Hanging in There

After a hot start to September, the middle of the month has seen the temperatures take a drop.  Though we haven't had to run the AC in the day there has been a couple of rainy and cold days where the heater kicked in during the night.  Some of the flowers in the garden seem to have gained a second wind and are  flourishing at the moment and I'll just stop and drink in of their loveliness before they will be dug out or trimmed and prepped for their winter sleep.  

After a super slow start to their flowering and growth, the front porch is flourishing!  The red impatiens were bought at a huge discount as they were past the end of the buying season and almost dead.  That was one small lone little plant and look at it now.  Once the alstroemeria (white and pink flowers) got blooming they is no stopping them.  Tough it took until the end of July.  I was tempted to pull them, so glad I didn't.  

Some of the front flowers.  The oval flower bed needs lots of work.  It's a real mish mash.  The zinnias were scattered left over seeds from a dayhome project with the kids and they finally flowered in August but they are all over the place.  The sweet Williams are "freebies" that either wind, birds or deer brought over.  Have no idea but I love them cause they flower all summer.  I'll have to do some major thought and planning into this bed.  I originally built it to hold a peony I had brought over from my mom's garden when we sold her house.  And my Incrediball hydrangeas have turned an even nicer pink.  Can't wait for the blooms to grow bigger than my head.  Please, oh please, let me prep them for winter well so they don't die.  They are good to -40*C (-40*F also) so they are hardy and seem to do well around here.  

And the deck.  Considering I have torn out, trimmed and reconfigured some of these pots  several times due to flowers dying from who knows what,   some are now doing well.  It was not a great year for the petunias, don't know what was going on this year with them, but these are the ones that survived me tearing both them and my hair out.  

Hopefully we'll get a few more weeks of  lovely color before real coolness of fall sets in.  I need to really rethink how I am going to plant next year.  And use a good measure of self control in the spring.  The prices have  gone up so much this year and having to remove dead and dying plants was a real frustration  and a hit to the pocket book.  Oh well, I'll be thankful for this end of the season gift of color while it lasts.