Passive / Aggressive Gardener?

Weekends have become so precious.  The Monday through Friday routine on Life's "Habitrail" feels faster and longer, but then that could just be me?

What a GREAT photo - on the technology "habitrail"
(from the creative minds at Microsoft clip art)

I look out the window today, on a cool crisp Autumn Saturday, and it makes me smile.  The Arabian Nights Dahlia continues to bloom insanely, though the stems look more like abstract art?  Winds and storms blow the plants to & fro, and then new growth points straight to the sun...  (The stems are also very brittle, so 'note to self:  plan a better support system next year'.)

That 'baby' Shepard's Hook doesn't stand a chance
(trying to hold the dahlia up)!

Now, my question is ... why is it one minute I want to conquer the world (in my gardens), then in the next minute I look disinterestedly out the window, denying the season clean-up work that needs to be done?  Is that 'passive-aggressive'?  Is that 'burnout' from work?  ..or do I just need a few days off to recharge my batteries?  (Never mind, I think I just answered my own question.)

In the meantime, I have been appreciating the Autumn foliage!  My "$3" Garden Mums from Lowe's have come back for the 3rd season.  Their snowy-white blooms look amazing with the Royal Purple Smoke Bush as a back drop.  They also 'glow' in the night against the dark Autumn night.

Awesome contrast:
Royal Purple Smoke Bush back drop to the Snowy White Garden Mums

Up close and personal:  talk about the best 'bang for your buck'

Other Autumn 'pleasers', included a recent trip to pumpkin farm, Sonny Acres.  The entrance garden was fascinating:

Call me "Guppy" - I had to stop and check this out

Coolest plant in the garden!

And while the last of the season's blooms are out, some plants are throwing up a new growth, while others are done for the year - even without the 1st frost:

A snapshot in time ... 10/07/2011

As I toured around the gardens recently, I found a renegade Maple shoot changing colors (it was so cute I couldn't pull it).  The Center Glow Ninebark is fully recovered from last year's powdery mildew, and 'dressing' colors for Autumn.  The Cottage Garden is strategically placed near a Sunburst Locus tree, that showered all it's yellow leaves last weekend - they should mulch in the yard nicely.  The early Spring riser, Crimson Pixie Asiatic Lily went dormant early.  The new stone path in the Cottage Garden looks charming bathed in leaves, while the Dark Red Hollyhock/Malva continues to push a few new shoots.  And finally, the last dinner-plate Rose Mallow bloom faced the setting sun, one last time...

I  hope you aren't as conflicted as I have been about gardening.  I look forward to visiting your gardens this weekend!

Peace in the Garden! ...

Light 'Play' and Gentle Breezes

I'm feeling 'garden-y' ((?) probably couldn't find that in Wikipedia) and Zen this morning.  The heat & humidity broke today, so all the windows are open and there is an amazing breeze blowing through the house.  Paging through a new issue of Garden Gate, as I sat in my 3-Season room I noticed the 'light play' on the plants in the "Shade Garden" from the morning sun.

Garden Blogger, Cat - The Whimsical Gardener has a keen eye for the art of the garden, through her photography.  I look at my garden in a whole different way now - as a photo op and perhaps some personal artwork in my home.  My favorite plant progress shots are taken at sunset (as a self-described NON-morning person, 'sunrise' shots will be few and far between).  The other evening the Cottage Garden was bathed in sunset.  Here are a few shots I was able to capture:

Sunset on the Sweet Autumn Clematis
(by my 'Budding Photographer)

'Morning Light' Maiden Grass and Perennial Hollyhock
(at Sunset)

Yellow Daylily Bloom in Sunset shadows

Arabian Nights Dahlia bloom
(Must plant more Dahlias next year!)

I'm entranced by the beauty of this garden in sunset!  

So now that my 'anchor' gardens are in place and I have a sense of closure on what's done so far - I'm back in the garden plant books and pouring through garden magazines for the next phase of planning and planting.  Many of you provided a great recommendations for my 'wishlist' in 2012 and there are a few plants I fell in love with (like Lavender) as I perused my favorite garden 'haunts'.

Borrowed from the creative talent at Microsoft Clipart

I have also had a chance to surf the Blogosphere a bit and catch up with many of your blogs.  Summer has been 'spotty' for getting online, so I am incredibly behind.  In my 'virtual' travels, I try to leave you a comment - so you know I've been by.  It still blows me away how much talent is shared in this format.  Recently Tufa Girl and Toni -Signature Gardens were doing separate whorl-wind driving tours (the real kind) and introduced me (and their readers) to Karen at Quarry Garden Stained Glass.  Many of you may already know about this talent, but if you are new to the blog as I was - stop by!  "Wow" doesn't even cover it.

Time to wrap up.  It's a busy day in our house-hold as we pack up one of the "chitlins" (my kids) for another year at college.  (Geez, I must have fallen into that 'space-time contium' again?  Somehow school is starting up, which means Summer as quickly coming to an end...)

Since my post was all about gentle breezes and "light play", here is a little 'non-garden' shot to finish out this post:

Sunset at the Pier - Gulf Shores, FL

Sunshine wishes...

Thieves, Summer Storms and Sunshine

Garden design at the 'Bunnies Buffet' has always included the thought process, "what does the garden look like from inside the house?"  I like to think of the landscaping as a 'canvas' through the windows.  Seasonal weather often keeps us inside - so the view looking out should make me smile?

Garden views from the window...

A few weeks ago I was looking out from the family room and notice a big 'gap' in the Cottage garden where there should be none.  About a month ago I planted a full seed package of russet colored Sunflowers all along the back of the garden.  My hopes were a "wall of Sunflowers" as a back drop!  They had been flourishing - growing like crazy!!   The last time I really saw them, they were at least 15 inches tall.   Now - GONE.  No crumbs, no footprints, no nothing - like they were never even planted?!!  (I have my suspicions;  there are some very satisfied looking bunnies cruising around the backyard - but they aren't talking.)

Crime scene:  no plants, no remants, no incriminating foot prints ...
only the yard art that indicated the plant site

While the 'disappearing' sunflowers was a mystery, the leaning Arabian Nights Dahlias were not.

Leaning Dahlias ... from a wild thunderstorm

In spite of 'plant thieves' and storms, there has been major progress in the Cottage garden removing weeds and adding stepping stones.   Here are a few shots of what's going on...

The "Bones" of the Cottage Garden

New this year:
Monarda ("Marshall's Delight"), Hollyhock and Maiden Grass 

Arabian Nights Dahlia - raindrops in sunshine...

Hibiscus ("Fireball")

Hosta Fortunei

Hibiscus "Fireball" in bloom

Rudibeckia

Time to start investigating other late Summer bloomers.  There seems to be a prevailing "red" & "yellow" trend at the Bunnies Buffet right now.  Maybe "Sunset" Echinacea next year, for variety?  Any thoughts or recommendations for Zone 5?

I wish you a break in the heat and a gentle summer rain for those that have suffered through the +30-day "Heat Domes" (who had even heard of such a thing before this year?)!

Weeds and All...

Once again I've stepped out of the 2011 'Space - Time Continuum' - low & behold, it's July 21st.  Like many areas of the US, it is hot (really, really hot) and dry outside, and I find it so interesting to see what is growing in this oppressive weather.  I took another 'Tour De France" around the backyard to see what's going on...

"Arabian Nights" Dahlia - with a "Lemon Yellow" Daylily back drop...

Back in the 'Cottage Garden' there is actually some blooming going on!  A new annual (started from seed I might add...) - "Arabian Nights" Dahlias are large and in charge.  The (3) plants are about 3 feet tall and very sturdy, while the blooms are a bit diminutive & would fit in the palm of your hand.  The perennial Lemon Yellow Daylily is hardy and looks amazing next to that dark scarlet red - a happy location accident.

"Sun Garden" in Sunset
(Pink Guara, "Wine & Roses" Weigela, Sedum, Moonbeam Coreopsis and Paprika Yarrow)

I am willing to show the 'not so pretty' side of gardening, as I let weeds remain co-located with my perennials.  It is just too incredibly hot to pull weeds - and what the heck, they stay dark green in 'sauna hot' temps.  So if you look close (or double-click on the picture above), you'll see 'weeds among us' in the gardens - but I'm just not going to get OCD about it.  It's just ... too... hot!

Sedum Angelina, Pink Double-Knockout Rose, Sweet Autumn Clematis
Moonbeam Coreopsis, Fireball Hibiscus, Pink Guara and Rudibeckia

Many of the plants are putting on a 'pretty face' right now.  One of my garden buddies 'gifted' me the Sedum Angelina last year.  I put it in a terracotta pot this season - placed on a stand (aka upside down cube-shaped pot) for height and visual interest.  Apparently it's quite happy, as it resembles a 'Chia Pet' now?!  The Pink Knockout Rose is still recovering from 'bunny decimation' - and is happily blooming.

The Sweet Autumn Clematis continues its climb up the trellis - about 3 & 1/2 feet up.  The Hibiscus is a riot of blooms.  Those dinner plate-sized flowers are going to explode - like the plant itself, that has quadrupled in size this year (growing from a 1 stemmed plant to 4).  I am going to have to add Pink Guara down in my 'Cottage Garden'.  It has such awesome movement to it in the breeze - it just says 'cottage'.  It is so much more hardy then the "Sweet Dreams" Coreopsis rosea - which currently looks so anemic I feel bad for it.

Variegated Ribbon Grass

As Greggo so aptly noted on a past post - I really like my "halo fade" effect for photos.  In this case, it blurs the dandelions, so you can appreciate the Variegated Ribbon Grass and my little Sun chime.  I really like this garden vignette - and the stepping stones and fence keep the Ribbon Grass corralled in a small area.

Stay cool!  (I'll never complain about my shade trees ever again.)

Road Trip! ...Ramblings from Kentucky...

A mere two weeks ago we packed up for a "Girls' Road Trip" and headed down to Kentucky for a long weekend.  We made the pilgrimage to visit friends, who recently relocated from IL - seeking 'greener pastures' and warmer weather.  What a whirlwind of laughter, adventure and photo ops!  (Batten down the hatches... I took LOTS of pictures!)

Fowler Ridge Wind Farm - Fowler, IN

In travel down "Ventura Highway" (aka US-I65), through Indiana, we came upon a 'wind farm' that was really uber-cool - at first.  Then it kept going, on and on....  If you enlarge this photo (just click on it), you'll see the windmills going on.. forever!  It got a little "Area 51" for me - but I DO love the idea of harvesting wind as an energy source, and the wind blows long and hard on the Midwest plains!

Never be short-sighted to the power of a 4-day weekend trip.  It's cathartic, it doesn't require too many resources and you really feel like you've 'gotten away'!  We went to an area, famous for one of it's early inhabitants - Abraham Lincoln.  It included a stop at Knob Creek Farm, in Larue County (shockingly, a 'dry county'!).  I have to say, it was a bit surreal walking around the same grounds where America's 16th President wandered and worked as a boy?!  There was a quiet vibe there - it felt a bit hallowed.

Lincoln's Farm - restored period home

Knob Creek
Dry creek bed in Fall  / dangerous flood plain in Spring

Lincoln's "Knob Creek Farm" - sample garden in the meadow

What IS that growth on the tree?
(... there was some posted sign explaining the phenomenon, but I missed it!)

Also in our travels, we visited "Buzzards' Bluff"... somewhere in rural Central Kentucky.  It's the kind of place that you would never find unless you are with a native resident - and I mean never!  Every road in Kentucky meanders - so bring a compass ... and remember landmarks!  Anyway ... the views were incredible.  (I did have a few moments where a chill ran down my spine - one mis-step would be the last one.)

Down in the Valley -- it's a LONG way down!

The craggy trees and crumbling paths are not for the faint of heart!

The panoramic shot -- it is truly a 'bird's eye view' !!
(Buzzards' Bluff - appropriately named!)

With all our adventures, some of the true beauty was in my friend's yard.  Kentucky enjoys hardiness zone 6 - so they enjoy 2 more months of mild weather than Illinois, one on the front end of the season & one on the back.  So while IL is fading into fall quickly, these little gems were doing well at this " Old Kentucky Home" (by the way, there is a rumor rumbling around our family that we are somehow related to Stephen Foster, but who can really know?)!

What an invitation!?!!  I love that trellis...
(This woman finds 'treasures' everywhere!)

First, what's a yard, without "yard art"!  There is heart and whimsy ... there's flora and fauna (my dear friend is a "bird nerd" and we love her for it!):

Need I say more? ... I think not!

A wayward Pelican .. forever petrified in the garden!

What's a garden without gnomes?!!

These Kentucky "chicks" have no idea -- they have hit the mother lode!!

And of course there is the "flora":

"Dinner Plate Dahlia" ....**POW!!**...

Butterfly Bush:  Kentucky-style

"Black & Blue" Salvia

Pushing the 'edge' of complimentary colors!
(Another eye-catcher)

Chelone - "Turtleflower"

"The money shot!"  (Clematis on antique trellis)

....***POW 2***....  ('Dinner Plate Dahlia' - in sunburst red)

But ... all good things come to an end, especially when it is only a long weekend trip!  So we 'shuffled off to Buffalo', and headed out of Kentucky, "the Bluegrass State" (or "Kentucky - Unbridled Spirit" if you visit the Kentucky Department of Tourism!)

Heading home, over the state line into Indiana....
(Louisville, KY)

Happy trails !!!!!!