"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

September front garden.

I can't believe we're already almost half way through September.  This has been such a busy month.  Both girls are back to school - there's now an 8th grader and a Pre-K'r in this house.  Now that the routines of school, cross country and ballet are started I finally had a little time to do some work in the yard this morning.
We've had a lot of warm weather lately and today it cooled down quite a bit and was perfect for gardening.  I had planned to do one job, but ended up cleaning up the aphid infested Nasturtiums and mildewy pumpkinless pumpkin vines in the side yard.  After pulling up the vines and cutting back the fig tree some I was happy how much better it all looked.  I know everyone has a spot in their yard that gets neglected and the side yard is mine.

 Finally some Cosmos are blooming.  I've never seen them start this late.

 Cosmos 'Cranberries' (Select Seeds)

 Cosmos 'Picotee', the only one that came up.

 This is the strange Sunflower that I've shown in some recent posts.  I think some birds have already started eating it.

 This shows it's weird proportions, it's growing next to Basil plants.

 Columbine that has been blooming all spring and summer.

 'Iceberg' Rose and Cleome.

 Asters and Coneflowers are doing great.

 Gracie and the neighbor cat hanging out in the flowers.

 Agastache 'Raspberry Summer' from Bluestone Perennials.

 Seedlings that need to get planted, but where to squeeze them in?

 Another bed (the driveway bed) I've been working on.  I ripped out all of the Phlox.  It had just taken over the bed and it had such a short bloom time it didn't look very good.  I just planted the Ninebark 'Little Devil'.  It's supposed to just get 3-4 feet wide and tall.  I plan to get a couple more grasses - Feather Reed Grass 'Karl Foerster'.

 David Austin rose 'Lady Emma Hamilton' has really pretty colored foliage.  It has been very disease free and even handles afternoon shade, it has a great scent too.  This is growing in the driveway bed that I showed above.

We also just celebrated a very special day here yesterday - the Littlest Gardener turned 5!   She celebrated with a few of her best girl friends at Build a Bear.  5 little girls making stuffed animals is about as cute as it gets and they all had lots of fun. 
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress. Pin It

34 comments:

  1. Catherine I love the first picture of the fence corner bed and flowers. How pretty everything looks against your white fence.
    That is a strange sunflower. Stocky and big. A hunky sunflower. LOL!
    You still have so many flowers in bloom. I saw that you were getting a heat wave. We are getting down into the low 40's this week and I am so not ready. Where has summer gone?

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  2. Catherine, it is so cool to see your front beds so lush and full! What a wonderful accomplishment this year! Good luck on finding space for your winter veggies...I'm worried that I won't have room for the garlic I've ordered that is soon to arrive. oops! A very happy birthday to your special little gardening..I agree, I can't think of anything cuter than little girls in a build a bear shop! Have a great week! Jenni

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  3. That sunflower is bizarre! Save a few seeds (before the birds eat them all) so you can have another next year.
    My cosmos were less than exciting this year, but they were in a barren dry part of the front yard...sort of a wild area. Oh well.

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  4. What a great garden Catherine! Turning five is such a milestone an entrance into the world of big people, school and so much learning.

    The cat in the garden was special, had to blow up the photo to see it. I love agastache but not sure this one would grow in zone 5, can't believe you still have columbine growing.

    I love Ninebark, have Summer Wine, and it has just turned a very dark burgundy.

    Eileen

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  5. Your garden looks wonderful! Mine didn't get enough water while we were away, when it turned hot, and now I h ave lots of crispy, brown leaves. I'm hoping things will revive some if I water thoroughly. Or maybe I will just cut lots of stuff back and hope they resprout from the roots.

    That sunflower looks like something from a science fiction movie.

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  6. Stunning!!! I love the cat and dog in the garden. That sunflower is an eyecatcher too.

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  7. Your garden is absolutely beautiful!! That is some sunflower. The birds must love it! I love that David Austin rose with the great foliage.

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  8. Catherine, that is one weird sunflower! I like it though. It sure looks healthy! Love the David Austin rose, too. I have a few of them, but I need to move some. They're in too much shade. Lots of pretty things in your gardens!

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  9. That is one odd sunflower. It really is quite a feast for the birds with a center buffet like that one.

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  10. It is beautiful! I loooove the unusual sunflower. It's quite interesting.

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  11. Beautiful garden shots! Beautiful gardens! Uhm, but that sunflower, not so sure of. It looks like the result of one of those photo programs that distorts an image all out of proportion, or maybe something from Through the Looking Glass! With a plethora of seeds, the birds are certain to love it though!

    Happy birthday, Littlest Gardener!

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  12. That sunflower is insane! I love it! Everything looks so green and lush. Your roses are beautiful. Thanks for the tour.

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  13. That sunflower photo just about made me choke! goodness gracious that is huge! gorgeous garden you still have! xoox

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  14. What a cool sunflower!! What happened there? Your garden does look lovely, quite abundant!

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  15. Oh my, that sunflower is something else. The proportions are all over the place, still the birds will enjoy them.

    Love Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', it does not self seed here and if it is a wet summer it will grow to 6ft.

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  16. Catherine, your garden looks absolutely wonderful in the middle of September! Each photo shows the love and, of course, all the work that you put in! I really like how the Iceberg rose lights up that area with its beautiful white flowers and I love 'Lady Emma Hamilton'. This rose has a very beautiful distinct flower color and as you said the foliage is lovely, too! Happy autumn gardening!
    Christina

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  17. Such beautiful pictures. I love all the colors.

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  18. Such a great looking garden, and the pic of the sunflower with cornflower blue in the background is brilliant!
    Your 'cranberries' cosmos looks like my 'French pink' from Renees seeds, except for the colour.
    Happy Birthday, birthday girl.
    Regards, Linda
    http://lindalou-sheeplessinhoneymoonbay.blogspot.com/

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  19. Your photos are lovely, especially that sunflower! I've also noticed cosmos blooming late in my garden too.

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  20. That's the freakiest sunflower I've ever seen!

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  21. I have been yanking plants up for the past two days. Ready for a fresh start. That sunflower looks like a cartoon character, I love it! So the Littlest Gardener is now a whole hand full! Happy Birthday to her.

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  22. Hey Catherine, thanks for stopping by my pitiful blog. Loved visiting with yours. That is one amazing sunflower. Never seen one like that.

    All your blooms look as beautiful as ever.

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  23. The sunflower is the coolest! I have never heard of 'Little Devil' ninebark but think it is perfect since it stays small. It looks good next to the grass too.

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  24. So many great blooms, but I really can't get over the sunflower! Have you tried sending a pic for a type of ID (or explanation)? Would you mind if I tried to find out what is up with is? I'm so curious! :)

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  25. Isn't that Sunflower just the strangest. Everyone that comes over comments on it. I will try to save some seeds and see if more alien sunflowers grow.
    Rebecca - I wouldn't mind if you found out, let me know what you hear.

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  26. Isn't it nice, that as we begin to clean out our flower beds, there are some stragglers that hang on to give us that last flush of blooms?! You still have a lot of nice color left. That sunflower looks like it is just dying to get ripe and feed the birds. What a grand bloom!

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  27. That sunflower is amazing, Catherine. Your garden is so full and lush. 'Lady Emma' looks delicious!

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  28. I definitely have a neglected area ~ have never posted about it ~ it's that bad!! Your front fenced garden looks so pretty. You have to be loving that you did that project. The sunflower is unique but I think very cool. I would save seeds too! The birds always start picking mine before I ever think they're ready to harvest. That's okay tho ~ it's why I plant them (probably you do it for the same reason too?)
    Hope your girls school years started out well. Mine is a senior and it's so hard to believe. :-(

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  29. Catherine - your gardens look so lush, absolutely fabulous. Savor every moment with your 'littlest gardeners' and document everything! We dug up some boxes in storage, and found one loaded with pictures we long forgot. What a treasure trove AND a reminder how much the kids have grown up. :)

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  30. I never tire of popping over to your blog to check out your garden! Each season looks beautiful!

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  31. Catherine, your gorgeous gardens never fail to inspire me. Today, they've inspired me to fertilize my sorely neglected flowers :o)

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  32. I love all the picture of the fence corner bed and flowers. I wish Good luck on finding space for your winter veggies. I really find lots of pretty things in your gardens!
    Garden Design Sydney

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  33. such a beautiful garden! I hope my little one will become like yours one day.

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  34. What variety of sunflower is that?! where did you get the seeds?
    davidinlaguna@aol.com

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