Daily Archives: 08/05/2010

August is quiet….so far

It is funny how quiet it is around here. CJ, our oldest son is rarely home between work and what he refers to as “out” AKA old enough to bar hop with friends, Dave in CA, Erin at two consecutive sessions of camp, and Faith the quiet one in general. Usually summer here means $400 a week grocery bills, a cellar that looks like a frat house, 5 loads of pool towels a day, etc. but now it is eerily quiet.

It is like that outside too. Lots of stuff has bloomed and passed, foliage is all yellowy or covered in powdery mildew, things look tired and boring. But that is all about to change both in and outside.

Saturday DAVID COMES HOME!! for a break from the Presidio in Monterey, and my nephew will also be here from CO with his new wife, This house will be full of people. Bill is on vacation,and all Dave’s friends will be here as well as all the family gathering to see both Dave and my nephew. Yipee!!

It is also about to change outside, asters , mums, sunflowers, false sunflowers, sweet autumn clematis, hyacinth beans,ornamental grasses and Joe Pye weed are about to burst on the scene. This is also the time to re-fresh some containers with new and exciting plants, and compost the leggy and bug eaten ones.

It feels like the garden has been on perpetual tour this summer, so weeding deadheading and removing yellow leaves have been a constant chore, with no respite in sight as we usually have at least one (maybe two) huge end of summer blow-out parties the end of August or Labor Day weekend. So I must be vigilant and not let the gardening chores get ahead of me , then they seem overwhelming.

Still,it is a joy to walk in the garden and see the sweet peas in full bloom, the white berries of the snowberry bush starting to appear, the dinner plate sized flowers of the hibiscus (above) and the hoardes of black-eyed -susans everywhere. It may not be the crazy riot of July, but the garden has a new sense of serenity and calm provided by the more muted colors of the fall bloomers[cincopa 10700280]

…ok…that was calm….FOR SOMEONE WHO JUST HAD THEIR DEBUT AS A GARDEN CLUB AND HORTICULTURE SPEAKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night at Elm Bank in Wellesley MA, the home of the Mass Horticultural Society, I gave my first presentation (on clematis) to a wonderrful group of ?? people (I did not count or even really look at them all I was so nervous). Bit I DID IT!and the experience was everything I hoped it would be. A big thank you to my teach…Betty S and my “boss” for the event Neal S. . It was incredible and I can’t wait to do it again!