This is a view of the garden at our front door. The sidewalk is brick, and the verbena and ornamental grass must love the heat it retains, because this year they are trying to meet in the middle.
It won’t be long before this will all be taken by frost, and I’ll have to cut it back for the winter. The mats of verbena will last the longest. Lilies have already gone.
In the center of the picture, if you look closely, there are dahlias. We have Victoria Blue salvia, chrysanthemums, lavender, several kinds of ornamental grass, a Palace Purple huchera, one poor dying rose, LOADS of iris, coreopsis, vinca, day lilies and several other things I’ve planted that I can’t identify! This garden is at it’s best in late May, but it’s not too shabby this Fall.
Closer to the door, there are a dozen pots of plants. I’ve encouraged my mother to take over the container gardening, so that she can keep her hand in as a gardener. I have a pot of herbs, and she has filled the rest with Million bells, snapdragons, coleus, sweet potato vines, small mums, petunias, straw flowers, geraniums and a dozen other plants.
Variety is the spice of life! We may not be elegantely coordinated, but we certainly enjoy the variety.
Daily Archives: October 13, 2004
Celebrations
Earlier, I told you that my birthday celebration had been very low-keyed. It was, but what I didn’t know then was that it would go on for five days! *G*
Friday, the eighth, was my birthday. Since Dear Husband had to be away, I chose to have a lazy day. I left the office early and went shopping for some new sweaters. Since we didn’t have to worry about a big dinner, Mother and I had BLT’s and then I sewed on my quilt, and watched a movie and organized some shelves, and I talked with my sisters, as, one by one, they called to wish me a Happy Birthday. I know that sounds like a pretty poor celebration to most of you, but it was what I wanted to do!
Saturday, was more of the same, with a trip to the Farmer’s Market thrown in. We got some yard work done, and had Minestrone for dinner. I missed exercise on Friday, so one of my exercise buddies called and sang “Happy Birthday!”
Sunday, Cop Car and HH came to visit, and we chatted the entire day away!
Monday, I had to go back to work, and it felt like business as usual, but there was one last HURRAH coming.
Tuesday, we have a standing date for dinner with one of my nieces and her two boys. We fix a more complex meal than usual, and sit at the table, and practice our manners and talk about the news of the week.
Yesterday, we’d returned late from an appointment and I had to rush to get a turkey breast ready to cook. At that, dinner wouldn’t be much later than usual, around six. They arrived an hour early, complete with a bouquet of flowers, a yellow cake iced with chocolate fudge frosting (YUUUUUMMM!!!), and the most wonderful card I think I’ve ever received. It had a list of things an Aunt is…or an Aunt does. We talked about how difficult it was to find cards that said the right thing, and my niece told me that had she not found this card, she would have written all those same words down on her own. I’m so fortunate to have this girl in my life!
So, I’ve stretched my birthday out for five days, made new friends, visited with family, and had a lovely time. Thank you, to all who participated!
Storms a Coming
Our exceptional Fall weather has broken at long last. We’ve been enjoying the color change and moderate temperatures for the past few days, and finally we are going to see some rainy weather.
The sky is gray and cloudy. We’re not quite to the “overcast” stage yet, but they tell us it’s coming.
I refuse to complain. We need the rain, and some of us need the solitude that a rainy day brings. If my mother could have her way, it would be 78 and sunny all the time. I like the occasional stormy day that draws the world in, and slows it down, and I like the snap of a cool Fall day.
I’m savoring the green just outside my office window. The magnolia has just begun it’s change to a buttery yellow. You can see the lighter color interspersed amid the deeper green. The forsythia is still going strong, but the poison ivy climbing the tree further down the lawn has gone yellow.
We have a beautiful maple tree that we are loosing. The bark is split up the trunk, and either it has suffered from a lack of water, or from an infestation. It still has one branch showing it’s fiery Fall plumage. This will be it’s last Fall.
I hope that where ever you are, you are enjoying these days as much as I am. It’s lovely out there.