summer is winding down...

but even though it's coming to an end, I still have plenty of flowers that are blooming.
Here's a Trumpet Vine, or what the former owner called a Lipstick Vine.
I have a crazy amount of pretty cosmos.
The mums are out in "full force".

and the hibiscus...



An update. After the contractors (actually the cement people) stomped all over my Chicago Peace roses - I dug them up and planted them in yet another "safe" place - threw some banana peels (cut up) into the hole along with them and also put some peels around the outside - this is what has happened so far...

They are growing like crazy! So, they were not dead, but it's really good that I replanted them otherwise they'd for sure be goners. Guess I don't have to charge the contractors for these ones. Of course, I will not see a bloom on them this year, I'm guessing and over the winter I'll need to cover them so that they don't completely die, but anyway, it's promising.

dinner plate dahlias...

Look at the size of this dahlia!!!I told Jerome not to look goofy for the photo because it was going on the blog, but I guess he wanted to look goofy anyway...

The flower is bigger than his face!

contractors and plants...

Today I yelled at the contractors. Well, yell is not exactly what it was, it was more like scolded.

Yesterday the cement guy was moving and arranging the boulders. I went out a couple of times to take a look at the progress and reiterated to the general contractor that if any plants need to be moved, to please let me know. He assured me that everything would be fine. And then I left to go to my parents to bring my mother on some errands (it's kinda nice to be laid off).

When I returned in the evening, the first thing I noticed was that a couple of rose bushes were nearly run over. Then I looked at where they moved the boulders and one of my precious Knautia Macidonica's had been yanked out of the ground and was lying on top of the boulder - dead...or dying (you can see it on the top left-most boulder).

Later, as I inspected the yard I noticed that where the faucet is that the contractors have been using for some water, one of the replanted rose bushes (that isn't doing very well) was obviously being moved back and forth as if to eventually pull out. I know that it's not that easy to get to the water faucet, but really, do they have to try to uproot the rose bush???

So, I bitched about it to my husband - who didn't seem to want to hear it.

I was going to send the general contractor an email last night, but instead I waited until today and in front of everyone I went off about how I didn't appreciate what they did. All they needed to do is tell me to move the plant and I would have. And I said - I'm sure that you also have a little shovel somewhere that you could have easily dug up the plant yourself and put it somewhere where it wouldn't have been in the way.

ARGH! This blatant disregard, the fact that we were told that they would clean up every night and the rising bill are some of the things that are getting under our skin. Otherwise, it's been a fine project.