The Cottage Garden in Mid-August

Today, my gardens haven't recovered completely from tropical storm Isaias that roared through at the beginning of the month, dumping more than five inches of rain in a very short time. I spent several days cutting out plants that were destroyed and tying up those that were flattened. I took most of the pictures in this posting the following week, intending to participate in Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the 15th, but I'm late to the party again. Plenty of messy, tangled color remains in each garden as you can see. The long herbaceous border has red beebalm, bright-pink phlox and yellow yarrow; the garden that I call Abundance has orange daylilies and pink Joe Pye weed; and the Serenity garden has a few purple hosta flowers and bountiful pink and white hydrangeas. The kitchen garden is ablaze with zinnias still, although many were destroyed in the storm.

Wide shots of some of the gardens at Astolat Farm

Among the bright colors, there are some more delicate hues:

Clockwise from top left: rose enjoying a late bloom, surprise lily (Lycoris squamigera), cleome, spiderwort (tradescantia) that has bloomed all summer, hosta, great blue lobelia

I have had a disappointing amount of produce from the Kitchen Garden this year that started with groundhog damage to peas, beans, and broccoli. I will give a full account in a future posting. Today, I have redbeets, parsnips, Swiss chard, and zucchini. Every bed has zinnias and/or marigolds. You can't eat them, but they brighten my day with their cheery, colorful faces. It's time to can the beets and sow a late crop of lettuce and spinach.Where did the summer go?

Zinnias rule in the Kitchen Garden

Tying up the storm-battered zinnias was an all-day job

Some orange and yellow blooms:

Clockwise from top left: Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi), St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum ), sunflower bowed down by the storm, and an unexpected blooming of columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

One of my garden successes this year is the window boxes on the tractor shed.

A 'double take' of window boxes filled with Supertunia® and purple fountain grass. Note the fallen leaves from the nearby walnut trees. It feels very autumn-like today.

The pots in the Stone Garden are pretty with begonia and caladium. One of my favorite containers this year, located by the potting shed, has white Supertunia® and a red grass that I think is called 'Fireworks'.

The Stone Garden

I love this red grass

The hydrangeas are changing color: Pinky Winky from white to pink and Limelight from green to white

There are signs that fall is approaching:

Viburnum trilobum with masses of red fruit

Our farmer harvested the oats leaving a golden stubble

As I write this, I hear the sound of tinkling bells through the open window. The goats wear bells with our hope that the sound will deter black bears. They are reminding me that it is time for their morning feed.

Doodles and Billy say 'Good morning'

Do you feel that the summer season is flying past? I thought that with the pandemic I would have time on my hands and the days would drag, but that is not so. I hope, dear gardening friends that, whatever season it is in your part of the world, you are staying safe and in good health. This year is like no other. I thank God for my garden and the solace it brings, even when battered by storms.

Love,

Pamela x