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Tuesday 1 September 2015

August "Ugh!" finally gone

August has been my downfall with the gardens .. I didn't water enough and I paid the price with losing the greenery of my astilbe ... I have huge vacant patches in my shade gardens.
I feel so darn guilty about it all but I totally shrivel in the heat and it has been hot and so DRY !
I don't have the right to complain as much as the poor gardeners out in BC though ... that is serious hot dry weather that no joking should be made of ..

So ... the last garden pictures of August ?
Scoff as you may ... the old standard red geranium with a burgundy spike and white euphorbia that isn't quite in the picture .. they hung in with me even when i didn't get them watered.

The Bittersweet vine known to us as Medusa was trying to crawl into my birdcage to avoid trimming.
A touch of sweetness ? .. was Little Miss Sunshine's flowers ... fresh looking and oh so cute.
The heat did bring out the dark colours of this sedum and the coreopsis beside it didn't seem to mind it either ... plus we all know lavender loves it so no complaints there !
I have to try and divide this sedum because it really does make an impact statement with that colour.
I crave balance so two on either side of what ever I put in the middle (maybe Gold Bar Miscanthus that I have tucked away else where ) now that would be a wow ! picture .. the wheels are turning !
You can see my Autumn Joy sedum needs to be divided .. sagging in the middle  .. hum ? like me, is not a pretty site .. too bad I can't divide myself and get rid of the sag !
I have too many Black Eyed Susans around the arbor bench so they will be transplanted.
So many plants to swap around .... and yet I have ordered some more ... go figure ?

Does anyone know how long anise hyssop is supposed to live because I think I might have a record here .. I had divided it as well a few years back.
This one is going on 14 years old ... isn't that impossible ? it is one of my original garden plants !
I have been taking pictures in the dull morning light ... the flash went off with this one so colours look a little washed out ...I trimmed out the Japanese Maple for better breathing .. poor thing was just too stuffy !
OK ... another crazy original plant is this ajuga ... it with stood the crap thrown on it from the landscaper and came back even stronger ... I wish I had what ever it has been "drinking" ?
Little Lime on this side of the garden has been doing great ... there fore I am moving the poor little skinny kid Little Lime from the other side of the garden over here so it has a decent chance !
So far so good with my Autumn ferns ... but the true test is whether they will show up after what ever this winter will throw at them .. been there done that, lost that before ... we shall see !
The Heuchera and Heucherellas keep swinging no matter what so thumbs up on them !
How about a moon shot for a change ... we missed the super moon for Saturday night because it was overcast .. but this one happened the next night .
How about this weird one ?
OK ... just one more blast of August sun rising .... can feel the heat radiating from the picture !
Now if only September would behave itself ?

16 comments:

rochefleuriegarden said...

You would not think there would be that much difference in weather between Kingston and the Bruce Peninsula. We have had a rather rainy week last week.
I am just amazed how beautiful your garden still look at this time of the year. By the end of August, mine looks quite bedraggled.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I so hope that September behaves herself. My gosh we need rain too. Your garden doesn't look too much worse for the drought. It seems that the seasonal drought gets worse and worse each year. I love that dark colored sedum. It is yummy. I just cut my bittersweet off just above the ground. It is tooo thugish to stay. I want to rip it all out and get me a collection of clematis on the fence. My Dearly beloved said yipeee.... I don't know why except it trys to take over the paths and anything that stands still. Happy September to you...

RobinL said...

My garden is doing the later summer fade, just in time for September's arrival. Many flowers are pooping out, but now the sedums and zinnias are taking over, so maybe it's not all bad. It's just that I depend on the rudbeckia and echinacea so much, and once they fade away, my garden is hurting! I thought about trimming away the seedheads, but the pretty goldfinches love them so much that I don't have the heart. Your garden, of course, looks fresh and green as usual. Not fair! LOL

Linda said...

HI Joy, August sure was a hot month wasn't it. Lots of things suffered in the gardens. I've been cutting things down. One plant that did well, too well in fact, was the rudbekis. It just expanded all over the place. It is on the list to move for sure, but not till it cools down a bit and there is a bit of rain to soften the ground. Your garden looks lovely. I can take the lovely weather as long as the humidity isn't here.

Pat said...

WOW !!! Everything has grown so much in your gardens. Kudos to you for keeping it beautiful. Wish I could do the same... maybe next year.

Nadezda said...

Hi, Joy!
Lovely garden, I liked the color combination on photo with sedum: red, silver, yellow. Your garden looks very professional.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Alain and thank you so much ! Believe me I have some spots in the garden that look very bedraggled! haha ... I wish we had your rain but Kingston seems to be "under the dome" when it comes to that .. one long hot dry summer. I so hope next year won't be so wacky with winter,Spring and summer .. thank you again for the seed treats ! : )

Lisa girl you and i are in total agreement about the Bittersweet .. I have had it for years and now that I have to cut back on work in the garden that is going ... it's one beast and I know it is going to be even worse trying to get it out.
I think I might just try a Honeysuckle there .. I need to find just the right kind that won't drive me bonkers ! Yes I love that sedum too .. hope to get a clean divide on it so I have more to enjoy : ) Happy September to you girl !

Robin girl these are the nice pictures ... I have ugly parts too .. and another week of whether to nearly kill myself watering with no rain yet again ... ugh !
Yes I leave my coneflowers as much as possible for the birds, they really love those seeds.
I am waiting for that cooler weather to do the chores I have lined up .. fingers crossed it actually happens before we get snow ? haha

Hello there Linda and thank you : ) ... yes those rudbeckias tend to almost be weeds the way they sneak in and multiply ... I will be moving quite a few of them around once we get that cooler weather .. fingers crossed ? LOL ... and RAIN !! lets do a rain dance ? LOL

Patsi girl wow hello there ! .. thank you ... yes things have changed over the past two years but I still seem to have so much work to do it boggles my mind ... I get tired just thinking of it ... but we seem to push ourselves to the limit for our gardens eh?
Hey ... you will get into the swing of things next year , no worries !

Nadezda girl hello there and my goodness thank you : ) .. sometimes I think I just plant helter skelter .. roll of the dice ? haha ... but some times it seems to work out.
I am very ready for the Autumn weather ... hope it appears soon !
I know we have long cold winters but I am ready for it ... this was a long hot dry summer.

Casa Mariposa said...

Everything looks good for being hot and dry! I have the same agastache and it's a keeper. Mine is about 7 years old.

Rose said...

I'm glad August is over, too, but so far September is acting just the same--it's too hot to even think about going out into the garden! At least we got some rain over the weekend, so I don't have to drag hoses around. I have too many Susans, too, but right now they are hiding the browning foliage of other plants behind them, so I'm happy:) Your garden looks great; it's hard to believe it's near the end of the season.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Tammy girl .. believe me August has been "hell month" and until today we have had no rain so ugh! doesn't even describe it that well ? haha
I just can't believe this beauty (I love the scent of anise !) can keep going this long .. the bees love it to death as well so it is a must in my garden and yours doing so well too .. I wonder what the record is ? LOL

Rose girl, thank you ! ... I am SO ready for cool Autumn weather .. today we are having a few sprinkles but still so warm and humid at the same time .. Yes the Susans hide a lot of sins don't they ? haha ...

Sarah Shoesmith said...

I think your garden looks wonderful in spite of the weather. Pleased to see your Hydrangea isn't sulking. I am inspired by the longevity of your Anise hyssop. Mine so far have lasted a year. I wasn't hoping for much more, but now I'm optimistic. Thanks!

Jennifer said...

August was very miserable heat wise wasn't it? I have a couple of burned astilbe too. It was just too dry. Interestingly enough I found that the shiny leathery leaf varieties did not fair as well as the lighter green ones with the heat and drought.
Autumn Ferns have failed twice for me. I hope you have better luck with yours. I see the mystery plant was goldenrod. Honestly, I'd get rid of it. It spreads quite aggressively.
The remainder of the week is supposed to be cooler. Let's hope so anyway.

Pat said...

LMAO as soon as I saw Patsi girl. No one but you ! Once a year for brush pick up is not enough even without a jungle like mine. Oh, we have two 17 pound dogs, one of which has changed the landscape so gardening is not so much fun...have a lot less now (not gonna go there). Hope to get my act together next spring and reinvent the backyard garden.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Sarah ... I am totally taken with your wineberries ! That pudding looked so delicious!
Yes be optimistic about the hyssop ... it was my very first one but I also have Golden Jubilee which has hung in for many years as well and it is not even supposed to with my zone .. you never know what will take and what won't so thumbs up girl !

Jennifer girl I hated August and if it doesn't cool down seriously soon I am going to hate September too! and yes way too dry ... ugh ! I didn't actually see a difference with the astilbe for which faired better .. the two types fried all the same for me ??? LOL
Hadn't had that happen with so many before and yes I did water!
Yup ... I have tried Autumn ferns before and failed ... I swear this is the last time!
Fingers crossed for cooler weather ... I can NOT wait !!

Patsi GIRL ! .. the city of Kingston is cheap (even with what we pay for taxes ! .. once a year is ridiculous but they have us by the "leaves") Holy crap ! ... yes dogs will change the landscape but what can you do ? hey ... when you are ready... you will be ready .. no sense rushing it until you are up to the adventure .. so just take care of yourself and relax!!

GRACE PETERSON said...

Hi there sweetie pie. Beautiful photos of your amazing garden, my dear. I love that hydrangea and all the heucheras... and everything else. That is strange about the circle on the moon. Maybe NASA needs to see that photo. :) Take care and write when you can.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Gracie girl hello there : )
Thanks you so much ... I have so much to move around in the garden it is daunting but this weekend it has rained for 2 days so I am thrilled with that (no dragging hose around too, now how good can it get ? LOL) Yup .. conspiracy theories abound !!! haha