Look who decided to show up...

Besides me that is.  Life seems to be getting busier lately and blogging is the first thing that gets pushed aside.  The poor garden has been pushed aside as well.  While I was out taking pictures I was horrified to see how bad the weeds are.  I don't know when they've gotten this bad.  Moss seems to be growing on a lot of the soil, and not in a pretty way when it's mixed with weeds.  As much as I try to be an organic gardener, I'm seriously thinking about grabbing a bottle of round up to at least use on the oxalis.  
But, other than the weeds I found some really nice surprises, including a few that I had completely given up on.

 A Sunflower!!  Not one that I planted, those are no shows, but this one is courtesy of the birds.  It's only about 2 feet tall, but when you only get one it's hard to be picky.

 Penstemon 'Raven' was a $2 bargain last year.  I had just about given up on it.

 Chocolate Eupatorium / Joe Pye Weed finally has buds.  I know these are late bloomers, but still was surprised it was taking this long.

 Zinnias that I planted from seed... in the beginning of July!  Sure took a while, but at least one is blooming.

 Cosmos that were started by wintersowing, that have just now started to bloom.  The flowers are much smaller than usual, but the insects don't seem to mind.  I don't think this is a bee, though it looked much more like a fly.

 How about a Snapdragon that I didn't plant at all?!  It may have reseeded from last year, but I don't remember planting them in this area.

 Aster 'Professor Kippenburg' seems to be a later bloomer.  The other Asters have been in full bloom for a couple of weeks already.

 Salvia 'Black and Blue' that I showed as a bud on a recent post has finally started blooming.

 This was a really big surprise.  I had been seeing red berries around the back yard and wondered what they were.  I was surprised to see that the Pink Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) in the front yard was covered in these pretty berries.  I've only seen them on the tree a few times.  I guess that's why all the birds have been hanging out there.

Now I'm not surprised at this one, 'Lady Emma Hamilton' has been blooming her head off still.  The color is just perfect for this time of year.

Hopefully I can start getting around to see what's happening in your gardens now.  I've been missing reading blogs and seeing what's going on.  I appreciate all of the comments that you've been leaving and hope to visit you in return soon.

The pond in September.

While the weekend was fairly busy, I couldn't resist taking the time to take some pictures of how the pond and surrounding areas are looking right now.  The lighting was so pretty and I love how this time of year the reflections of plants and trees can be seen in the pond. 

 This time of year is one of my favorites around the pond.   It has such a tranquil feeling about it.  I think it's prettier now with less blooming, although I'm sure next summer I'll think differently.  For some year round color I'm going to paint the wood trellis on the fence a nice deep purple.  I got the inspiration from the header picture on Grace's blog, although her's is (surprise)... pink!  Now we just need some dry weather so I can to work on it.

 The water lilies were sparse this year, but it's nice to still have one or two blooming now.

 The colors this time of year are so much sharper and clear.  The Japanese Blood grass which you can see at the right corner is going to be so pretty as it continues to fill in.  I like how the red of fuchsia picks up the color in the grass.

 I'm glad I decided to plant small Daylilies above the waterfall.  I had wanted grasses, but couldn't find any that really would work here.  Now I get to have flowers and their grass like foliage once they are done blooming.

 The shed garden keeps filling in.  I plan to add lots of bulbs here this fall.  They're waiting inside the shed to be planted.

The American Beautyberry bush 'Profusion', which is planted behind the pond, berries have started turning purple.  I planted this last fall after seeing it on so many blogs.  It's done really well in it's part sun location.

As I was driving around yesterday I noticed that some trees are starting to change colors and some are dropping their leaves already.  I think I'll start pulling the fall decorations out this weekend.  I usually have a hard time letting myself do that because it means summer is really over, but this year there's no doubt that fall has arrived already.    

Last Fertilizer Friday of "summer" 2010.

I can't believe a week has already gone by since I last posted.  I've been looking at my garden as I drive away or out the window while I do housework or am on the phone scheduling appointments.  I've barely had a chance to just walk around the garden and enjoy it.  Luckily earlier in the day yesterday I was able to get a couple of planters planted and did a little clean up before the rain started - again.  It's been a frustrating year of gardening around here (click here to read about the actual stats, especially if you live in the PNW).  I was listening to NPR on the radio the other day that has a garden show in the morning.  They were telling the listeners that if this was their first year gardening here not to give up, "you're probably a better gardener than you think you are."
There are lots of garden chores to be done this time of year.  I usually start cutting back some of my perennials now.  I've started on the job of cutting my Clematis group C's down, and have thrown out a tomato plant that is obviously not going to have any tomatoes ripen.  The yard waste bin was quickly filled with pine needles and annuals that were "done".
There isn't really much new blooming, many of the same plants continue to bloom and look pretty.

Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud'

Rose of Sharon is attracting lots of hummingbirds.

Geranium 'Rozanne' hasn't stopped blooming all summer.  I just added a new one to the front yard.

I bought this fuchsia many years ago as a container filler, it probably cost 79 cents.  It comes back bigger and better every year, it's now planted in the ground near the deck.

Toad Lily (Tricyrtis) 'Empress' is finally planted.

This could be my favorite rose now.  I've shown this a few times recently but wanted to show how many buds are still coming.  It's a David Austin rose 'Lady Emma Hamilton' and just planted this summer.

The buds start out orangey-red then as they age they become more of a lighter apricot color.

Calendula

Bugbane (Is it Actaea or Cimicifuga now?).  It's supposed to keep insects away, but the flowers smell good to me.  The little American Beautyberry is behind it and covered in little green berries that I hope will turn purple soon.

Will I ever see flowers on my Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) 'Golden Delicious?  It's probably an annual here, so I planted it in a container and plan to bring it in over winter.  I love the color of the foliage.

Fertilizer Friday is hosted each week by Tootsie.  Be sure to visit her and see what she and other gardeners have blooming.

Fertilizer Friday - September 10th.

I haven't had a chance to join Tootise for Fertilizer Friday in weeks.  So, even though it's later in the day I still wanted to join in.  I thought once school started I would have lots of free time, instead it's busier than ever.  This past week has been busy getting ready for the Littlest Gardener's birthday.  She will be turning 4 on September 12th.  It's amazing how fast time really does fly.  She has big plans for a Little Mermaid party and so we've been busy getting decorations, baking cupcakes and planning out her party.  And part of getting ready was finally getting plants in the ground that have been sitting in the front yard for weeks.  And so as I'm planting things I notice that I better get some weeds pulled.  While weeding I notice a bit of pruning I need to do.  So the pruning starts, and then I think while I'm walking around with the pruners I should cut some seedheads from the Veronica that I want to save seed from.  I then had to avert my eyes from anything else that might cause me to get sidetracked again.

These Asters caught me by surprise.  I had planted them last fall and forgot all about them until I noticed them blooming.

Agastache 'Apricot Sunrise' was one of the plants that had been sitting on the front grass for weeks.  I planted it near some Monarda and Echinacea.  This variety smells so good.

I think this will be 'Gertrude Jekyll's' last bloom this year.  I hope next year will be a better year for it.  Many roses really had a rough summer with blackspot.

The Abelias are covered in flowers and the hummingbirds are all over it.

Campanula 'Pantaloons' is on another round of blooms.

This was probably my biggest surprise of the year.  I thought that this Salvia 'Black and Blue' had died over winter, then it started sending up a few leaves.  Then nothing more until the last couple of weeks when it really took off growing.

Rose 'Julia Child' did so well this summer.  Not bothered by disease and bloomed a lot even in part shade.

One of my new Hydrangeas.  I've heard so many good things about 'Limelight' that I made a spot for it in my backyard.

Fuchsia magellanica 'Aurea' is so pretty in a shady area.  I've noticed that hardy Fuchsias are having a great year.  They are all huge and covered in flowers.

Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphiltica) just started to bloom.

Zucchini 'Jackpot' has been producing pretty well.  These are a bush type and take up far less room.

The big talk amongst many gardeners around here is, "Will the tomatoes ever ripen?"  It seems to be a big topic of conversation since most people have not had one ripe tomato other than grape or cherry tomatoes, which are also very slow.  This is the first year that we haven't been eating them for at least several weeks by now.  Many years we have so many they start rotting on the vine.

And the birthday girl herself, the Littlest Gardener posing in the backyard.  She has already helped to choose Daffodil and Tulip bulbs to plant this fall.

To see what is blooming in other gardeners gardens now visit Tootsie Time.

Rainy garden.

I was finally able to get out and walk around the garden yesterday while the rain stopped falling for awhile, it's been pouring since then though.  Things are looking really good and I'm so glad that there is still so much happening since I didn't really enjoy the garden as much as usual this summer.  There is quite a bit of color and I'm really anxious to start doing some fall planting.

The hummingbird resting on the Dogwood tree had been enjoying the Monarda 'Jacob Cline'.  I've said it before, but really if you want hummingbirds to visit, plant 'Jacob Cline'.  Even as the flowers are drying up they still cause the hummingbirds to fight over them.  The Littlest Gardener, the neighbor cat and I stood within 5 feet of this one while she was sipping the nectar, not bothered in the slightest by us standing and talking.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is turning red now.  I plan to buy more of this (even though I know it's very easy to divide), and add it to a few spots that could use a little color now.

The front view of the house is one place I plan to add some, right behind the Lamb's Ear.

Verbena bonariensis is really popular with the hummingbirds too now.  They rest on the long stems and reach their beaks towards the flowers.  Each year I love this flower more, it's coming up everywhere.

The newest David Austin rose in our garden is 'Lady Emma Hamilton', she's finally blooming and is covered in beautiful buds.  It smells as good as it looks too!  Right after this picture was taken I cut the two open flowers to bring inside to enjoy.

One of Lady Emma's buds resting in some Cosmos foliage.  The Cosmos have suddenly decided to sprout, wonder if they'll make it to blooming?

I collected seeds from Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy' last fall and they are already blooming.  They are a bit darker than the original plant.  Tina are yours blooming?  I promised seeds to some other bloggers, but the first ones molded, I'm hoping to get more seeds soon so I can share them.

The pink Flower Carpet rose is making it's way across the walkway.  It's too pretty to cut right now and luckily it hardly has any thorns.  There's a lot blooming along this walkway.  The sick Japanese Maple leaves have all turned brown and are really hanging on for dear life.

I found a "new" old watering can this weekend at an antique store in an extremely cute town called Port Gamble.  I was having battery issues so didn't end up with many pictures.  Port Gamble is a historical old mill town on the Kitsap Pennisula founded in 1853.  Most of the old homes and buildings are surrounded by old white picket fences and beautiful gardens.  We rode the Kingston Ferry across the Puget Sound to get there.  Definitely a fun day trip.

As you can see by the last picture I'm beginning to accumulate plants for containers and the rest of the garden.  Today I plan to visit one of my favorite nurseries for their 2 for 1 perennial sale if it ever stops raining.  Then the next sunny day I'll have lots of fun getting  all my newest additions planted.