september bloom day

Two days late!

It feels like fall here in New Hampshire. We’re still in a drought. High temps are generally in the 60s and 70s with lows from the 40s-60s, and in a few days, in the low 30s. The garden is withering, especially the cucumber and squash vines, though the bean and morning glory vines are going strong, as is the volunteer pumpkin monster that grew from the compost. 

 

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Shade Garden

Nothing happening here, really, except for the Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ (pink turtlehead) on the sunny edge of the shade garden. The bumblebees like it.

 

pinkcheloneturtleheadflower6Sept2020

And here’s Kirengeshoma palmata (yellow wax bells), a favourite of mine

kirengeshomaflowersyellowshadegarden3Sept2020

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Front Yard

I thought we might have ‘Bluebird’ aster bloom or at least bud by now but not quite. The echinacea have faded, the annuals — vermillionaire ‘Firecracker,’ gazania, zinnias, some annual grasses, some pretty “weeds” — are filling in for now. The ‘Rozanne’ geraniums never quit. And it’s sedum time! 

whiteslugorangezinniasflowersmistyevening29Aug2020
white slug on orange zinnia flowers
yellowzinniaflowerfrontyard5Sept2020
yellow zinnia — one of the few I got to grow from seed this year
orangeyellowbrowngazaniaflower10Sept2020
gazania flower
orangeflowertouchmenotjewelweed5Sept2020
Impatiens capensis aka jewelweed aka spotted touch-me-not
nice clump of goldenrod
nice clump of goldenrod
Autumn Fire sedum and 'Rozanne' geranium
Autumn Fire sedum and ‘Rozanne’ geranium
honeybee on Autumn Fire sedum
honeybee on Autumn Fire sedum
Autumn Fire sedum
Autumn Fire sedum
HabGreysedumbloom23Aug2020
Hab Grey sedum flowers

Sedum ussuriense ‘Turkish Delight’ — so vivid!

 

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Side Yard, including vegetable garden 

I’m always glad to have scattered mixed seeds, though I tend to forget them and they get overgrown when perennials reach their full summer size. Still, some persist. Right now, there’s cosmos, balsam, Mexican sunflowers, calendula, all from a seed mix, plus morning glories and marigolds. 

beanvinescosmosMexicansunflowerssideyard10Sept2020

 

The ‘Neon Intensia’ phlox is also still/re-blooming (not sure which) in the side yard (those are crocosmia seedheads alongside).

phloxpinksideyard9Sept2020

The buddleia ‘Ellen’s Blue’ is still going strong.

monarchbutterflywingsspreadbuddleia28Aug2020

Another bit of the side yard:

sidehouseFineLinedwarfAlbertaSprucewillowhoneysuckebaptisia9Sept2020
dwarf Alberta spruce (one of many Christmas trees), Fine Line buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), replanted willow, honeysuckle, red rose bush, and in front, baptisia and Bowman’s root (Porteranthus ‘Pink Profusion’)

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Fruit Guild

The peach season has come and gone, beginning 19 Aug. and ending 6 Sept. The chipmunks and squirrels nibbled a lot, we had some minor (slightly disfiguring) insect damage, and the raccoons really enjoyed what fell, which was a lot with the squirrel action and two rain and wind storms. By my count, we picked about 800 peaches, several hundred less than usual.

ladenpeachtreesfruitguild23Aug2020
the two trees on 23 August, heavily laden
peachesofferedgarage23Aug2020
peaches offered to neighbours and friends in the garage
peachtreesfruitguildghosttreesmistyevening29Aug2020
the two trees on 29 August
favouritepeach1Sept2020
my favourite peach of the year
raccoons around peach trees, 31 Aug
raccoons around peach trees, 31 Aug

The sneezeweed is blooming now (left), along with the new woodland sunflower (right).

yellowflowerssneezeweedwoodlandsunflowerfruitguild9Sept2020

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Back Yard

The back border is lovely this time of year, especially in the mist. 

backyardbackborderJoePyeweedmistyevening29Aug2020
misty back border and weeping spruce
JoePyeweedbackbordermistyevening29Aug2020
Joe Pye weed in the mist evening
backborderhydrangeaJoePyeweed6Sept2020
back border with Peegee hydrangea, Joe Pye weed, grasses, milkweed
PGhydrangea21Aug2020
Peegee hydrangea

Willow gentian (any gentian) is a favourite, too.

willowgentianflowersbloomingpurplebackborder3Sept2020
willow gentian
willowgentianflowerspurple3Sept2020
willow gentian blooms

More of the back yard —

backyardfoggymistyevening29Aug2020
weeping spruce, junipers, comfrey, goldenrod, anemone , baptisia, et al.
pinkautumncrocuswaterdropletsbackborder17Sept2020
autumn crocus before slugs eat them

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I’ll share the asters in October and maybe there will other blooms, though not many. We’re winding down here, or you could look at it as gearing up — for hibernation, rest, rejuvenation, the in-drawing and alchemy of potency that occurs in the dormant season.  

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Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

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