Late summer thoughts...

Echinacea in their last throes

Late summer is upon us. Flowers are fading, growth is slowing and there is sense of urgency just starting to creep in the background. I can hear the squirrels gnawing away at the hickory nuts in the neighbors tree. They are also seen using their little squirrel highway, the fence top across the street, hauling large pears back to the monstrous Willow Oak where they live, trying to pack on the pounds, or in their case, the ounces, for the upcoming winter season.

The Goldfinches are busily plucking all of the available seeds from the echinacea and cosmos and have managed to macerate the Zinnias. As I said in the last installment, the Ginger lilies are blooming nicely now and the house is filled with wonderful fragrance.

Ginger lily

Then there are always last minute surprises in the garden. A last bloom on the Gardenia, a late rose or Crocosmia blossom. It is like a last ditch effort to reproduce, to get the last chance in the season to be pollinated.

Crocosmia blooming now in my garden. I planted the bulbs in the spring, not expecting anything until next spring.

Yellow rose blooming now

Then there are the late bloomers anyway. The toad lilies are getting ready to bloom, and are now about 3 feet tall. They are getting later and later due to the fact that the River Birch we planted is robbing them of much needed light. I'm just noticing this now. The photo I took today says we are way off on the blooming time. An older image shows it was blooming in mid July back in 2009. I guess it is time to move them. We started with one plant and they have self propagated and take up a 4'x4' space.

Toad Lily, July 16, 2009

Toad lilies, August 26, 2013

Unformed Toad lily blossom, August 26, 2013