Autumn is in the air

Last week the new irises arrived; lovely fat rhizomes with leaf stalks attached and each one labeled, all lined up in their shipping box filled with shavings. I ordered them from Schreiners’ Irises up in Oregon; several shades of gold, apricot, and orange for up front to border the front walk and mingle among similarly colored roses, and a combination of blues, periwinkle and dark purples for the back garden beds where the colors are generally cooler. Can’t wait until spring to see how they perform.

Imagine my surprise, poking around with the gardening shears this afternoon, to find this early harbinger of fall already blooming in the shade bed. It seems at least a month too early for cyclamen, not that I’m complaining.

Out under the pergola in one of the big pots I planted this summer, the plants are making a come back now that the horrid late August/early September heat spell has broken. The last few days have barely made it into the mid-seventies, and the flowering plants seem grateful for the reprieve. Petunias are not my favorites, but these white ones are prolific and really pop behind the brighter colors of the pelargonium and the little purple one (the name of which I forget).

Once I gingerly picked my way underneath the gigantic and prickly leaves of the vegetable garden’s sunburst squash plants, I discovered a bonanza of babies. I confess I picked them all rather than leave them to get big and mealy. I think there’s a recipe for summer squash risotto somewhere in my repertoire.

Although you’d never know it from these photos, I am knitting a lot. Just have nothing to show for myself yet. Patience.


Back to main

Comments welcome

*