The Dregs of August

We didn't plant many August blooming flowers.  Thus our garden is a bit boring during this month.
But there is still a bit of action.



There is also some inaction as Scarface enjoys some sunshine.

And I entertain myself feeding the koi:



That's about it.  Hope your garden is more exciting.  Or at least your summer is.

A Hard Look at Our Garden in August

Well here it is; the ugly truth about our garden in August. We know it's been too hot for too long. We know the mums, asters and Japanese anemones haven't started blooming yet.

So, what is going on?

Well, like every other August it's kind of a mess. But there are still parts of it I like.

I should plant more phlox as you can see from this picture of one of the back beds. You can see 'David' phlox here. There will be asters and mums later. The crocosmia are finished. Still some echinacea blooming. The blue in the foreground is a volunteer morning glory.  The red hibiscus should be blooming soon so that's something to look forward to.  We had a pink one but I think it has decided enough was enough.

Another bed; we refer to it as the "smokebush bed". (It must have a name for reference sake.) You can see a spot of bright pink. Another phlox. Should have planted more. Eventually this bed will have pink and white Japanese Anemones but not much happening in August. On the right under the big spruce is an area where we leave a wild life seed block. We let the chickens dig around under there. The blue in the foreground here are some re-blooming larkspurs and the red in the background is some Jupiter's Beard hanging on.

Heading off to the right side of the garden.

Pretty messy. At least we see another.......phlox. This one is 'Nora Leigh' and I love it.

This picture makes 'Nora' look like a mass, a drift, a sweep of phlox. She's not. She's just one plant.
But she's pretty. Love those bi-color leaves.

Alice and friends are hanging in there. Not looking too overgrown.

Are your columbines re-blooming?
Ours never have before but they are this year.

We have a bit of bloomage in the Moongarden. I don't even remember what this flower is but it's pretty.

This one is Persicaria 'Pink Elephant'. I'm liking it.

OK, an area I am enjoying, and have for the past few years, the right side of the garden.
It still looks kind of messy, doesn't it?

But, as one walks a bit further...

One can gaze upon sweetpeas...(splendens mix lathyrus)

various morning glories...

rudbeckias...

and a new addition to the garden...penstemon 'smallii'.

Lovely. Let's take a closer look.

But still my favorite place for my morning coffee is our back porch.

Hope you're enjoying your favorite places this summer wherever they are...

August Happenings in the Heat

I haven't been posting much but the summer continues on its way regardless. I thought I'd better put up some pics before it passes me by completely.

The weather has been so hot again, in the 100's and up for another couple of weeks. I feel like I'm melting. But our garden is trying its best to come through for us if we can just tolerate the weather enough to get out and notice. Mornings are best of course.

The echinacea are blooming now.

August is also a good time for morning glories.

I'm glad I planted phlox. What a great sight this time of year. Besides these two we have 'David' blooming.

And plenty of sunflowers. All volunteers but I love their cheerful look and the birds love the seeds.

There have also been kittens among the flowers. Here's Frankie looking handsome in a container on the back porch.

And here he is with his "Little Sis." We still have six kittens in the house. Four are still in the process of being tamed. Good news; we caught all three of the feral adults and they've been spayed/neutered! All seven kittens will have their turn next month. Then it's adoption time.

Kim has been busy with his vegetable garden. I just enjoy the harvest. He has some pumpkins going.

And we've been enjoying plenty of great tomatoes along with onions, cucumbers, broccoli, lettuce, peppers and garlic.

The three younger hens are doing well. Here are Peanut, Brazil and Hazel in our sumac. If you look closely you can see they all have their beaks open. No, they're not talking, they're trying to cool off in this heat. I've been fortunate to be able to bring home lots of fresh organic lettuce culls from work for them along with the occasional aging melon. Those treats are really appreciated by them in this heat.
The young hens are finally integrating well with the older girls, much to my relief. More on that in another post.

We've been busy watching some of the Olympics, taming, cleaning and feeding the kittens, working in our garden, and generally trying to enjoy summer while it's here, regardless of the heat. It's been a challenge though and I haven't been around to read up on my blogging friends. For that I apologize.

I hope everyone is having a great summer. Soak it up while you can, winter is on its way! In the meantime we'll be enjoying some more dinners outside and tempting all these kittens to trust us.

A rarity; all six kittens in one picture.

August Garden

I love Kathleen's post, August Garden Mayhem. She talks about how her garden looks a "little worse for wear" this time of year.

For us, now is the season before the mums and asters and after the daisies, lilies, crocosmia, and daylilies.

The plants that help us through August;

I love our 'Norah Leigh' phlox paniculata.

Here it is with Lychnis coronaria.





And with some sunshine;




I love the bi-colored leaf.

Here she's leaning over our new garden path.





This is also a good time of year for dahlias, either from tubers I bought or seeds I started.




























































Of course we wouldn't be without echinaceas. I've tried getting other colors than purpurea going but so far no luck.




Here is a "mess o' flowers" along the right path. (You can see Chelsea on the back porch.) But I love the mess right now - coreopsis, Russian sage, calendula, coronaria, rudbeckias and morning glory.






Here is a typical garden bed for us this time of year;





That same bed on July 27th;




Did you notice Jessie hiding out in the photo above?

Here's a tighter shot;





He's having a great time playing in the garden every day. On Monday he has an appointment with the vet to lose his "manliness".

Hope your August is shaping up wonderfully.