Late August Gardening

Late summer is a great time to be a gardener -no pain, all gain (well, almost).  There aren't many chores out there ,but plenty to enjoy.  Not too many new weeds, but lots of butterflies.  I don't worry much about watering any more either - mostly because I'm so tired of it.  It's the time of summer when you can reap the rewards of all your work.

Sometimes there's a little too much to reap.  We were gone for a week and came home to this.

 

Fortunately, I have a great recipe for zucchini soup.  I love going out in my yard and picking dinner.

Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, garlic, and basil, sauteed in garlic olive oil are fabulous over quinoa. These little orange tomatoes are extremely prolific.  All my other tomatoes have blossom end rot, but these little guys are unaffected.

 

The butterflies are all over the campanula and the phlox.

 

 

The hummingbirds love the buffet in our garden and I could have gotten a photo this afternoon if I had been carrying my camera.  There was one feeding on the hibiscus a couple feet from me, and he didn't care at all that I was right there. 

 

If you want late summer beauty in your garden, try shrub roses, sea holly, late-blooming daylilies, sunflowers, mystery lilies, and zinnias.

 

 

 

Looks like we'll be enjoying watermelon and cantaloupe soon.  It's my first time growing these.  I keep hearing that we don't have a long enough growing season.  We'll see.  I'll report on how it goes.

 

A Hot Color Palette

Did you ever see a beautiful garden full of color and wonder how to get that kind of impact without having a yard that is a mish-mash?  Too many colors are distracting.  If you limit your choices to colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, you can have dramatic beauty that isn't overwhelming or messy looking.  I wrote in June about designing with cool colors - purples, blues, and pinks.  This is a tranquil, serene palette and I chose it for my front yard.  But in the backyard, I wanted a more high-energy mood.  Hot colors - reds, oranges, and yellows don't look washed -out in bright sunlight.  To keep hot colors from being too "in-your-face", make sure there is plenty of green foliage in between bursts of color.  Green is a neutral color in the garden and gives your eyes a place to rest.

Flowers aren't the only thing to think about. The plant's foliage, fruit and autumn color might also work into your color scheme.

 I added this ornamental pepper to a flower bed for its hot red fruit.

There is also garden art and furniture to add to your color scheme.  Adding a touch of a complimentary color (opposite on the color wheel) makes both colors appear more vibrant.

I love the blue bottles on this bottle tree hovering above a clump of yellow daylilies

You can keep the hot colors going from spring to fall.  There are red, orange, and yellow tulips, yellow crocus, daffodils, and allium.  Here are some warm-colored flowers that are currently blooming in my garden.

 


                              

       

Butterflies and hummingbirds love hot colors!

Hibiscus bloom in the house all winter too.

                                                                                                                                               

                

 

A little bit later in August, zinnias, snapdragons and orange mums will keep the hot colors going, along with the yellow, red, and light orange roses that have been blooming all summer.  

I've bought plants that I thought would fit in with a warm palette, but when they bloomed, it turned out that they were a blue-red instead of a hot red, or a cool pink instead of a coral pink.  If something seems to clash, I just relocate it to my cool-color garden in the front yard.  There is a perfect home for every plant!