Monsoon Season? Reblooming Iris!

Out on the hill it looks like fall but the afternoon temps have been in the 80s. We've gone from no rain to somewhat of a monsoon it seems. From the looks of the weather map it's going to be rain and thunderstorms all the way thru Saturday. This morning it rained on me all the way in to work and for about an hour after I arrived. At this point it has stopped but there's suppoe=se to be more waiting in the wings, I believe. My garden surely will enjoy the moisture and so will the weeds.

I purchased some reblooming iris a year or so ago and this spring they bloomed. On Sunday as I was leaving the house something caught my eye and guess what? This beautiful iris was fully opened. I had not even noticed it was going to bloom. I purchased several but for health reasons did not get them all in the ground and this is the only one that seems to have survived. I most certainly am going to order more of the reblooming varieties. I've been shopping the cataloges for others. This morning there were 2 more blooms but it was raining and I didn't get pictures.

Winerberry? Wildflower?

My japonicas and one of my pencil hollies seem to be trying to give up the ghost. I'm thinking that they needed more water than they have been getting. We have had very little rain since August 4th. Since I am on a hill and the water drains quickly I am going to put in soaker hoses, hopefully this fall. I've been considering adding a timer but have not yet decided for sure about this. I have not grown japonicas before and if they are this temperamental I'm not sure I will grow them again.

Here on the hill not alot of things are in bloom. The sages and catmint are very robust in aroma and size. Coreopsis have continued to bloom and are still flowering beautifully. I gathered my hydrangea blooms yesterday and made bouquets for the sunporch and on each side of the colonnade. They are one of my best flowers and I like the fact that I can collect them to make arrangements that will last all season. In the spring I will add 4 or 5 more plants along the French Drain.

Coreopsis

A the edge of the woods near the end of my drive, in one of the few areas that we have managed to somewhat reclaim from mother nature's take over with unwanted growth, I noticed a shrub that is simply loaded with red berries. I was on my way to work so it was not a good day to go climbing thru weeds and brush but that is just what I did. I'm not sure if this is a winterberry but it may be. Whatever it is the berries are stunning. At the base of the same small bank I discovered beautiful yellow flowers that are some type of wildflower. I am posting pictures of both the flower and the shrub. If anyone can identify either please do so.

Sage & Catmint and some others

Winterberry? Maybe? No? Yes?

Unknown flower

Fall is Definitely in the Air

The past few mornings when I have stepped outside there has been the feel of change in the air and fog hangs over the land that spreads out below my hill. Behind the house the trees have reds and yellows in their leaves. The burning bushes will soon lose all their green. This one changes from day to day.

Below the touch-me-nots have lost their seeds and leaves will soon be gone.

And as if that is not proof enough take a look at the poke weed. Picture is not very good but you can see the clusters of berries and the faded leaves.

Yes, autumn is arriving here in Kentucky! There is a crispness in the early morning air but by afternoon it's back in the 80s. On Saturday I pulled weeds and did a little clean up and for that I have a good case of Poison Ivy.

Back to The Garden - Soon Very Soon

I've had lots of things going on at my house and not necessarily in the garden. I have been painting and cleaning and now it's time to get ready to go back out and do some late summer garden work very soon. I have mulch that needs to be put down around shrubs and lots of clean up is going to start. With cool weather just around the corner I will be doing some more work at the woods' edge - trying to get rid of poison ivy, grapevines and honeysuckle. I so want to get some of that yard reclaimed and put in some ferns and flowering shrubs. Hopefully, in the next day or so I will have some pictures to post.

For some reason one of my japonicas that I planted this spring and that had been doing great has some dead branches. I can't figure out why. Hopefully, it will recover. I do know that we could sure use some rain. Haven't had much rain since the downpour that caused the flood on August 4th.

This and That and Some More

This morning I went out to make some pictures. I did discover that if your camera is anywhere close to the AC vent and you take it outside in the 70F degree heat the lense will fog, therefore, some of my pictures are not all that good. I had to snap a picture, wipe off the lense and try for another one. Didn't always work. I missed a shot of a redthroated hummingbird. He was buzzing around the Hollyhocks and Lavender but before I could get a focus on him he was gone.

The stonecrop is beginning to look like autum is somewhere in the wings waiting.

I love the silvery colour of sage and the spiderwort has bloomed again.

The Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) was just a tiny sprig when I put it out this spring. It seems to enjoy full sun. I only recently discovered that it and spiderwort of of the same family.

Not sure the name of this little lilly. My mother had this for many years after a neighbor gave her a start. She always called it her "little pink lily". My sister gave me a pot of it last fall since I had lost all of mine several years ago and it has bloomed all summer if I give it a drink everyday.

My cypress vine has taken over the stump and is trying to cover everything on the ground. The hummingbirds love it. I hate to cut it back but I think I am going to have to rescue some of the plants

There were lots of honey bees around the cleomes this morning but you can't see them in the pictures.

I'm not sure planting them around the mailbox was such a good idea but they sure seem to like it there.

Someone was Hungry

My sweetpotato was doing fine and when I came home about six o'clock it had all it's leaves and vines. About 2 hours later when I went outside this is what I found. Apparently the groundhog was very hungry. I saw him just the other day as he was scurring across the yard. He is very well fed. About a week ago he dined on one of my large dahlias that was just getting ready to bloom. Considering the fact that he appears (from his rotund size) to have a large appetite I consider myself lucky that he has not done more damage.

Flowers, flowers and more

This is the only one that came back. I bought some more this year so hopefully next spring will bring many more.

Crocosmeia

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we seek to...
Cypress vine. Hummingbirds love it.

One of my most liked flowers - the hydrangea

These blackeyed Susans were a wonderful surprise when they appeared.

Touch-me-nots have always been favorities of my kids and grandkids. The seed pods are wonderful entertainment.

These bees were busy collecting pollen from this large sunflower.

Here are a few pictures of the new garden I have been working on. It is just outside my back door and is doing beautifully. By next year everything should really have filled in and look very nice.

Right side of path with lavender and daisies.

Left side with coreopsis anddelphinium/larkspurs.

The eggplant has really not done very well so I relocated it here.