Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Late Summer


We've had unsettled weather this week. 

And glorious rain! 

I stood out under the raindrops with my face upturned. 

I could hear the collective sigh of relief from the whole forest. 

And I can finally rest easy, no longer worried about wildfire. 


For now. 

The rain isn't enough to quench the thirst of the suffering trees. 

So I am hoping for more. 



I have spent countless hours watering my precious gardens and potted plants. 

Just to keep things alive. 



I must be a true Northwesterner now. 

I cannot live without rain. 

Hot, dry days are not for me. 

Give me a gentle rain and cooler temperatures and I am happy. 

I love a misty day. 

Of course there is always too much of a good thing and I have to be careful what I wish for! 

But for now I am happy. 


Every day for the last two months,  I have made my rounds with endless watering. 

Here under the large grove of trees at the front of the house, 
very little rain escapes under the tree canopy. 

So I will have to continue watering here. 


Very little sunlight comes through, so I have a shade garden growing here. 

Some are in pots. 

 'Plum Crazy' Oxalis is in front.

Behind is an unusual tuberous begonia. 
It has no flowers and I am not sure it will survive the winter. 


This pretty golden variegated ivy survives on the stone bank with late afternoon sunlight. 

It is slowly spreading, but I have had to put a small garden fence around the bank to keep the dogs out. 

Not only do I have dry conditions, deep shade, but also two doggy diggers. 

They have respected the boundary of the little fence, though. 

Seeing me come after them with high pitched shrieks is no fun. *grin*


Yes, I am talking about you, Champ. Who me? I didn't do nuthin'! 

Tell them why you are all wet, Champ. 

Uh - because I love to play in the water from the hose. 

And then come in and shake. 

What's wrong with that? 


This area gets brighter light, but no sun, so I am able to grow impatiens and hosta. 

And lots and lots of ivy and arch angel. 

Too much. 


As we walk through the gate we unfurl another hose to water the gardens in the front yard. 

It gets very hot here and only drought resistant plants can survive. 

This is a southern exposure on a slope. 


Tansy grows tall against the Mr.'s tool shed. 


I will harvest the leaves this fall for moth sachets. 

The scent is very pungent. 

They make bright and attractive late summer flowers that are very drought resistant. 



Another plant that is very drought resistant is butterfly bush.

These scent the whole yard. 

I never water them because they are nestled into a little gully that collects rainwater and stays damp,
 even in drought. 

The same situation applies to the hydrangeas growing near the house. 
These I do have to water, but not very often. 

Dappled sunshine keeps them happy. 


This summer I went to too many plant sales! 

Taking care of all the potted plants was a job in itself! 

This end of the deck sits in shade most of the day, 
but the little bit of sun it gets will fry anything not well watered. 



These were a lucky find - Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'. 



I bought 4 of these lovelies and they have kept the hummingbirds happy. 

I am hoping these are 'hardy fuchsia' which will winter over. 

The tag was stingy with details. 

Time will tell. 


The rest of the deck gets unrelenting sunshine. 

It sits on the south side. 

We are at 1200 ft. Not too high, but I do think the higher elevation adds to the intensity of the sunshine.

My petunias are looking a little 'long in the tooth', except for the hanging basket on the left. 

I just potted that not too long ago. 


These velvety blossoms caught my eye. 


I planted them with tiny yellow daisies,  purple verbena, and pink bacopa. 


The roof drops down low here and I grow strawberries, grasses and succulents 
under the eaves to keep them dry in the wet, rainy months. 

My little vintage ladder holds pots by my potting table, tucked around the corner. 


This is where I do my potting all summer. 


Soon I will be potting up winter pansies with ivy. 

The beautiful bright blooms of summer will be fading away. 


Double impatiens, bright orange begonias, pink and purple fuchsia will be a distant summer memory. 


So in these late summer hours I am savoring every blossom. 


And cradling every rose, breathing in the heavenly scent. 


Because I know fall's fiery beauty is soon on its way. 

xxoo

Thank you, Dear Friends for your kind birthday wishes for my daughter. 

She is not only my daughter, but a true friend. 

'Love links two lives inextricably, like Siamese twins. Friendship lets you walk comfortably side by side.'

Pam Brown

29 comments:

  1. your yard is still so lush - all your watering has done well. :) glad you got some rain, though.

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  2. Everything looks so healthy and beautiful. My favorite is the purple and red fuchsia. Glad you got some rain. We really need it here.

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  3. Your garden is gorgeous!! I have read that hummingbirds love fuchsia G.B. I think they will overwinter in the ground well but it might be a bit sketchy in a pot.

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  4. Those pictures are beautiful. As always I love the nature around your house :)

    I love when you say that you love misty day, and so do I at the moment.
    Thanks for sharing Karen.

    Have a good day!

    Blessing,
    Delvalina

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  5. Dearest Karen,
    Oh, one can envy you for so many healthy and lush plants! Our garden looks dreadful... So glad you got some rain out west, wish it moved to your end of the country and help out with the wild fires and such. We've seen enough of it and want to really dry out for now.
    You fuchsias are such a dream and everything else. The soil must be so much better than ours, for making do long lapses without rain it has to have better water holding capacities.
    Hugs to you from a sunny Georgia (3 days now!)...
    Mariette

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  6. I hope that you all get more rain! We are very dry here too...and I am not a hot weather gal either! I have enlisted the help of the beans with our watering!! Your garden...AMAZING! Your shade combinations and your deck with your container garden is out of this world! I can not imagine how much time you are putting in with your watering Karen! You have a wonderful week lady!

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  7. Your place is called heaven on earth -- awesome beauty indeed.. my favorite photo today is the 4th photo from the last photo from this post..I don't have a special reasons why but how you captured the shot. I like how low you put the camera to include the table in the back ground..
    Nice touch..
    Hugs

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  8. Your gardens are so beautiful, Karen...and your Champ is a heart stealer...

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  9. Lovely post / great pictures you show Karen.
    In a few days we have acc. calendar autumn - I ♥ autumn. Wishing you and your a good Wednesday :) Hugs Hanne Bente ♥

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  10. Glorious garden, a lot of work but it worth


    Marina

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  11. I love how green and lush your yard always looks. You obviously put a lot of time and hard work into it and it really shows :)

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  12. Oh Karen, your flowers and yard is truly glorious - so lush and green :) I am very glad you got some rain and i hope you get some more. We have been dry here to so I always do the "Happy" dance when it rains :) Thanks for sharing your pretty photos. Have a lovely day, friend. Hugs!

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  13. Your garden always looks so inviting...it's a labor of love from you! So glad the rain fell. it keeps everything looking such a lush green... & your flowers blooming...Hugs May x x x

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  14. Love walking through your gardens and home.
    Wishing Indiana had some of that cooling rain of yours :)

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  15. Lovely lovely flowers - and your deck is stunning. We got a good heavy rain last night and it is clearing a bit now - just my idea of perfection - rain to water my plants at night and sunshine during the day. I'm hoping to get a start of a butterfly bush for the outer corner of our deck - I do love the scent and you can whack them back and they grow right back again.

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  16. I'm so glad you finally got some rain! And I hope you get plenty more to keep the threat of wildfires at bay. It seems like it has been so bad for fires this year. I am impressed with how great your flowers look with not getting much rain. You must have really been busy with watering over the past couple months! All your watering work has really paid off.

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  17. LOVELY!
    Every time I see your deck and yard I just sit and drool with envy. It is so lush and has so many varieties of plants. I'm making myself concentrate on what to do for next year. I can't have much in the yard because of the deer but your plantings in pots give me inspiration for my porch and deck. :)

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  18. What incredible photos! Karen walked away from the blog because my sister is with depression and am taking care of her. I'm showing her these pictures and their style of life that looks a lot like mine. I am very happy to have your friendship and like storm, waterfall, flowers, enfin these wonders that life gives us.
    Congratulations to your daughter, that happy time!, Celebrate dates especias forever. Tell her that her friend in Brazil blow a kiss and congratulations ok.
    Incrives took ideas from home, thank you for always being there!
    kiss and a beautiful farm for you friend!

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  19. You have such a healthy and happy garden, you must work so hard all the time. And, with the view that you have I don't blame you for being out there even in the rain. I get accused of being mad when I carry on working with the rain coming down... I love it! I never knew that about Tansy, so will buy some for the wardrobes this coming winter. Have a wonderful rest of week. xx

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  20. I hope you will get more rain Karen. Meanwhile the amount that fell made your garden and the pots on your terrace look beautiful!

    Happy day!

    Madelief x

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  21. Karen , I could look at your pictures all day...Your gardens and deck are just gorgeous. Obviously, all the watering paid off as everything at your house is just beautiful and so lush...I do hope you get more rain so you won't have to water so much...

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  22. LOVELY...I really like your pictures!

    Take care, have a nice weekend.
    Titti

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  23. It has been so dry here in our normally muggy state. A burn-ban has been in effect a few parishes over from us.

    Like you, Karen, I prefer a misty day - a little rain, or a lot - either way I'm happy.

    I love the wildflowers that you planted in the sunshine. So cheerful! <3

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  24. Karen your flowers are totally awesome, and you are doing an amazing job keeping them beautiful in dry weather. So glad that you got the rain, and wish we could get a little bit too! 107 here today! UGH. makes me feel better just to look at your photos

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  25. Hi Karen! I admire all your hard work! Your garden is lush and beautiful. I especially love your deck. Watering constantly is how it's done here in NM, so I mostly admire other people's gardens! Glad you got a little more normal weather for your gorgeous plants. Thanks so much for your visits and lovely comments while I've been out and about! Nice that you stop in!

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  26. Oh, I have thought about how you live so very close to Mt. Rainier, and worried about that at times, dear Karen! I don't think I would want to be so close. It's gorgeous, though, in the photos you post! I am behind...AGAIN! :-) Oh well. It seems to be a chronic condition with me! I am so happy you got some rain! The drought conditions in the west have been distressing. Can you imagine how much I have to water anything I try to grow! :-) Even our normally dry desert is low on it's dose of rain.

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  27. You've certainly done well to keep your blooms so lush through our northwestern summers and all the drought. We had rain last week - a relief! Like you, we worry about fire in our forests. It's funny, but the rest of the country thinks 'constant rain' when they think of Vancouver Island, when the reality is that we have drought conditions from June through October.

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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