Late Summer Gardening

I finally got to that point in the gardening-year cycle where I wanted to tear out everything and start over. The unusually hot, dry weather here finished off the pea plants early and pushed the sunflowers to their limit. The tomatoes are still over-achieving, in spite of the leaves being mostly brown now; the pumpkins are giving it their 'all' in a last burst of expansion... but I was ready, weeks ago already, to clean out the whole business. (OK, maybe not the pumpkins.)

So we got to work. (Poor Mark.) I had designs on one garden space for a new dogwood tree with some grasses underneath - so we got that planted. I'd like to establish a garden space around the shed to make it more 'connected' to the rest of the landscape but that's still just an idea. Quite a few of the new-this-year plants have done very well and I'd like to get more of them to 'repeat' them in other areas of the yard. There was another garden space that already got expanded - and got a new dogwood tree also. (I'd sure like to have blooms next spring!) And I suspect that I should get the bulbs planted that we picked up at the nursery a few weeks ago. Oh, it just goes on and on!

I was hoping we'd had the last of our hot days - but that wasn't to be. It is hot again this week and we are out watering and trying to keep the pumpkins alive. I need to get back out for weeding too.

I do think I need to get pictures of the garden beds this fall, so I know where to expect things to come up again next year. I didn't do such a good job with that this year - although, in my defense, the squirrels planted stuff and stuff came up from the previous year that wasn't supposed to... and we had a bit of chaos that wasn't entirely displeasing. We can do better though!

Isn't that the perpetual gardener though? Wait till NEXT year!!!