A final farewell to summertime flowers

Echinacea Salsa Red

Echinacea Salsa Red

It really was such a lovely summer.  I have so many pictures that I’ve taken that I want to share!  There have been a few new additions to the garden.  The Salsa Red Echinacea is one of my favorites!  A red cone flower, it has been blooming since I bought it in late summer.  I have it near my Black eyed Susan flowers.

Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) in evening sunlight.

Butterfly enjoying the Black eyed Susan

Butterfly enjoying the Black eyed Susan

Paniculata hydrangea

Paniculata hydrangea

The Paniculata hydrangea is another new addition to my garden and another one of my favorites! 🙂  I bought it late in the season while it was still mostly white. But as it ages, it turns pink, and mine turned quite pink in the end.  It is just about ready for me to give it a really good pruning. I’d like to give it a nicer shape for next year as it is quite gangly at the moment.  But the blooms were so lovely and delicate!

Paniculata hydrangea

Paniculata hydrangea – reminds me of lace.

Paniculata hydrangea

Paniculata hydrangea

The Paniculata hydrangea likes lots of sun.  Other varieties of hydrangea don’t require as much sunlight as this one does.  It can grow to about 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, but can be kept at the size you want with regular pruning.  Pruning can be done at any time of year as it does not affect the blooms like other varieties of hydrangeas.  I’m excited to see how this one does in our sunny front yard!

End of season Paniculata hydrangea with its new pink color.

End of season Paniculata hydrangea with its new pink color.

Speaking of pink!  My roses are going for another round of showing off!  We had really bad black spot this year, and I was away when it should have been looked after.  I am still trying to find organic ways to prevent/treat black spot. (Please let me know if you’ve found something that works!)  I’ll be growing something from the onion family in the rose garden next year. But I think I’ll need to find some kind of spray, too, as the conditions for black spot are simply too perfect here.  In the meantime, I’m enjoying the (rose) show!

Floribunda rose Queen Elizabeth (fragrant) with about a million flower buds!

Floribunda rose Queen Elizabeth (fragrant) with about a million flower buds!

Floribunda rose Burgundy Ice

Floribunda rose Burgundy Ice

Floribunda rose Burgundy Ice

Floribunda rose Burgundy Ice

Hybrid tea rose Pink Peace (fragrant)Hybrid tea rose Pink Peace (fragrant)

A tiny stemmed rose bouquet.

A tiny stemmed rose bouquet.

Dahlia.

Dahlia

I’ve planted a yellow Dahlia next to my Asters which have a bright yellow center, or at least they will when they finally bloom later in the fall.  This little plant is very cheerful right now!

Dahlia

Dahlia

This redish Dahlia plant I received at the same time as the yellow one.  It seems to be much happier in its location as the plant size more than doubled in a very short amount of time!

A very happy Dahlia plant.

A very happy Dahlia plant covered in blooms.

Blue hydrangea

Blue hydrangea

Sure it wouldn’t be summer without a  blue hydrangea picture! This plant is growing just down the road from me at my neighbor Jerry’s house.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it, as the color is so lovely!

Pink hydrangea

Pink hydrangea

Things in my yard tend to grow pink!  This hydrangea is in my yard.  That is ok with me.

Autumn Joy sedum

Autumn Joy sedum

My Autumn Joy sedum is turning a pretty shade of pink.  The butterflies like it too!  I cut this plant down early in the season so that it wouldn’t be so leggy.  That worked great and I think it’s now neater.

Old fashioned geranium

Old fashioned geranium

Geranium on a foggy morning.

Geranium on a foggy morning.

Marigold

Marigold

A snapshot of a perfect summer day ... already behind us.

A snapshot of a perfect summer day … already a distant memory.

I love sharing my pictures of flowers with you!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the look back on summer.  I next have to show you a look back on the vegetables from the summer!

Happy end of summer 🙂
Dana

Barley Harvest on a Sunny Day

Time for the farmer to harvest the barley.

Time for the farmer to harvest the barley.

You could say that we live in the country.  I think that being completely surrounded by fields qualifies us for that description.  This season there was barley growing in the field behind our house.  What an amazing summer season for the farmer: dry, warm, and sunny!  We enjoyed watching the combine harvester last weekend as it harvested the barley.  We had great front row seats!

Combine Harvester.

Combine Harvester.

I can only imagine what the workers thought as I took their photo (all afternoon).  It was just so neat to watch!

Harvesting the barley and leaving the straw.

Harvesting the barley and leaving the straw.

As the barley is harvested, the straw is left behind.  The straw is then later gathered up into bales.

Neat rows of straw are left behind after harvesting the barley.

Neat rows of straw are left behind after harvesting the barley.

O.K., now having kids makes this next part quite a laugh (ya gotta humor them).  The straw is gathered up and formed into bales (in our case round ones) and then rolled out of the baling machine.

Tractor and baling machine.

Tractor and baling machine.

Bale of straw being rolled out.

Bale of straw being rolled out.

And there you have it! A bale of straw.

And there you have it! A bale of straw.

Yeah, I know, but they are kids and this is kinda new to us still. 🙂

Tractor & baling machine.

Tractor & baling machine.

Those guys worked really quickly!  They had the field done in no time.

The field with bales of straw.

The field with bales of straw.

And what are kids to do with a field behind their home filled with bales of straw???

Surf on the bale!

Surf on the bale!

or pose for mom.

or pose for mom.

It was such a beautiful day which rolled into a perfect evening.  The kids had a ball playing in the field.

A perfect evening.

A perfect day.

The field on the other side of our house being harvested.

The field on the other side of our house being harvested.

I love taking photos in the evening.

I love taking photos in the evening.

A perfect day.

A perfect evening.

The color of fall.

The color of fall.

I really enjoyed putting this post together.  We all had such fun that day!  I hope you are enjoying good weather where you are, too!

Dana