end of season...

I've noticed that some people cut their hostas (and other plants) down way before now...I happen to like the colors that the hostas turn at this time of the year.  When we start raking in a couple of weeks, the hostas will be much easier to pull out - plus they've had all their nutrients stored (or at least that's what I believe).

In this photo is a Japanese Maple and a Burning Bush...you can hardly tell them apart, they are so close in color right now.

In this shot you see Cosmos in the front, followed by Dahlias, Burning Bush, Japanese Maples (these ones turn orange) and the Magnolia tree.

Finally, these are some nice yellow mums that I had purchased in the spring as a decoration for my brothers 50th Birthday Party that we held at our house.  They added a nice little pop of color in the early spring, when only the early tulips were blooming. 

I replanted them in the front of the house.  The weather was so drought like that I thought they were goners...but they survived and they are blooming!  When the buds start, they are a reddish-orange, but the flowers are a nice bright yellow.

Still need to plant a bunch of bulbs and purchase and plant a bunch of boxwoods...then it's resting time until next February/March.

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.

taken this morning...

'Grandpa Ott's' Tall Morning Glory

A different color Cosmo growing with the rest.

I believe the white one turns to be like the one above; pink outline and white in the center.

did my walk around...

And look what I found!

"Scentimental" rose (thanks Dynochick!)

delphinium 'magic fountains lavender / white bee'

threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb'

we've been told this is some sort of bean...my husband HATES it and we've been trying to get rid of it for a couple of years now - we're just not very diligent when it comes to pulling it up because it's in an awkward place in the boulder garden.

Oh, and look who's here...black and white kitty. He's been hanging around but won't let you get close. I didn't know he was sleeping under one of the Japanese maples when I went to do my tour - I scared the kitty crap out of him!
bear's breech - odd plant, but very prolific. You can take one little piece that you've pulled and stick in in the ground - it will look more than dead for a while and then all of a sudden, you have a new plant.

I answered an ad on craigslist and so I've got a guy coming out today to take some of my perennials because the garden is very OVERGROWN...anyone else?

Update: Dude didn't show...

a lone cosmo...

This was a surprise yesterday. A couple of years back, I purchased a bunch of flowers to decorate our other house when we were putting it up for sale. This was one that I had purchased. After they ran their course, I planted them in my garden.

Last year, this one had leaves, but no flower so I looked them up on the internet. It says that cala lilies don't survive cold weather and need to be dug up every year. So, I thought it was a goner, for sure.

Well, last evening when I was taking pictures, I noticed this in the middle of the Star-gazer lilies!

star-gazer lilies...