We have not much more than a month until the autumn equinox (Sept. 22 this year), and my garden is seriously flagging. Parts are overgrown, the broccolli and cilantro long since bolted; everything would have benefited from more trimming and editing than I've provided in this hot, dry summer.
But there are signs of hope - the raspberries are coming on deliciously, my dwarf blueberries and ever-bearing strawberries continue to produce. Apples and pumpkins are coloring up, a third sowing of lettuce is kicking in, hydrangeas are plumped up, and the agastache is luring hordes of feisty hummingbirds. Here's a selective look at what's happening out there on a mid-August afternoon:
A slug-riddled ligularia just coming into bloom next to a mop-head hydrangea- how come slugs are so huge and plentiful in such a droughty summer, anyway?
Pumpkins turning orange two months before Halloween...
Sweet peas persist alongside a mystery dahlia I found at a farmers' market here on Whidbey.
Echinacea 'Sunset' and orange hummingbird mint (Agastache aurantiaca 'Just Peachy')
I've bought artichokes to eat at farmers' markets, and left mine in the garden to develop purple fuzz. This is an Italian purple artichoke, growing here with Rudbeckia 'goldsturm'
