A Visit On The Wild Side

After two days of rain, Ed was headed outside early. He took his scythe and went back to the pond. He was gone for some time when he returned to get me, the camera, and some water. We took the truck up the lane to the back meadow, and the pond. Looking south toward the stone square and the house, all you can see is an ocean of goldenrod and milkweed, perfect for Monarch butterflies. The single clump of New England asters is a favorite of ours and a favorite snack of the deer. Back here where the critters rule, the purple plants are rare. On the horizon you can see morning river fog, and just a bit of the distant hills on the other side of the river.




A new plant has popped up at the pond. If I am correct it is Nodding Burr Marigold. The bloom time and habitat is right . These plants and duckweed seem to have taken over the pond. The seeds of the marigold are favored by ducks. Perhaps they were flown in by our fowl friends.



Here where there is plenty of water, the plant life is lush. Another type of aster and orange jewel weed battle for their spot amid the ferns and marigolds.



I could see interesting mushrooms from the edge of the pond. Ed got his feet wet getting to the island to take this shot of mushrooms growing at the base of a tree. I'm pretty sure the next hot sunny day will find him playing back here in the water and mud. He's really a kid at heart!

60 Days Until Frost

How did we get to the last day of July so fast? Here at the Stone Wall Garden we can probably count on 60 more frost-free days. If we are very lucky, that could extend to 75. It was only 79 days ago that the garden looked like this.

This tattered Monarch butterfly is a reminder that we are on the down side of the summer. I actually felt a little guilty bothering her to get a picture. She has serious egg laying business to finish before she dies. Soon we will watch beautiful new Monarchs fly over the garden heading south to Mexico.



The first New England Aster blosssoms are beginning to open. While it's true that they bloom for a long time, they are a signal that the purple asters and yellow goldenrod of fall are on the horizon.

Ed is busy clearing weeds where peas and garlic have been harvested, and planting buckwheat, peas, zucchini, kale and lettuce. Who knows how the crops planted now will do? The weather is unpredictable, but it's best to plant something. If you don't fill in the garden soil with something you want to grow, it will fill in with weeds that you don't want. Mother Nature abhors a bare patch of dirt. Weeds will not miss an opportunity. Weed seeds are in the dirt, float on the wind, stick to the fur of animals, and drop from the sky courtesy of the birds.

August and September are wonderful months for the garden. New potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, lettuce, peppers onions,and beets are there for the picking. Fresh basil, parsley, mint, thyme, rosemary, sweet bay, lemon verbena and French tarrogon wait to make meals exciting.

There are still new flowers yet to bloom. The asters and chrysanthemums are just getting started. I'm still waiting for the closed gentian, the Angelica gigas, the moon flowers and the tuberose.

The second half of the garden 2010 is here. There is still a lot of exciting garden fun to come!

A Winning Combination

The Mary Stoker mums have been in front of the house for 2 years now. They really are a favorite. Chrysanthemums have a special place in Ed's heart. His great grandfather had them in his garden. It never dawned on us, however, that New England asters would be such a fantastic combination plant for them. Yellow and purple are a favorite color combination, and both plants bloom in the fall. It took a self-sewn aster among the chrysanthemums to call our attention to the possibilities.

Plans are being made to divide the mums and transplant asters so that we can enjoy more of this winning combination next year. It's nice to plan your garden, but sometimes the garden plans itself with inspiring results.

Early Signs Of Fall

The cuttings Ed took of my scented geraniums and the lemon verbena have been moved into their pots in preparation for moving indoors. It's a great thing to have new healthy plants to bring in instead of digging up the large, woody plants. Some years we don't manage that, but this year we did. Right now they sit on the patio waiting in the garden until Fall arrives.




The golden rod has been blooming for some time, but now it's yellow is joined by the beautiful purple of New England asters. It's the first fall color here before the trees even think of changing their leaves.

It was a gorgeous day for working in the garden. There was nothing hot and muggy about today. Tonight is clear and cool. Windows opened to cool off the house were closed early. The weather forecast for tonight says a low of 42 degrees. The f_ _ _ _ word crossed my mind, but it's still August. It wouldn't,well it shouldn't, but still the early signs remind us that summertime is running out.

Fall Flowers and Patchy Frost

I love these fall flowers. Around here we have golden rod in many places . There is a magnificent yellow glow all around. The gorgeous purple of the New England asters is less prevalent, but still the combination brings joy to my heart. We are working on increasing the asters by moving them into the garden. I have learned by observation that the deer seek out the aster plants for eating.

As much as I know these flowers signal fall, the words "patchy frost" in last night's weather forecast came as a shock to me. While it is true we are not in the most frost prone area, it's too close for comfort. I put on a jacket, turned on the porch lights and went out in the dark to bring in my sweet bays. In my experience they can be touchy and sometimes just a whisper of frost is enough to make them drop dead. It's not worth the chance.

The rest of the week's temperatures look better but the warning has been sounded. Procrastination has to stop. The time is now to get in the rest of the harvest taken care of. This year's garden is winding down . It's an ending for sure, but it's also the beginning of the glorious fall season .