End of Summer Blues....

I mean BLOOMS!

You can feel it in the air. The nights are a little cooler and the days are getting a bit shorter. The little-bit of landscaping that we have is in the final stages of Summer blooming - someday, when the long, long, long laundry list of remodeling to the house is complete, we will get to start on REAL landscaping. With a profusion of all-season blooms.

True, we have a year-round evergreen backdrop with to-die-for mountainous, valley and river views in three directions, but the previous owner didn't spend a whole lot of time properly landscaping the property and we haven't done much either. I would call it hap hazard at best. Or maybe just NATURALIZED! Yeah, that's it - naturalized.



I'm not a huge rose bush fan - love the roses, but not the upkeep and the thorns! - but the greenhouse, at one time years ago, was used for miniature rose growing - Country Flowers. Therefore, there were little roses plunked here, there, and everywhere around the house. Planted in the most inconvenient spots. Right where they would stick your pantlegs, your shoelaces, and your hands when trying to weed around in the beds. I've a done some careful "weeding" of many of them, but have kept the huge - and I do mean HUGE! bushes full of little pink roses. They've been pruned a few times over the last 4 years, some even to the point that I thought they'd croak due to my drastic pruning techniques - but NO, they came back with more vim and vigor.

So anyways, in addition to the roses and the WILD Wisteria vines planted in what I like to think were originally just temporary locations - we have inherited a few other climbers. One is this beautiful Passion Flower vine. It has the most unique flowers. Such a complicated structure, yet delicate.



Then, there is this Trumpet vine. I pruned it back to a nub last winter. At least the parts I could chop at. It was actually working its way under the T-111 siding on our upper story AND it somehow found its way to grow in a wee crack in the upright 4x4 deck support AND began to split it in two. Beware: Their looks can be deceiving. These little delicate buggers are so powerful. I bet it could split a rock in half!



Then, there is this not-so-little shrub bush that I planted from a 4" pot from Wally World two summers ago. I don't remember what it's called, but man oh man, this year it has attracted so many honey bees and some sort of moths. I'm glad to be doing my part for the bee population. I bet if I had some bee skeps or hives, we'd have honey!




So, I guess what I'm learning, is that although our yard is not "ideally" landscaped and "perfectly" manicured, I AM surrounded by LOTS and LOTS of beautiful blooms that on their own are standing the test of time - even with some neglect. They are patiently waiting for me to give them all the nuturing love they deserve AND maybe even some friends!!!!

Blooming where their planted!!! Literally!!!