Hello August

~ Bitchy After 60

We had a few light showers to welcome August, but we could use more rain. We never did get the amount the forecast predicted.

Snake root, hosta, smoke bush, plume poppy

July was hot and dry, great for beach goers but not great for the woods and farmer’s fields.

Bottlebrush plant
Day lilies and purple coneflower

I personally don’t believe in using my precious well water in my gardens. Pretty gardens are not a priority. I do have a rain barrel and the lake if need be, but I really don’t do much watering in the summer except for new plants and occasionally the vegetables. I mostly watch the weather and wait for rain.

This is where having a lot of partial-shade producing trees on our property edges and having my large back garden facing north work to my advantage. These rarely-watered gardens have managed very well through the dry period. Something that makes me very happy.

Hosta, astilbe, ligularia

My large back garden was put in in 2002. Prior to that there was a steep grassed area that was very difficult to walk up or mow.

Gardening is therapy for me. As you can see, I have required a whole lot of therapy since 2002. Gardening has helped keep me both mentally and physically healthy over the years. It allows me to work things through my over-active brain in a peaceful fashion, and it helps me put things in perspective. I honestly don’t know where I would be without it. 

It was hit and miss over the years, and I learned through mistakes and on the fly. I don’t like structure, and I don’t believe nature should be forced into structured situations any more than I should be. So I let my garden do what it needed to do. I let Mother Nature make a lot of decisions. It was a difficult space and I needed help. Who better to get help from than the ultimate expert? 

I split things, I let my plants make babies, I used what was already in my yard. I treated myself to a few new plants every year. And I did lots of research to give me and Mother Nature an edge. 

Yucca, which has outdone itself this year and coreopsis (tickseed)
Coreopsis and spiria (one of the pink ones, as you can see)

However, things are constantly growing and changing, so what worked fifteen or more years ago, doesn’t necessary work today. Places that once had enough sun are now shaded. Low evergreen branches have crowded out some spaces. Some plants can take over if not kept in check. Gardening is a learning and adapting activity. Moving and trimming a constant necessity. It’s a good thing I enjoy it.

The large hosta are over 6 feet in diameter.

By August, when most of the big jobs are done, and my gardens are at their most impressive, I get to enjoy them even more. 

Veronica
Bee balm
Balloon flowers start out looking like an inflating balloon.
Bell flowers, looking a bit like balloon flowers minus the inflated stage.

Lady fern

Thank you for reading

Photos: Jenn Stone

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28 thoughts on “Hello August”

  3. Your garden is absolutely gorgeous, Jenn. My mother used to have a garden somewhat like yours (she also had lots of veggies growing and a creek rather than a lake) and it was her therapy, too. Out of adversity comes beauty? That seemed to be the case for her and you, too. Cheers.

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  5. Yes, there are several of us who find peace and therapy in the garden. Your gardens are lovely and well tended. I sure wish I didn’t have so many weeds, and I’m working on that with more ground cover. We had a nice day of rain yesterday so that was good for everything. I shoveled wood chips for a couple of hours this afternoon so I worked off any lingering frustrations today. :-) Thanks for the tour.

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  6. You’re like my next door neighbour – she spends hours in her garden and it looks superb (like yours). I’m the opposite and hate gardening with a vengeance as I feel it is keeping me off the hills! I spend my whole time in there swearing. I have hostas but they never flower for some reason – luckily, the foliage is very nice anyway.

    As to watering, I never use ‘new’ water on either the garden or the cars – I put a bowl in the sink for washing up and they get that. When I had a shower over my bath, I used to put the plug in and then scoop it all out with a bucket and put it on the garden – I must have had lovely-smelling plants! I also have a rainwater bucket under a drain which hasn’t been ported into the ground system and a water butt. The birds get the rainwater where possible as I’m sure they don’t really like tapwater. Of course, if necessary, I give them tapwater rather than let them go without.

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    1. Thank you. I grow perennials and shrubs mostly, except for nasturtium that I grow from seed then pick seeds in the fall for next year. Plus we have a small veggie garden.
      I love watching everything poke through in the spring. Everything changes on a daily basis and it can happen so fast once the weather starts to warm up. I take a walk around every day just to see what’s happening.

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  9. You have a great results from your therapy. Now you can enjoy it through August. I never thought yucca would grow in Canada, at least not so well, it doesnt get much credit, but it’s a lovely plant. Maggie

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    1. Thanks Maggie. When I started, I had no way of knowing that therapy would have such noticeable visual results. That yucca can be finicky here in my semi-shady yard, but this year it decided to put on a show with the help of hotter, drier weather.

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