End of Summer Surprises and Weeds

Last week I confessed to being a bad blogger and set a goal of blogging more than one post last week.  Surprise!  That didn't happen so here I am, once again posting for Bloomin' Tuesday.  I'm also linking up to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day so check them both out

Walking around the gardens last week, I discovered a cool surprise.  Earlier in the summer, the Sweet William flowered for the first time in my garden and it was spectacular.  Since they are in a garden that does not get any close up walk-bys, I did not dead head and let them go to seed.  They have been that way ever since.  This is what I found last week:

Once the weather cooled off, this one Sweet William plant rebloomed.  I'm going to collect seeds from this one (since I still haven't dead headed); this is something I never do so wish me luck when I attempt to grow from seed next year.

I thought I ripped all of the Obedient Plant out of my garden this spring - surprise!  I missed some.  This was one of the first plants I put in when I created my gardens - silly, inexperienced gardner!  I thought all of those warnings on how disobedient it was didn't apply to me:

Asters from Bluestone Perennial that I planted this spring.  They're small, but they're blooming:

Phlox Nora Leigh is lying over sideways, but she's still blooming so I'm happy:

Gaillardia is one of my favorites because it is maintenance free and it blooms for so long:

Another one of my absolute favorites is Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.  With it's think leaves, and lighter green color, it really stands out in the garden all year.  The bees are all over them right now too:

The promise of flowers to come, there are hundreds of buds on Sweet Autumn Clematis that grows up the back pool fence.   Definitely a bittersweet fav, since it's blooming signals the sad end of my flowers.  I planted six more of these a few years ago along the remainder of back pool fence, but those have not done well at all.  This one is a monster.... go figure:

Here it is from a distance.  I was hoping the entire fence would end up covered like this, but the other clematis' just aren't cooperating with me:

I referenced 'Weeds' in the title and I bet you're expecting a whole bunch of complaints about how much I hate them.  Normally that would be true but right now I'm loving several weeds in my yard because 1) they have flowers and 2) they are in a part of my yard where we have done nothing so it makes the junky areas look pretty - and completely with no effort on our part:

I have absolutely no idea what these orange flowers are but they are so pretty and they are everywhere around the border of our yard that is normally just rocks, sticks and ugly non-flowering weeds:

We also get this pretty pink flower ever year, which looks to me like Joe Pye Weed but I'm really not sure.  The butterflies like it (so do I):

We also have these little aster looking flowers:

Those are all of my end-of-summer surprises.  After all of these discoveries, I had to pour myself a glass of wine and rest by the fire pit - another one of my favorite places. Thanks for stopping by!

Bad Blogger

I have been a horrible blogger this year but for my final Labor Day project I am finally going to post something so I can join Bloomin' Tuesday over at Jean's blog. 

My heart just wasn't into gardening this year.  I guess I was just tired: it has been a busy year with work, my daughter's graduation, family obligations and vacations. 

As referenced in a few previous posts, we also have had months of turmoil with a mentally unbalanced female that had been bothering us.  I am happy to report that after she violated our Harassment Protection Order in July (we are one of four people with a protection order against this woman, in a town with one traffic light and one gas station),she was arrested and brought to court where she proceeded to 'pull rank' on the judge and informed him that she is a forensic investigator with the FBI.  The judge finally decided that it was time to do something about this woman and sent her directly to a mental health facility where she is still being held and is hopefully being given the psychiatric help she so desperately needs. I realize my garden blog isn't the place to vent about personal issues, but when something this bizarre happens, it's difficult not to discuss. 

I hope that by next spring life will be back to normal.  Luckily my garden went on happily without me, in spite of a hot dry summer and no fertilizer. 

I'll start off with the only butterfly that I caught on camera this summer.  I found it this afternoon on a wildflower/weed at the back of our yard (anyone know what this wildflower is?  It grows in our yard every year - is it Joe Pye Weed?  Ironic if it is since I've wanted to get some for a few years now and just haven't):

  
The side garden is going strong, by far my favorite garden in our yard:

Coneflower Pink Swan, Sedum Autumn Joy:

The best mistake I ever got: this was supposed to be Coneflower Pink Swan; I absolutely love this plant.  It's growing nicely with Phlox Nora Leigh:

A different view of the side garden from our under-deck patio:

This a view of the side garden and the outside of the pool fence from the back of the yard:

Back of the pool fence; KnockOut Roses are still blooming as well as Rudbeckia:

Although I tend to ignore my blog for a while and then do a very long post, I am making a concerted effert not to do that this time.  I am saving some pics for other posts over the next week or do. 

On that note, I will end it here with a view from our deck, which is where I ended my day while enjoying this gorgeous weather and enjoying dinner with hubby (you can see the side garden through the railing).....

...... after I spent some quality time here.  I hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

Finally - Summer Begins In New England - Revised

Ah, the thermometer has finally risen above 80 for more than a day and we have gone three whole days without rain!

Living in New England is sometimes wonderful (we only wish we had an air conditioner a few times a year, fall foliage is gorgeous), but sometimes it's not.  Like when almost all of June is rainy and raw, which means that our already short three-month summer has now been reduced to two months. 

In spite of my whining, I am thankful for where we live. 

However, when we hit the lottery, we will have our summer home here in MA and our winter home.... somewhere that doesn't get snow.  (It's nice to dream - somebody's gotta win, right?)

A few new things blooming around the yard for Fertilizer Friday:

Clematis surrounded by Circle Flower

Coreopsis Zagreb

Some unknown type of Rudbeckia:

 

And another unknown Rudbeckia:

Echinacea:

Astilbe Peach Blossom and Alchemilla Mollis

Clematis: Jackmanii and Niobe

For some unknown reason, my perennials like to self sow in our brick walkway.  I have been pulling out Bleeding Hearts for years.  This year it looks like a Lady's Mantle farm.  One of these days I want to lift the bricks, dig them out and transplant them but first I have to find somewhere to plant them

(REVISION: Yesterday hubby weeded the yard for me while I was at work, great guy that he is..... guess what else he weeded.  You got it - my Lady's Mantle seedlings.  That's OK, I'll have plenty more next year!)

Cheers!

Waterfalls, Wildflowers & Mountains in the Adirondacks NY: Part II

This is Part II to my previous post on our trip to NY.  See that post for info on the trip and waterfall & Fort Ticonderoga pictures.    On with Part II:   
WILDFLOWERS & BUTTERFLIES:

MOUNTAINS (my hubby's obsession..... he's a hiking maniac):

The picture below shows the view on the ONE hike that I did with hubby. We climbed Little and Big Crow Mountains. I am not a hiker so this was hard for me; it was a breeze for hubby. The previous day he hiked for eight hours and climbed four mountains.

Hope you enjoyed the trip!