Late blooms and garden whimsy

   The Sun looks over the backyard from the front gate.

Will these ever bloom? I do not recall sedums "Matrona" blooming so late. They are usually in full or at least partial bloom by August and here we are at the end of August, they still have time to bloom, I just don't recall them blooming this late.

The bees are waiting too, they love Sedums and go nuts over my Vera Jameson, Matrona and Stardust.

Below:  I love the color and form of Vera Jameson, she is a clump forming sedum and when planted in containers she looks lovely cascading over the sides.  Below:  Sedums " Vera Jameson"

Below: Sedums "Star-Dust" when in bloom has lovely pink flowers. Perhaps all of my sedums will be in bloom by the 15th and I can display then during Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  

Below:  The Moon Plant or Moon Flower is one of my Mother's favorites. The scent of it smells similar to a gardenia.It's called a Moon flower because it blooms late in the evening or at night. In the future I'll be smart enough to plant more then just a few..But will do so in containers because Moon flowers will take over  your garden.

Below: I put out a feeder for the chickadee's and have now stopped feeding them by hand. Feeding them by hand was a lot of fun, but after a while they began to chase me all over the yard looking for seeds from my hands, so I put out the feeder.

Below:  The chickadees favorite place to take a drink. I must remember to place small containers out in the future for smaller birds to drink and bath from.

Below: I've fallin in love with Buddhas and will have more in the future, for me they represent peace, and harmony and like other garden art or statues I choose them solely for decoration.

This one has a solar light.

Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine. Buddha

                                                           

Summer is Winding Down

The summer is winding down and I have never thought that I would ever utter these words,“I’m happy to see it go… exhausted by Mother Nature's ills, I began to beg for autumn, but here we are in late summer... I am finally able to enjoy the outdoors, bird watching, and journaling...so here are my updates.

         

  Below:  This chicken’s expression mirrors how I felt about the weather this summer.   

                                              
                                              Confused and disappointed

                                  But then came the sun…. And

                                 then came the chickadees!

I had waited for them all summer, but had not seen them since they paid me a short visit in early June….  

However my cat Panini could tell you different story; she knew they were here all along.... But where?  I had not notice any nesting activities, nor heard any chirping babies.  

Below:  see the bushes behind Panini’s head? That is where the chickadees had made their nest. How did this get by me, perhaps the extremes in weather prevented me from noticing them…. I did spend most of the spring, and half of the summer indoors.

                                                   

                                      What, what, why you looking at me?

                       Below:   At first there was one chickadee

 

                                              then two

                              then three

  Then came the nieces, who learned last summer that if one is patient , one can feed a chickadee by hand.

Even though that gardening was a flop for me this year, I enjoyed my visits to all of yours. Thanks for sharing your wonderful gardens, crafts, and events with me this summer.

I hope that you are enjoying the rest of your summer days and have enjoyed your visit here today.

Why I love them

My Black Eyed Susan's are a burst of sunshine. I love them because they greet me with a cheerful smile in the middle of a  heat-wave, or pouring rain, no-mater what, they stay the same.!

I love them because they have been the backbone of my garden... when all others have given-up, died, or went back to sleep as the summer moved on..they have continued to flourish, batting  their pretty brown eyes as they strut their stuff.

They are  member's of the Sunflower family,  I call them my Happy face flowers. Bright sunny yellow.

They can grow over  three feet tall and spreads very quickly... Some call them invasive, but  I could never use such a term about my Susan's, I equate invasiveness  with  rudeness.,they are ladies and ladies are never rude.


To control spreading divide them during the dormant season and plant some cheer in other areas.

..

In some places they are biennial and will grow only leaves her first season, however they came up every year for me.  You may plant them in the spring or in the fall.

I love them because they are drought tolerant and can take some heat,

( Metro Detroit had the wettest spring and the hottest summer in 134 years! )  So even though they are drought tolerant...they will  flag or faint occasionally under extreme temperatures, water them and they'll bounce right back.... However be careful not to over water them or their feet will rot! .. They will grow in sun or partial shade. If you live in the south grow them in partial shade.

They are the state flower of Maryland and was named after Swedish physician and botanist Olai Rudbeck (1660- 1740)... thus their genus (Rudbeckia ).

They are loved by gardeners' across the nation who have learned of their value in the garden. If you don't have them I suggest you go out and get them, Susan will reward you with little effort and care, that alone should make you smile!