Friday, August 31, 2007

The August Garden

On the last day of August, I'm cheered to see what really is in bloom right now. The drought and heat were so enervating that I just gave up on the garden for a while. But today, having just cut the grass for the second time all month, I realized there are quite a few things happening after all.

 
I should grub out these self-seeded morning glories, but then they curl charmingly around the fence and I'm glad I haven't.

 
This is one of those quietly satisfying plantings (though not the best picture of it). Instead of plopping some geraniums in this pot, which lives on the steps at the end of the driveway, I planted some modest bacopa. It is restrained yet endearing, with its tiny white flowers that just keep on blooming.

 
Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are a sign that summer is fading. They self-sow everywhere, and again, I should really grub them out, but I like them so much. Here they are adding an architectural element to the front garden. Okay, I really will try to weed them more mindfully once they stop blooming.

 This little stand of Boltonia asteroides is in the front garden, offering a tiny cloud of airy white flowers at this time of year. It would undoubtedly be more abundant if it got more sun, but it persists here happily enough.

Tony Wrenn wrote about British soldiers, aka naked ladies, resurrection lilies, and spider lilies (Lycoris squamigera), in the Free Lance-Star recently. And lo and behold, they are rising up in my garden now, too. I never planted them, they were either planted by the previous owners or just blew in on the wind. See a favorite picture of them from several years ago in my very first post here. I like the tidy little row that popped up in stairstep order in the front garden.

 
For some reason, I haven't had the enormous, fragrant nicotianas self-sowing around the compost pile this year. But here's one peering from under the aucuba in back. Perhaps it will bloom before frost.

 
It takes only a drop of rain for mushrooms to show up. These orange ones are everywhere in the lawn right now.

1 comment:

Becky said...

If you do weed the garlic chives, please save some for me! Thanks.