Bells , Whistles, and Lighting ...

The bells I have in mind aren't "noisy" which is a good thing because the Blue Jays are noisy enough for the whole neighborhood .. they have us trained to dole out peanuts each day .. smart birds right ?

Mrs. Harvey ... is one of my favorites and a re-bloomer (a heck of a re-bloomer if I had been paying attention to trimming it back more readily) .. so a bonus, to a beauty !

Even in the shade she shines

Lighting does makes us look twice at our plants .. sometimes it can really change our perspective.
I love back lighting but oh ... it changes so quickly.
The axiom of being in the right place at the right time, is so true !          Ally way garden.

I'm not thrilled with the view across the road (or the cable box) but the last fickle lighting that makes the hydrangea and grass glow, is pretty.

Bright lighting isn't so bad either .. it brings out amazing detail .. combine it with a white subject and you would think it would be overwhelming .. but not all the time.
A some what black back ground, from deep shade, helps of course.

You would think total shade might not be a good idea .. but sometimes it can lend a bit of drama to a plant .. it also can define amazing detail.

Combine shade and light to bring contrast of two very different colored plants and it is complimentary.

September is here ... the garden is still alive and dare I say thriving .. the list of what  has to be done gets longer each time I have a brain burp .. so I hope I can survive said dreaded LIST myself !

Cracking the Colour

Sometimes you just get the silhouette .... and that is nice
Then sometimes you get a little more

Then .. there are the plants that offer up that colour .. Buttered Rum ...

Fantastic contrast to the "green" that can be a bit monotonous ?

One of my mystery hydrangea .. I thought I knew what is was, ....  now .. nope !

It colours up before Pinky Winky (to the left of the yews)

Pinky has nice big flowers that will morph into the pink it is named for .. stages of colour really.

Little Lamb 

Little Lime ... the "Little Sisters" ?

Also .. Little Quick Fire ... with it's parent "Quick Fire" standing behind it.
So you are catching on the the "little" theme ?

A "little" volunteer .. Tiger Eye Sumac .. not sure what I am going to do about it ....

So ... colour is cracking here and there .. the big A for Autumn is sneaking in bit by bit and I welcome the change ... not the work but that is another matter .. for now the colour is CRACKING !

What's in a standard ?

Monday mornings ... spectacular ... right ? .. second last week of August .. even better ... sure ...
Signs of summer slipping towards Fall ? maybe ?
One of my baby Tiger Eye Sumac is "blushing" a bit .. a tiny indicator of change happening

Tall Fall grasses ... flowering from tiny beads .....

Joe Pye ... unfurling .. letting down it's "hair"

OK .. enough said about that .. I am on now to my "standard"
I planted hydrangea standard "Pink Diamond" .. well .. maybe "stuck" is another description of how I plunked the poor thing in the shade side of my garden on a holding pattern, until I could figure out the proper place for it.
I transplanted it this past Spring and thought .. no flowers this year because it could be a bit shocked from my not so nice treatment or was that indecision ?
BUT ?

View from the deck ....

It has decided the move was not such a bad one and even on a cloudy wet day it is looking GOOD.

My first standard ... and so far I am liking what a standard it is !

I forgot to go into detail about the Spring renovation of the patio .. so here is a partial picture of the flagstones when they are wet because flagstones when wet look even better some how.
It seems ages ago when the poor guys were working in rain, snow and hail trying to lay these suckers down .. they did an amazing job and we are enjoying the view (a bit messy at the moment) very much.

Tall Tales & Naughty Ideas

Late summer has drifted in .. plants are exchanging "shifts" in the garden, and signals that Autumn will be threading it's way through, are more evident.
One sure sign for me is "Miscanthis Giganteus" .. it is a stunner.
I sometimes wonder though, "did I plant it in the right location ?" by the shed door?
It can be tricky navigating close to it with those sharp grass leaves .. so I do some selective trimming.
But  ... wow .... talk about a hide and seek type of plant to play with ?

A compact grass that is rather cute to mix and match with is pennisetum alopecuroides Piglet
It is trying to hold it's own here against a persistent Ostrich fern group.

Another grass .. I have a few, but love adding more ... is one I can't locate the name for, rats !
It is a wonderful contrast grass with tight seed like flower heads that wave in the breeze.
The prime subject here though is the TALL late blooming Japanese anemone.
The grass heads are almost like  bokeh in this shot .. I like the affect.

An anemone for late summer, Elfin Swan, is a gorgeous, smaller version, in bright white for shadier sections of the garden.

Lush dark green foliage covered in buds

Joe Pye is proud of it's height .. drawing in so many pollinators as it opens itself up to the world.

Speaking of opening up ... the last of my oriental lilies has finished but it was a nice bright surprise this year .. Venezuela, was a new one and I am not quite sure of it, but pretty all the same.

Another new plant is hydrangea macrophylla "Early Blue" and I have to say it is actually adapting to what ever element it needs (acidic) in the soil and turning blue, bit by bit.
I am not a fan of mopheads, this was an impulse buy .. but I have to say it is a blooming machine !

I have to mention my first, and oldest hydrangea (they seem to have such a long life span!)
Little Lamb has been with me since the beginning of this garden.

One more TALL .. and then the tale.
I have two very tall thalictrum .. this one I would call tiny bubbles but it is probably eleven feet tall almost dwarfing my eight foot fence ... hundreds of bubbles that become tiny flowers.
The Royal Purple Smoke Bush helps to support it thank heavens !

OK .. I started with "tall" and now for the naughty ..
Have you ever thought about getting a tatoo ? .. I know .. totally off topic, who knew ?
Garden PA and I decided we would like to try a small one each .. BUT ... just a semi permanent one to see how it would look .. bawk bawk .. yes we are a little chicken to fully commit .
This is a fun way of trying it out, from a site called "inkbox" .."for now, not forever" is their motto.
So .. which one do you think I am choosing ? LOL