Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Fall in the Garden

I went into my backyard yesterday - for about the first time this year. (It has not been easy to get around in my scooter. I had to wait until a ramp was completed in order to get into the backyard.)
OMG! I was in shock when I looked around at my plants! The garden looked more like an overgrown weedpatch! What a mess! No one has looked after it much this summer. And then there is the issue of the 'slowly-being-filled-in pool', which I had to maneuver around carefully so as not to fall in. It's still a huge 5-ft deep hole, but that is another story for another time!
I pulled up ragweed that had reached a height of 5 feet! Also some wild lettuce that was even higher and had already gone to seed. I will have lots of weeding to do next year if all this stuff seeds itself in! Most of my summer blooming perennials are finished. I had to keep reminding myself that it is the end of September, after all. But there were some bright spots. I found this lovely patch of wild sunflowers in the back corner. Usually I pull most of these out, but this year they have been allowed to grow. Don't they look great? It's kind of like botanical sunshine! I also found a lot of wild asters. These I have always pulled up in other years too, but this year they were spared. And look at how beautiful they are! Here they have found a nice place growing up through some well-established lungwort (Pulmonaria). The lungwort has long finished flowering, but it almost looked as if the asters are part of that plant.
Not only did I go out and pull some weeds yesterday, I also went to the first meeting of our quilt group, the Rouge Valley Quilters Guild. It was another first for this year, because I haven't been able to attend a meeting since last September. And I finally finished this little quilt for 'Quilts from the Heart'. It will be donated to a local shelter or hospital by our guild. It was great to do some 'normal' things. I feel as if I am getting back into the swing of things again!

4 comments:

dutchcomfort said...

Isn’t it wonderful to discover those little surprises in your garden?

I really need to go and read some older posts on your blog to understand why you wasn’t able to go into your garden for a year. Sorry to hear about that. I’m sure there’s a bigger story behind it. I’m glad you visited my blog and that I’ve discovered yours that way!

The start of Fall always feels like a new beginning to me. I often wonder why we don’t have New Year on September or October 1st instead of January 1st. It may sound strange because nature is tired and looses energy and its leaves, but somehow this time of year gives me more energy.

I’m happy to hear you made it to a quilt-meeting. There’s nothing more inspiring and comforting than quilting and talking about it together!

Take care!

Cathi said...

Wild gardens sometimes are so intriguing to look at -- although I know they mean a LOT of work!!
I like fall -- but truly do dread our winters!

Anonymous said...

My garden looks like yours with masses of yellow and purple flowers.
Nature took charge in your garden.
Enjoy!

Winny said...

It is surprising what can grow without tender care. The flowers look lovely. Glad to hear you are getting out into your garden again, I know how you enjoy that work.