beautiful morning

There's a tiny hint of autumn in the air and the mornings and evenings have been wonderfully cool. Have I mentioned I LOVE fall?

I love the way the morning sun streams in the windows this time of year.

More butterflies

They're simply too pretty not to share with you again:

I chased this one all over the yard trying to get his photo with his wings open. 

Morning and evening

It's difficult to describe, but the light is so different in the morning in the garden than it is at evening. Both beautiful in their own way, but I love the evening light best. (The sprinklers are running in both these shots. Thanks to our well, we've been able to keep our lawn and shrubs green through this drought.)

Our front porch looking in

For the third evening in a row, we spent over an hour working in the yard. This cooler weather makes me never want to come in!

We trimmed the Rose of Sharon away from the house and I just couldn't stand to throw away the branches with blossoms on them. They make a pretty bouquet, but it will only last a day. Still, too pretty for the trash can!

Yard work

There was a time I would have said "yard work" was a dirty word. But not with the glorious weather we've had this first week of September! It's been a pleasure to be outside, and we've worked well over an hour each evening, weeding, trimming, watering, spraying. Finally the gardens are beginning to look a little perkier, especially with the beautiful prairie grasses starting to head out. Sadly, we lost a couple of plants to the heat. (I'm most sad about losing the Ninebark in the front yard.) But Spring is another "day" and we're glad for a chance to start over next year and see what all truly survived.

The view from the back garage door. 

Sweet potato vine success!

Remember that sweet potato vine I snipped off to root? Well, I planted it in the corner of a pot on the back deck (even before the roots weren't very thick yet) and although at first it looked like it would just wilt and die, it didn't! It took hold and is doing as well as the vines I started from last year's tubers. 

 Now I have another one rooting on the kitchen counter (alongside those beautiful eggplants our daughter grew in their Missouri garden). I'm letting this one get thick roots before I plant it. We'll see if that keeps it from trying to wilt the first few days. I wonder if these rooted plants will produce tubers?

The Monarchs are here?

Early September, and at first glance, we thought the Monarch butterflies were passing through our part of the country. But after doing some research, we believe these are Painted Lady butterflies. Whichever variety they are, they love the Blue Mist Spirea near the birdbath! Some interesting information about identifying Monarchs at this link.

Seed pods...looking forward to next spring

One of our favorite splashes of color in the backyard garden is the Butterfly Weed. (See below.) It's not something we planted, and we suspect the seed came in with some of the good farm dirt we brought in when we were first planting our gardens. Each year the orange blooms have spread a bit and this year we had Butterfly Weed in at least two different spots along the fence. Now that it's finished blooming, we're enjoying the interesting look of the seed pods (and hoping that as they burst open, each seed finds a good home right here in our garden!)

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

August 28 and in spite of predicted triple digits again this week, for now it's a cool 72 degrees and the skies are just gorgeous!

The roses are back

The roses have made a comeback here at the end of August and are far prettier than they were earlier this year when it was so hot. The Carefree Delight wild roses are having a new life too. It's nice to see a few things flourishing after a summer where many of our plants really took a beating from the 47 triple-digit days Kansas has suffered this summer.

Sundae's kingdom

We are down to one cat in our yard now, but Sundae thinks she's the queen of the castle. We were worried how she would fare after we lost Frosty because they were such good buddies, but Sundae has become a much friendlier cat recently. (Sundae's momma, Biscuit, is a stray who bore us 9 kittens and then abandoned us! Biscuit still stops in for a visit now and then, but we don't know where she's living, and she's not telling.) If we dare to go outside without giving Sundae some serious love and praise, she bats at our pant legs as we're heading back in. It's pretty cute and pretty hard to resist. Here, she surveys her kingdom from a perch atop the arbor.