Beating Back The Wild Things

It's a plain fact that we are being overrun here.  All the rain has served to keep us out of the garden and it has given the weeds the opportunity to run wild in the garden.   Somewhere hidden beneath the grass and other weeds are Ed's beautiful planting beds and  stone paths.  Ed worked on this area today.  He plans to replant peas here.  We have the seed and sometimes we can get a late crop of peas if the weather cooperates.

I chose  to search for desirable plants in this bed .  I uncovered some dianthus, wood betony, closed gentian and a hollyhock.  I caught sight of Ed's rose, but I did not get it uncovered yet. Digging out the grass is slow work and looking for hidden treasures slows progress down even more.

It's not only the weeds that have gone wild.  The trumpet vine has completely engulfed the golden glows.  A few small golden flowers have managed to break through the vines to catch some sunlight anyway.  Other plants in the area of the trumpet vine have not been seen at all.

Trumpet vine tendrils are marching across  our gravel parking spot.  New runners are popping up in the gravel at some distance from the original plant.  One can't help feeling that parking there for too long will result in a car covered with vines.  However, I can't deny that I love to watch the hummingbirds  zip around the trumpet vine chasing each other at dizzying speeds.  As long as the red flowers that they find so attractive are blooming, this vine gone wild is safe.

Still there is great beauty in the garden.  This Salmon star lily and its tantalizing fragrance is so attractive to a hummingbird moth that I was actually able to get this great picture.  We feast on fresh summer squash, basil, lettuce and the now ripening tomatoes.  Today in the garden was great!

A Few More Flowers and So Many Seeds

There are still a few more flowers blooming in the garden. This is one of the last golden glows shining in the sunlight. Opportunities for nectar and pollen are getting to be few and far between.  A late migrating Monarch butterfly was seen trying to feed on a fallen brown leaf yesterday.

This Sedum sieboldi that is planted on the top of Ed's stone wall is just beginning to bloom. It has always been a late bloomer here.

Another division of the same plant which grows in the garden instead of on top of the wall has not yet begun to open. If these beautiful sunny fall days continue it will get its chance to bloom too.

There is by no means a shortage of seeds in the garden. Some of them are welcome. They will provide food for the birds and other wildlife over the coming winter and plants I love will return again. Some of them are weeds always destined for removal. These seeds are from Grandpa Ott morning glories.    Last year the plants purchased from Select Seeds were gorgeous.  Reported to be the flower that started the Seed Saver Exchange I actually saved seed for Ed to plant.  This spring Ed started some of these seeds in the basement.  I even gave some of these heirloom seeds to friends. It has been my experience that morning glory seeds here are annual. That is when the cold comes the plants and the seeds are dead a  door nail. I was not pleased this spring when hundreds  thousands of morning glory plants popped up all around the area where the Grandpa Otts were planted. They climbed and wound around any plant nearby like nasty little pythons choking the life out of its victim.   I have been pulling them all summer. I'm pulling more now. I'm trying to gather  and get rid of all the seeds I can find, but I know I have not seen the last of Grandpa Ott. To my friends who received these seeds from me as a gift I have to say, " Sorry, I had no idea! "