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.