It's time to water, clip back, and renew the garden, but for the time being, I'm a frustrated, one-armed gardener!
Ten days ago I was badly bitten by a big neighborhood dog that chomped my left forearm. So I'm pretty much gardening one-armed and is that a trick. At least the nasty beast, who was trying to kill Bridget (who emerged from the incident just fine) nailed my left arm, not my right one....still, we gardeners tend to take our healthy bodies for granted when we work in the garden, and I'm sure slowed down and awkward.
Later in August, particularly when it's hot and hasn't rained for weeks, is a dusty, difficult time in the garden. Once the lilies start to fade, my garden always looks a little tired; the lush green of early summer, exuberant perennial bloom, and bounteous crops of lettuces are well past....
So yesterday morning to cheer myself about the garden's inexorable slide toward autumn, and my lack of ability to try and perk it all up, I took some photos of what still is happening....the raspberries are coming on, 'Annabelle' is blooming...well, take a look...
Even this most obvious school-bus yellow looks great blooming on top of Ligularia 'Britt Marie-Crawford' - and while I wouldn't say this big-leafed, chocolate-colored beauty is slug-resistant, it at least fared better than my hostas this year.
Fragrant white bottlebrush flower wands are about to open on this black snakeroot (Cimicifuga racemosa 'Black Negligee'), with artichokes and a coral bark maple in the background.
The last of the lilies (an Orienpet, blooming late because it was planted just last November) flowers with the lavender...
A jolt of hot color from Begonia boliviensis - to my surprise, it wintered over in a raised bed...
And I don't care how many new hydrangeas they invent, old-fashioned 'Annabelle' with its twiggy stems (coralled here within a wire cage so it doesn't flop in the first rain storm) remains the classic...
