2-3 weeks ago, I was able to capture pictures of my late-blooming fall daisies, preserving them in pictures for days like today, when it is cold, cloudy and gray, I can look at these pictures and enjoy my garden year round.
I may have a picture of a rose for you in a couple of days…yes, a rose! I had transplanted a rose bush early in the summer, and it took time for it to become established…for the past couple of weeks, it has had a single red blossom that is beginning to open, in spite of weather going down into the 30’s at night and a few flurries and the touch of snow in my earlier post. If it can make it through this, it should be a happy, healthy plant when spring returns several months from now…that sounds so far off!
How are your gardens growing? I am just a bit envious right now of those of you who live in warmer climates, but shouldn’t be, the colors are coming out in the trees and are beautiful. Our gardens started early this year due to warm weather early on in the spring, then we moved into a wet summer making it a challenge for some plants and vegetables, while others thrived. Now we are experiencing a cold fall…with snow yesterday. Here is a picture of my Lambs Ear covered with snow that fell so early for fall:
Still, in spite of it all, in spite of seeing the end of the gardening season, then end of warm weather, there is beauty in the colors of fall, the changing of the seasons. Enjoy!
I am sitting here dressed in warm, winter cloths, my nose and fingers are cold because there is a nip in the air in my living room as I don’t want to break down and turn on the heat already. The only thing keeping me warm right now is my laptop:-)
Do you remember the post I wrote back in August? In it I wondered if the first frost would take place on October 2nd based on a bit of folk lore that I’ll let you read at the post itself - well guess what, it just might come true! It is so cold! But perhaps it will only be temporary, time will tell.
In spite of the cold, my large Shasta? Daisies are blooming beautifully, and my Impatiens, well there’s a big reason why I grow them every year, they last ALL summer and well into the fall, and are still beautiful. The hosta and all other things are struggling, we had an abundance of slugs due to the wet summer, and one could only do so much to keep them under control.
So we are now enjoying the fall flowers, the color that is beginning to add beauty to the leaves on the many trees around us, and preparing for what may be a very cold winter.
My daughter and her husband are house hunting, they have been looking for a few weekends now on their days off from work. The market is wonderful now, especially for first time buyers like themselves, and with the $8000 tax credit that is available until the end of November. I am able to view all the houses she looks at online as she sends me links, something that wasn’t available when we purchased our home.
Her search for a home has made me look back on why we chose the place that we live. We chose our home based on the beauty that surrounds it more than the house itself, that has had it’s good points and some that aren’t so good…but I suppose that any homeowner could say the same thing for one reason or another. Still, when you are shopping for a home, it is important to have an honest real estate agent, and to do a lot of your own research, the internet has opened that ability up tremendously since our home purchase 26 years ago.
We sometimes think about moving, and wonder where we would go if we did. There are so many different States in the US with good things about them, it is hard to chose, but for me there would have to be some natural beauty around me or near me. I visited a missouri real estate site, for example, and that lead me to do a search on what might be in the area. Are there parks? Any woodlands around…I would be lost without my trees. If I still had young ones, I’d be considering the schools in the area, and the job market if you are not retired. There is so much to consider, and it is good to have websites like the one mentioned to help in the search.
Missouri does have some beautiful gardens, by the way, here is a picture that was taken in Branson, Missouri, by “mgsimm” of webshots that makes me think of the season that we are in right now, fall, with all the beautiful Mums blooming…in fact I am off to buy some for our property today or tomorrow.
I am thinking Mums and ornamental cabbage again, the garden is showing that the end of the season is close upon us. I don’t know where the summer has gone…isn’t that the way each year? It just seems to end before we are ready. On a personal note, my son and husband both had hospital emergencies over the past couple of months, perhaps getting through these and coming out on the other side has made the time seem to speed along, but my most peaceful times in the midst of the challenges have been sitting outside on the deck looking out on the surrounding green and praying, or spending time looking at the things that are growing…not a lot of weeding got done, but even some of the weeds have a beauty of their own. Not all, but some.
Hope your summer has been a wonderful one, and looking forward to more blogging during the fall season.
Today I was enjoying an email newsletter that comes into my inbox each month from the Farmer’s Almanac…you must visit their site if you haven’t, though I doubt many of you who love gardening are unaware of the publication and site.
I was intrigued by a bit of lore shared in the newsletter, stating something along these lines…that you should take note of the first day there is a thick fog in August, because the same date in October will be the day of your first frost, if you live in climate that experiences frost. If this is true, then we may be in for frost on October 2nd, as I woke up to a very misty view across the lake yesterday. Last Friday the fog was even thicker, you couldn’t see anything at all…perhaps I have to wait for a fog like that and note the date.
Of course this very likely will not happen, but it’s a fun bit of folklore trivia.
Over the past couple of years, our town has formed a sustainable gardening group, and have taken a plot of unused land in our Township, and turned it into something useful and beautiful. There is also a beautiful “island” of flowers in the middle of the traffic light interchange in the middle of our town that adds color to an otherwise uninteresting spot year round…beautiful flowers in the spring, summer and fall, and decorative cabbage and winter pansies during the colder months.
Project Orange Thumb grant is a program that encourages and provides the resources for this type of activity by offering tools and funding to start new projects similar to the ones I have shared, or to improve and enhance community gardening projects that are already established.
Please visit the Project Orange Thumb grant link, read all the details, and apply. Pass this information along to gardening friends in your community. Think of your garden clubs, groups like the ones I mentioned above, school grounds (a great educational opportunity in horticulture), parks, land that is unused but has potential to be something beautiful, there are many ideas…look around you and the town or city where you live. The application deadline is February 17, 2009.
Grand recipients will receive $1000 in green goods and $1500 in Fiskars gardening tools.
For six years, Fiskars’ Project Orange ThumbSM has provided over 100 community groups with over $300,000 to create and develop their own special community gardens.
Over the past couple of years, our town has formed a sustainable gardening group, and have taken a plot of unused land in our Township, and turned it into something useful and beautiful. There is also a beautiful “island” of flowers in the middle of the traffic light interchange in the middle of our town that adds color to an otherwise uninteresting spot year round…beautiful flowers in the spring, summer and fall, and decorative cabbage and winter pansies during the colder months.
