Three for Thursday: September 3, 2009

How does a week get away from me like that? I had every intention of blogging more often ... those who know me well know that I am rarely at a lack for words ... but somehow it just didn't get done. Maybe it's the late summer doldrums: 27 days left till October 1st and my enthusiasm for my garden is at the lowest it has been or will be all year. It's ironic since we've had several mornings of cooler temperatures, an earlier than usual foreshadowing of what fall will bring. The down side is that the weather inevitably returns to its usual hellatious levels, which are even more difficult to work in once we've had that hint of cooler weather. I slogged about out front today, slapping mosquitoes and wondering who told the grackles to hold a meeting in my trees, while despairing over the renewed absence of rain. By the time I came in, I was so disgruntled, disheveled and disheartened that I took to my bed like a Victorian gentlewoman.

Still and all, if I stop and think about it, I can find things that make me smile and remind me that it's all worth it. So for this Thursday, I offer three things that have made me smile this week.

A daylily whose name escapes me: this is one of 4 that have rebloomed in the last 2 weeks.

Finally, FINALLY, I'm having success growing Berlandiera lyrata, Chocolate Daisy. I've tried them several times and lost them but mulching them with river rock (aka egg rock) seems to have made the difference. I've also found that cutting them back after bloom brings on new growth and more flowers. And, yes, they really do have a lovely chocolate fragrance!

I bought this sign at a pottery in Rockport, Massachusetts back in 2001. It reminds me not only of my visit to a delightful little town but the reason for my trip to the East Coast.
A member of my e-mail group, the Garden Bobs, was getting married and another member of the group was hosting the wedding at her home in Vermont. Many of the group had never met each other but we gathered from across the country to celebrate the happy event of M&N, who each looked across the Thanksgiving dinner table the previous year and found a kindred spirit. Her son and his daughter were the hosts for that dinner so M&N are now both step-parents and in-laws to the younger couple. Each time I look at the sign, I think about what a wonderful trip that was AND how funny life can be. Oh, yeah, that's a white Cypress vine, seeds for which were given to me by Peter, another member of the Bobs.

We did get a brief rainstorm about an hour ago and the radar shows some serious storms just north of us. Will they move in our direction? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps!