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
Crape Myrtle, Day lilies, squash, pumpkins and tomatoes are going crazy here :)
Around where I live, the weeds win. But some if them have lovely colors.
September ushers in our rainy season here.
Here in Turkey, we are waiting for the autumnal rain showers to moisten the parced soil. The beautiful apples, pomegranates and grapes are coming into season and the temperatures are beginning to fall slowly. My favourite time of the year. Thank you for your post.
Right now I am enjoying my neighbor’s sedum which is purple and she is going to let me divide! I am also admiring the HUGE seedpods on my 7 foot high milkweed!
I agree, it really starts to feel like fall once Labor Day happens. The kids are back in school, the nights get cooler. My garden has begun to die back some. The beans are done, the potatoes are ready to dig up, but the tomatoes and pumpkins are still growing!
All of the Crape Myrtles are blooming around here right now. And not flowers or foliage, but I’ve noticed lots of mushrooms around lately.
My roses are blooming – so reds, orange/yellow and white with pink highlights. And my dahlias – the red are gorgeous and I have a couple of pale orangey-yellow that are like a little pop of sunshine on a rainy day.
I have 3 good sized bright orange pumpkins in my yard at the moment. Since I didn’t plant a garden this year, the weeds have taken over and I have flax growing where my squash should be (if I had planted it). I’ve noticed dashes of bright red and gold here and there on trees that have started to turn a little early. Autumn is my favorite time of year. I wish it could be October every month.
I have these beautiful orange flowers (and I don’t remember what they are) I planted two summers ago that I didn’t think would grow. Their bulbs sat in my refrigerator for five years and now I have two gorgeous plants plants that managed to grow.