Garden, October 14

The frost advisories of fall have begun, so there may not be much time left for this year’s garden. I’ve purged all but one of the containers because most had become partial casualties of repeated late summer and early fall heat waves. What is left is more stalwart, petunias planted in flower beds and echinacea that offered a surprise late blooming.

The nights have gotten chilly. I may need to turn on the heat in the house this week. I am ready for the cold, as long as it doesn’t get too harsh. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and felt chilled enough for a second blanket. I have longed to be just a little cold, as if I need that chill to settle into my bones for just a little while.

Yesterday’s Garden

I also took a few pictures of yesterday’s garden, but I delayed the posting of them until today. I gathered more than my fair share of mosquito bites over the weekend. I’m not sure why I don’t remember from year to year that mosquitos and hardy hibiscus peak at the same time. You’d think I’d remember to dig out the insect repellent once the buds on my hibiscus bush are heavy with flower buds.

Garden, July 22

Heavy morning rain yielded to high humidity and gusting wind in the early afternoon. I didn’t see reliable sunshine until well into the evening. At this point, the star of this show is definitely my pink hibiscus. It will open its hundreds of blooms over the next month, and I will photograph many of them, hoping to see them anew each time.

Bees Love Echinacea

This week I returned to the public garden where I encountered the green sweat bee last weekend. This time a bumble bee was feasting on the same flower.

Garden, July 8

Our July garden is thriving. I didn’t know it was possible to yield thirty or more echinacea blooms from a single plant, but it is happening this year. My pink rose mallow hibiscus has hundreds of buds on it that will burst into color by month’s end.