In just two days, September will be here. It always marked the true end of summer to me, even though the days were often still hot, the light had already begun to shift and the days were getting ever so slightly shorter. As a kid, I hated it. As an adult, I often think about how I have missed most of summer and how did that happen??
When I was a kid, summer lasted forever, now it seems like it is two weeks long. How did I miss vacation time? And not having a pool to laze in and swim in, that is the thing I most miss about living in Florida. I would get up in the early morning, make coffee and slip out to the pool and swim laps - fast and slow, and sip my coffee while everyone slept.
This summer I saw the daylilies and then the rain and weeds came. I sprained my ankle, and walking on the uneven ground of my gardens to do weeding was out...so the weeds have won this year.
I do love the change in the greens at this time of the year. The bright spring greens are wonderful, but the complexity of the greens as they age and darken is something I enjoy watching. As I walk my dogs each morning, I have been seeing lots of purple flowers. Why so many purple flowers in fall?
Thistle
Joe Pye Weed and Ironweed
Flax on the roadside
Here's one of my hydrangeas that has been incredible this year. It is at the end of its season.
And I always love the Queen Anne's Lace (Not purple!!)
What kinds of flowers and foliage are you seeing where you are right now??
We'll be doing a drawing (random number generator) of one winner if you make a comment by the end of August!! The prize will be one skein of Yummy 2-ply Sock and we'll include a pattern of Martina Behm's Miss Winkle.
198 comments
I’m seeing a lot of Joe Pye, too. Hydrangea, phlox, some early asters, and my Autumn Joy sedum is busting out all over! The thing I’m enjoying the most, though, is the fruit. On my cornus mas, the fruits range from green to yellows, oranges and reds, finally ending with mahogany. On my Snowdrift crabapple, the fruits are beginning to look like miniature golden delicious with a pink blush.
Tomatoes. Finally! And when they are ready , I’ll have 500!!
In AZ we are at the still pretty hot everything is pretty brown. However when it does rain, afterwords, the Desert Sage bushes bloom and smell wonderful. The Sage bush has a beautiful small purple flower that as scattered all over the bush.
My tomatoes are ALMOST ready! And when they are ill have 500!!
I live in Southern California so we have a lot of flowers blooming. My plumeria is going strong as are my purple irises, hibiscus, and roses. Weather is still very hot at 102*.
My husband and I traveled to the Blue Ridge Parkway by Moses Cone Manor and hiked a trail. There was plenty of ragweed, goldenrod, asters( which are a precursor to fall) and yellow lady slippers.
We’ve been having a good year in our own garden with a wildflower mix that included chicory, cone flowers and bee balm for the hummingbirds.
My spider lillies came up this week, a couple of weeks early here in coastal NC, so I feel September is early this year too.
I love Joe Pye Weed! We used to have a brook on our farm and it always grew along the brook. I love the dusty pink color!!
We still have some roses in peach, reds and a few pinks. My hydrangeas started out white and are now a really pretty china blue- last year the same bush was putting out pinky/ rose colored flowers. That’s one of the fun things about hydrangeas- they are ever changing.
thank you for a beautiful post!
Mostly what I’m seeing right now is crape myrtle.
Looking forward to Fall. I’m sitting here right know knitting Brickless from last year’s yarn club.