The Summer of "I Didn't"

Having beautiful days and I am doing OK.

I usually spend nine months out of the year working on my gardens.  I start planning in February, order seeds in March, search through catalogs for new plants in April, and start my summer garden in May.  This year my enthusiasm lasted till June and died in July.  Everything got planted, but I was unhappy with how I put them together. Flowers didn't bloom well, bulbs did not produce as they had in the past and I didn't even like the mulch we ordered.  I can't blame the state of my gardens on the weather as we had plenty of sun and a sufficient amount of rain. 

Yes, I just lost that lovin' feeling.  That expression on the fish in my header kind of says it all.

As the summer went by, I was out there every week cutting down my bushes that seemed to grow a foot a day.  I did pull weeds, and I did move plants around, but I just didn't care that things weren't as perfect as what I had to have in the past.  Now though, it is almost fall and flowers that used to bloom till late October are leggy and/or have very little color.  I should not be surprised as the Miracle Gro fertilizer that we usually apply three times a season (and truly is a miracle grow) is still in its unopened box.  I looked things over on Saturday and decided that everything had to go. So with a burst of energy (that was short-lived) I pulled up some of those spent flowers to my hearts content.  It was a liberating experience.  I did replace some with fall flowers and now things are looking dandy, just dandy. I still have many more pots to empty and plantings (100+) to rip out of the ground but this spirit of demolition has gotten a hold of me and I am giddy with excitement (sort of).   However, next week when it is all done and most summer color gone, I may cry.

Here though, are some of the brighter sides of my gardening efforts this year.


 Delphiniums take little effort and grow from May till October here.



The Crape Myrtles added beautiful color along the side.



There is no work involved with the Cone Flowers and little with Geraniums.


The fan flowers (Scaevola) were smaller than other years, but still pretty.


My flower balls did not meet expectations.


But I love, love, love the Hyacinths Bean vines.  Years ago someone gave us seeds from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and these plants are about the 7th generation from that original pack.


Resembles orchids

That turn into to this

Mixed in with other vines, they are very showy.

In the evening, when the sun goes down, the gardens and woods are lit up with the new solar lights that hubby has been installing for the past few years.  The old electric ones kept tripping our breaker and these are so much nicer and environmentally friendly.   



I enjoyed my gardens so much more at night as I could not see all my mistakes and the up lighting really added to the ambiance.

Au revoir to my 2012 gardens. Some of the plants just did not work, some of my usual ones (like Impatiens) were disappointing,  and some of my bones were feeling their age.  To be honest, there were other things that I didn't do this summer for one reason or another, maybe it is just Father Time catching up with me. However, I will just turn the page on this season and try to think ahead.  I have started making plans for winter and there is a wedding in my family next year to think about also.  The future looks bright and hopeful, yes-siree!