No Putting On The Breaks In Nature

SOMEONE PLEASE PUT THE BREAKS ON

I DO NOT WANT SUMMER TO END! 

                                   Sure looks like fall is trying to sneak in to natures settings. 

                                                  I feel kind of like the little bird above.

It is looking more and more like Fall.  August is
almost to the end, and I know September
is waiting at the back door

    

      The fields are loosing their green, the air is cool and coming from the Northwest.  Was cloudy most the day and if it reached to 65 like the weather man declared this morning it would be hard to believe.  I know it is hapless of me to even think I could change things.  Perhaps it is only a dream, and I will wake up and it will be only June.  I love June. 

      No reality is indeed knocking at my door and has fall in its hands, holding tight.  So I can face this definite change with a smile and accept it.  

     Actually I do love fall, and the coolness was welcomed this morning.  There is great beauty still to be had.  Like the picture above.  The seed heads of Queen Ann's Lace look like neat little bird nests.  There still is the Queen Ann's Lace  flower scattered in this old horse pasture we no longer use. 

This mornings walk about found me up on the hill in the unused horse pasture
The sun was just peeking in to see if I was ready for another day.
The large field we let a local farmer use has soybeans in it
instead of corn this year.  Dick walks our Airedale
most days on the path that goes all the way
around it.  He said the soybeans are
huge from our perfect summer.

The sumac is starting to show its red fall foliage and its seed heads are now a deep red magenta.  Sure signs of fall introducing its self once more.

The last rose of summer

Bursting with bloom

Loves the coolness

Goldenrod waves it lovely golden frond in the North Wind

The trees seem faded.  Not like the lime greenish cast that new growth shows me in spring and early summer.  Here is the good old Box elder, some call a weed tree.  It grows quickly giving shade and on this picture shows thousands of seeds forming and ready to drop but hangs onto them till winter most times.  Its excellent bird food for winter so I do let it grow around here in the wild.

Two fawns still wearing their camouflage of spots, came out of the thicket along with their mother doe.  Our Airedale was ringing the air with warning signs that something was out there on the hill that shouldn't be.  I came and looked and there they were.  Silencing the dog so he would not scare them away and started to take pictures with my camera.  Dick my husband came with the binoculars. One seemed a lot bigger so guessing its a male and the other one a female. 

The second picture shows an orange wild daylily that grows up there.  Looks like she is wearing the flower in the picture but she just had her head in the right place when I took the picture.  The mother soon flicked her white tail that was up like a flag warning her two little one they were way to close to those voices she could hear through the closed window.  They all scampered into the thicket leaving us with smiling faces from the joy of seeing them.

 In the lower gardens there are still a few flowers showing their freshness.  One morning on my walk about and camera in hand I discovered in the fairy garden these Resurrection Lilies.  In spring they shoot up tall 2 inch wide leaves in a cluster and then die a month later.  Then in fall the flowers surprisingly show up in all their beauty.  That is why they are called the Resurrection Lily.  Similar to what happens at Easter.  Christ's death and resurrection. I always forget about them and in my sadness of my gardens slowly finishing summer out I find them!

Another flower, stunning in fall is the Hibiscus.  Size of 

a dinner plate some times.  I catch my breath when I see them in full bloom.

Still blooming now in the last week of August is the Phlox
and the Balloon flower.  Lovely combination.

Birdhouse garden is getting sparce of flower bloom
Still present is the Goldstrum Rudbeckia and small
bushy gold mini Rudbeckia.  

 Pink phlox and the deep dark pink phlox are found in the birdhouse garden too.

 

 

Evening settles in earlier than when in full swing of summer.  The shadows of dusk greet us at six instead of nine which means chickens need to go in before dark at 6:30 P.M.  The above picture show the horse pillers framing the steps which lead down to the horse barn and chicken coop.  The ponies

are retired at that same time as the chickens.  

Walking the path down to the barn you will pass the Birdhouse garden.
Here you can see the remaining flowers Rudbeckia , Ballon flowers and the Phlox.

Ligularia also grow down in the lower gardens in fall, not too far from the Resurrection Lily.   I love this perennial.

Living too far ahead of oneself

can make oneself miss out on todays 

Miricles

Come lets sit a while and gather

our thoughts, pulling them into 

the present moment  Thanking

God 

For what we have 

not lost

nor want

Peace my precious friends

Love and Blessings

Looking for the Miricles 

of today

Kate

What Is A Gramma Garden?

Kate's -  Gramma Gardens

In a Gramma's Garden at dusk, you will find arrangements of all sorts.  In the above photo there is some shade so you see Hostas back by bench.  As you go to the center of the area, there are sunny perennials that are almost wild.  The area is in back of the Fairy Garden and has the Bless arch with the metal Rooster gate.

Here it is a little less formal.  I wanted it to look like a forgotten corner of an old farm settlement.  The Outhouse is a tool shed .  The metal antique bench has an orange sign above it named DREAM.    The Bless arch with metal Rooster gate that Dick has made when opened brings you to the back side of the Fairy Garden.
     So now you ask me again, "What really is a Gramma's Garden? "  "If I want to make one like it where do I begin?  And that is the secret.  Begin anywhere.  Let go of all that formal groomed stuff like I had to because of health issues.  Take what you already have and add to it.  I lean towards old but a modern theme is also fun.  My Rock Garden is modern formal look.  But is sits right dab in the middle of my near wild look.  Let me go backwards now.  A Gramma's Garden is a discription of a unique garden which started out as a perennial garden.  Because I plant close together with no soil showing, most places, I am stuffing an extra plant here and there as I walk around holding the perennial, (a plant that comes up every year after winter is over) in my hand trying to find a special spot for it, I have a great assortment of flowers growing in a mesh of compatibility becoming the Gramma's Garden.  No matter if it is a shaded area or a hot sunny area like my new Birdhouse Garden it can be developed into the Gramma's Garden.  An English Garden, which is groomed, is a more or less formal version of the Gramma's Garden.

     This summer because of health issues I could only work in the gardens for 30min to 60 min. at a time.  Any time it got over 80 degrees I would have to head for the house, causing less time spent working the many hours I use to spend out there.  Weeding was at a minimal so when I went out in the early morning or later after supper in the evening I began to see what I use to call weeds.  The Wild Asters, Goldenrod, Yarrow seedlings that had sprouted up from it's parents pods that had dried and dropped hundred of seeds.  Most the birds had eaten theses seeds but some did shove up new plants.  Because I wasn't able to erradicate them from the gardens they actually got to mature size and bloomed along with the perrenials that were in there.  I plant very close so not much shows except the flowers.

Globe Thistle is a special flower that blooms in August along with the
blue and white balloon flowers.  In the back ground you can see red
daylilies and a touch of the yellow Rudbeckia.  Joe Pie Weed is
also growing here, planted especially for the butterflies.
I have left them self seed by not cutting off the seed
heads in fall.

This area use to be well groomed and formal.  The decorative Grass "Carl Foster"
surrounded it and I use to plant annuals at the bottom of the pillar.  Goldenrod
is a wild flower that I encourage to share my gardens.  Now in August it
flourishes here and actually framed out the statue is this area.  Blue Balloon
flower and Rudbeckia also have started to grow by throwing out the
perennial seeds that grew in the surrounding area. I am often late
in cutting back the perennials in fall so the seed pods have formed
and easily plucked off and scatter the seeds where I want them,
letting nature finish the part of germination and have them
bloom in the following year.

This area shows again the Blue Globe flower, White Balloon flower, the Red Daylilies Queen Ann's lace, Rudbeckia and even a pink rose.  All started in the Birdhouse Garden by scattering the perennial seeds out among other plants.  Because it was a new area with lots of soil spots showing I planted the Daylilies and Balloon Flowers amongst Sedum, Iris, lots of Lily Bulbs of all kinds which I purchased at Brecks catalogue.  

The above area is the higher level of my more formal gardens up by our home in which  I let become more wild.  They are shady gardens with shrubs, and trees.  The rock garden ends up here on the top of the hill.  There is a wide grassy path that goes up in between the second shady garden and the top of the Rock garden.  I have let the perennial blue and white Capella reseed and keep it under control by selective weeding out what I do not want in there.

This is a break between the hillside gardens and the second upper garden.  Giving a walkway to the third upper garden. On the left it is more wild, on the right is another hosta garden, on the hillside giving a more formal look, groomed look.  The I  Believe sign that holds a thistle feeder, is a metal art that Dick made me.  

White balloon flowers.  See the buds in background?
They indeed look like balloons.

This blending, mending are oh so beautiful....   blue Balloon Flower
and the lacy wild flower Queen Ann's Lace.

This grouping is a gramma's garden that is again given a break of grass area to bring you to the Rockgarden in the background.  Many perennials again blend, mend, to each other and the surrounding area, giving a pause in nature like music does in music notes.  Combining one area to another.  Eyes can see both, but melded to one another, making a melody my Creator nods to -
Ahhh, what was I worrying and fretting about not able to groom and weed my gardens because of health issuses?  My gardens have become a new song that only nature knew from the beginning of life on earth.  It is the eye that sees,  that make the soul see the music.  My gramma garden!

Rubeckia dasies, Light Purple Manarda, Phlox and few wild Asters scattered into the setting all making their music light and airy.

See the buds.  They look like balloons and pop if you pinch them
together which my grandkids love to do.  Some are open and show
the pattern so very intricate.  Pink cone flowers are in the back
ground.  I love blue in the Gramma's garden!

I feel so joyful in my garden!  I feel so close to my Creator God The Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, One.    

                                  Kate

Sends you love and blessings.

May you see the music in all

your gardens and find great joy!