Goodnight Garden. . .

We've been putting the garden and yard to bed for the year.  Fall fertilizer has been put on, to be followed by Winter fertilizer the end of the month, cutting back perennials, pulling out annuals and scattering their seeds, and forever raking leaves.  As it happens every two years, my leaf  blower/vac died, and I am waiting for it's warranty replacement to be delivered - I'm sure there will be plenty of leaves left when it arrives.

When we were working outside yesterday, I noticed a self made sundae for the birds.  Our Red Jade Crabapple is always loaded with berries, and this year, one of them impaled it's self onto a dried Purple Coneflower.  The Robins are the beneficiaries of the berries, and the Chickadees and Goldfinches eat the Coneflower seeds. . . so we'll see who eats first.

There are still quite a few berries left.

The Robins almost seem to get intoxicated when eating the berries.  They get very aggressive, chasing and fighting for them.  They take breaks and come up to the deck to drink and bathe in the birdbath.  

I have very few blooms left, but my Geranium is still hanging on.  I think I'll bring this one inside for the Winter.

I like the Fall interest my dried Hydrangea adds

I bought these small pumpkins at our local garden center and hope they dry nicely for me.  

It never entered my mind you could dry pumpkins for future decorating, but this photo from a Facebook friend proves it.

I hope you are enjoying a nice long Fall . . . because we all know what comes next.

Fall colors

We went camping this week to one of our favorite State campgrounds.  While we have been in a drought, they have had a little more rain this year than we have.  I was once told, that there would be better Fall colors when there was more rain.  I imagine the trees will change more in a couple of weeks, but after sitting in the trailer during a hail storm and rain yesterday, we'll be satisfied with what we got to see.

This is from the observation deck overlooking the Missouri River.  The tan land in the distance was farmland, but after last years flood, the farmers have spent this year moving the sand and silt from their land.  It will be many years before they can plant again.

The sun bleached out this thick bunch of Sumac.  It was a brilliant red.

We only saw two deer while we were there, but the Turkeys were plentiful

Last year, there was substantial flooding along the Missouri River and a lot of damage was done to the Park.  There is so much silt washed up into what was formerly grassy areas and many trees died, as you can see in the background.  The Beavers certainly were busy!!  I didn't know they would/could chew trees that large.  If they thought they could dam up the Missouri . . . they were mistaken.

I think I like the splashes of yellow the most

We didn't get any pictures of them, but there were a lot of Bluebirds sitting on their boxes.  There were also a lot of immature Red Headed Woodpeckers, but the Hummingbirds have gone until next Spring.

This tree was so pretty - notice the moon to the left of it?

I don't know what kind it was, but here is a close up of the leaves and the seed pod like things it had on it

September and October is a fun time at the park.  They have campsite decorating contests every weekend, haunted hay rides, and many other activities.  There are Fall decorations throughout the park

I hope you are enjoying Fall in your part of the country.  This week has been a little too cool for me, but I hope to get in the garden and continue with my clean up.

Fall Harvest

I always say Spring is my favorite time of year, with everything coming back to life, turning green, being able to throw open the windows, but, knock wood, we are having a pretty nice Fall so far.  Although I don't really have anything to harvest, our son has had a bountiful crop of cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, broccoli, and pumpkins.  This has been the first year they've really had the space and climate to have a garden, and for their first time, I think they did quite well!

Isn't this a beauty?!

I like them when they're green too!  I wonder if there is a way to keep them from ripening further

They have a lot of various ornamental grasses and hostas.  I hope to get a couple starts of the variegated one - I believe it is Zebra Grass 

I don't have a lot blooming in my yard for Fall interest, so I got a pot of mums for the front porch to keep the impatiens and lancifolia hosta company

In the back, the hydrangea blooms are turning brown, the hummingbirds are enjoying the lancifolia hostas, the bees are enjoying sedum autumn joy, and the grasses have their seed heads

This is a little pot and set of birds I got at an estate sale this Summer.  I have no intention of using the pot for planting. . . just a perch for my birds

I also picked up this shallow waterer for the birds - it's about the only  thing rabbits are good for in a garden

I've been watering the shade garden where my caladium is so I can dig them up and store them for next year.  The ground is hard as concrete with the drought we've had

As the day light gets shorter, I am hoping we will see more Fall colors.  The one and only thing I don't like about Fall is that I know what season is coming next.  Although Winters can be harsh in Nebraska, I can't imagine living anywhere that doesn't have the four seasons like we do.

I hope you are enjoying Fall!

LONG time no post...

It has been a LONG time since my last post.  Mostly because the weather here has been SO hot and dry, that there hasn't been a whole lot going on in my flower beds.  Fall has come, and we are getting some relief - relief from the heat, but not the drought.

Last week, we visited our son and his family in Iowa.  I got to visit their community garden again.  They started getting rain a month or so ago, so they had lush lawns and colorful flower beds.  It was interesting to see how they had freshened up an older flower bed, and the different annuals they used in other areas.  You can see the difference from last year from this link.

I really liked this shrub, but have no idea what it is

This area was opened up a lot more than last year.  It has an interesting half circle wrought iron bench. 

This area has been spiffed up a bit and made into kind of a Fairy Garden

It was nice to see some of the 'old' regulars doing so well

There weren't a lot of blooms left on their double Coneflower, but it did better than mine this year

While we were there, we were camping at Pinicon Ridge Park.  I must commend Iowa on their park system...they put Nebraska's to shame.   There was an area of wild flowers growing, and the campground hosts had potted flowers and two Hummingbird feeders that had many visitors while we were there.  This year, they constructed a foot bridge that goes over the Wapsipinicon River, which ran through the center of the park, cutting it in two.  It is named for Mary Lundby, who was a member of the House of Representatives, and Senate.  She was an advocate for conservation and the environment for the state of Iowa - it's only fitting the bridge is named for her. 

There are colored lights down the center of the bridge that are lit 24/7.  They were really pretty at night, but I couldn't get a good photo of them.

Just a hint of color change was starting

A wonderful bridge for the handicapped to fish from

It was a successful weekend for our favorite fisherman!!

 I thought this tree trunk was interesting - I wonder what caused it to grow this way

Sorry to be so long.  In a week or so, I'll post photos from Decorah Iowa, where we visited their fish hatchery and their famed Bald Eagle pair that nest there every year, lay eggs, and raise their young.