“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” ~ Oscar Wilde.
By the time Mother Nature gives us the nod that indeed summer is ending, the plants are tired, and I’m tired and ready to give it all over to fall. Especially after the 100% humidity and 90 degree temps this past week. So draining for me and the garden. Time to hermit and wait. And we did for a few days. Finally a tremendous storm blew through with 60 mph winds and torrential rain that fell sideways gathering 2.5 inches to refresh both of us.
Even with hot temps and weather that says summer one day and fall the next, I love the beginning of September when summer is still with us, but the temps are cooling. There are more clouds, the raptors are returning and my garden is putting on a new growth spurt. Many people feel compelled to rip out their potted annuals and put in fall flowers like mums. But I like to wait before the mums and new pansies are planted.
The rain refreshed many plants like this morning glory that I let grow and go wherever it wanted. It has rewarded me with dozens of pinkish and white blooms every morning.
The self-seeded lavender is still going strong, sending up more flowers. Along with those orange flowers of Butterfly Weed. A milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, that also self-seeded between the lavender.
With summer’s long goodbye, I thought I would use the lavender and a few other plants still going strong in containers. Like Licorice Plant and white cosmos with white Angelonia which is fast becoming a favorite annual of mine.
This vase definitely says summer heat to me.
And I still have a few container dwarf sunflowers flowering which speak to me of the waning time of summer and harvest as fall fast approaches.
This week on the 13th, my blog celebrates its 13th Anniversary. I am proud to say I am still as enthusiastic to write and share my garden and life here as I was 13 years ago. For a few years, I was unsure if I would continue as I was healing from years of stress in a job I grew to dislike. Once retired I needed respite and still do. Healing is a long process. But this writing community has been so rewarding, so generous. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am unsure what direction this life and blog will take, but gardens and nature will always play a big part.
With this week’s lovely little vases, I am linking in to the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, at Rambling in the Garden.
All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. You can follow my progress with #the100dayproject in my Instagram and Facebook feed.
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