Arriving at Jenna's house about five, I m finally seeing flower buds on the fall things...mums, some daisy-like perennials I stuck in the back beds last fall, and the hardy hibiscus are starting to strut their stuff. The knockout roses are blooming up a storm, and even the clematis are giving us a bloom or two, well after their best season.
It has been such a wet year, the sizes of some of these flowers is astounding. Some of the one-quart mums I planted last fall are so big, the biggest wheelbarrow we own wouldn't hold their foliage. I have never seen such huge plants. Funny, since I didn't really feed anything but the roses, and only did that a month or so ago.
Not every plant survived, but the ones that did are thriving. Crape myrtles are finishng their season, in shades of purple and lavendar. The blackberry vines and Concord grapes are bearing up a storm, for new plants.
I have been watching for fall planting bulb specials. Won't sock them into thevground until late October/ early November. Last winter was mild enough to plabpntbup until Christmas, but we don't get that lucky every year. I want to add more daffodils and Jenna's favorite purple tulips, and also some hyacinths and crocus.
We do need to resituate a couple of dwarf pears and a fig, because thy aren't thriving where we set them this past year. They are hanging on, but not happy. Mike says he will help me move and mulch them soon.
We still have the firepit to finish. After that, this yard will be pretty much where we want it to be. We walked into a cool space at long last today, after fighting this AC system in his rare spare time since late June.
He and the helper found one more slow leak last week, so hopefully all the holes are stopped up at last. That's what I get for trying to do this ourselves...I have to say the $4000 or so less for going this route made that an attractive decision. Time will tell ifmit was a wise choice or a monumentally dumb one.
We are sitting and plotting a few fall road trips. Most of the places we want to see are within about 150 miles of this place, so nothing radical. Most of what I want to do is take time to smell the flowers. Lots of those to enjoy here!
What are your fall fun plans? I know, harvest looms...but it doesn't last forever! We are down to 17 acres of last cutting hay, as of today.
