My August Flower Garden

Today is the first day of fall so what better time is it to say "Adieu to the flower gardens."  This is always such a bittersweet time of year for me.  I look forward to a reprieve from garden chores and an opportunity to spend time indoors pursuing other creative endeavors like quilting and paper crafting, but I will also miss my beautiful blooms and warm summer days.

What better way to start an August flower gardening post than with a picture of a sunflower?  This is the only sunflower I got this year, and it wasn't even planted by me but by the birds.  I did plant sunflower seeds, but with the torrential rains we had in spring, very few germinated and the ones that did, I stepped on and crushed.  I'm such an idiot.  😆

I know this is a flower garden post, but vegetables can produce pretty blooms too.

I was in the vegetable garden and noticed this beautiful bloom on my sweet potato plant.  It looks like a Morning Glory to me.  I never grew sweet potatoes before so I had no idea they produced such beautiful blooms!

When I came back from my vacation out west I was shocked to see how beautiful my begonias look.  Don't get me wrong, they looked nice all summer, but they seemed to thrive in the cooler weather I heard we had while I was away.

I love how my front annual beds turned out this year.  These sun impatiens did so well here.  The vine is a morning glory vine that never bloomed but did produce lush, gorgeous foliage.  I have no idea why it never bloomed, this is the second time this happened to me.  All I can think of is it doesn't get morning sun, only afternoon sun, but you would think what time of day it gets the sun wouldn't matter.

Since I've taken this picture it's probably grown twice as large.  This Morning Glory is seriously out of control.  It's hard to even get on the front porch! "Feed me Seymour". 😂

I've always loved "Magic Lily's".  They are so fun, and always a sweet surprise.  They produce gorgeous green foliage in the spring and then die back.  In the fall these tall green stems pop out of the ground magically and these stunning lilies appear.  They are a fun addition to any garden, especially if you have kids!

I buy the same red/white impatient every year for my garden shed window planters.  They just love this spot and they go well with the colors of the shed.

Rudebekia, a.k.a. "Black Eyed Susans" are the star of the late summer/fall garden in my yard.  I love this plant!  Its blooms last forever, and the birds love the seeds.

A close up of my favorite Viburnum bush, that my husband just cut down 😢. He did save me a sucker though so I'm hoping it'll regrow in another part of the yard.  It just got too big for the spot it was in, and he is working on a huge landscaping project where it was.

And here's the big beauty in all its glory.  It was so hard just to walk past it, it had overgrown onto the grassy path.

This is "False Sunflower" it grows about six feet tall.  I only have it growing at the back end of my garden as it's such a huge flower.

The deer eat my phlox every year, it's so depressing.  But sometimes I still get a few blooms like this bunch pictured below.

I can't do a garden post without including a photo of Jackson.  Here he is, lounging on the screened in porch, enjoying the last few days of warm air and sunshine.  It won't be long now before he is curled up in front of the wood stove.

And this is my front garden this year.  The deer didn't eat this phlox, I wonder if it's because of the marigolds I planted in front of them?  I need to plant more marigolds next year.

 I am still struggling with feeling overwhelmed ever since I got home from my vacation.  There seems to be so much to do, and I'm struggling to keep up.  The food processing is endless.  Every afternoon from noon to five pm I am in the kitchen canning or freezing vegetables from my garden, and there seems to be no end in sight.  I am getting frustrated because there are so many other things I want to do like paper craft, blog, tend to my perennial garden, or even just clean my house, and I can't even get to it.  I was planning on starting my new Yellowstone travel series this week, but now I'm wondering if I should hold off on it till this winter because we're going on another vacation to see the grandkids in a few weeks, which, will be awesome, but will also put me even further behind schedule.  I don't remember struggling so much finding time to get everything done before.  It makes me wonder if I'm slowing down because of my age.  Anyway, I say all this to let you know I'm trying to keep a regular blogging schedule, but I am struggling.  I'll post as often as I can.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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