Adventures In Gardening: Welcome September!

We had a stormy day yesterday, complete with tornado's in the area (NY) but thankfully we were spared the worst of it all here. A cold front came and now it feels more like September instead of July in September! Thankfully yesterday's rain wasn't like what we've had over the past couple of weeks; it came down so hard & fast, it wasn't good for much more than causing flooding & running off to the lowest point (and did more harm than good in the garden - no pumpkins this year).

So far today we've gotten a break from the oppressive tropical humidity we've been stuck with for well over a week now. It was truly a beautiful day in the neighborhood! The calm after the storm.

 (From our back yard, clouds were doing crazy things!)

So far today we've gotten a break from the oppressive tropical humidity we've been stuck with for well over a week now. It was truly a beautiful day in the neighborhood! The calm after the storm.

 (Our neck of the (coastal) woods)

At the end of August, I made the last round of deadheading the roses and doubled checked on Friday to make sure I hadn't missed any.  Both days were disgustingly humid but it will be worth it to have roses blooming through Thanksgiving! The Knock Outs have produced quite a few clusters of large hips so I've left them be for now.  It's a great time of year for the roses in my garden!

Stroll with me through the roses...

'Love' is new to my garden this year, a stunning rose for sure!

('Love' grandiflora)  

I'm so glad I was able to find another 'Easy Does It' to replace the one I had last year which didn't make it to this year. It wasn't in the best condition but the nursery gave it to me for a deep discount so I was willing to see what I could do with it. Now it's 3ft wide by 3 ft tall! A little different than my original one but still a favorite.

('Easy Does It' floribunda) 

   

This rose (pictured right below) was labeled 'Queen Elizabeth' & only $9 so I scooped it up.  I love my QE.   But, this one is definitely not QE! My 1st QE is a strawberry ice cream pink, light to no scent, quite tall (4-6ft+) & has deep wine colored new growth that turns a fairly dark green. This rose is a stunning fushia, heavily scented, short/bushy (3ft) with bright red new growth that turns a light green. From what I've gathered from online research, this is no QE!

(Mystery grandiflora rose) 

'Mardi Gras' has had a stellar year! The best since I bought it back in 2007 from the clearance table!

('Mardi Gras' floribunda with 'Black Knight' Buddleja)

Will the real 'Queen Elizabeth' please stand?

('Queen Elizabeth' grandiflora)

I'm up to my eye balls & other things in (green) beans this year so I've started freezing my daily harvests!  (Stay tuned, how-to with photo's coming soon!)

(One of many bowls full of beans!)

It's been a Slow season for my Early Girls but I finally got a nice sized tomato right before Labor Day weekend! With no longer having the full sun garden, I didn't go crazy with toms as I have before, seeing what will work & not in the back yard.  It's been nice though having the toms coming in dribs & drabs though.  It's doubtful I would've been able to keep up with the usual hectic 'use or preserve' pace this year.   

('Early Girl' tomato) 

Another round of Roma's is ripening and I'm pretty sure these will be the last of the season. I was able to keep the 2 containers of Roma's on the front porch where they get full sun.

('Roma' tomatoes from Bonnie Plants)  

Late Summer peaches!  Could have knocked me over with a feather.  I took this photo while we were up at our Skylands (Northwest NJ) home for the holiday weekend. Quite a few late Summer peaches are ripening on one of the 3 trees. Not sure they'll be edible, but we'll see!

(Peaches)  

I bought these, many, many moons ago at a friends shop, now long ago closed, back when I had my first garden. They still make me smile every time I see them and I hope they'll bring a smile to yours now.

(Old, longtime friends)  

Of course there's so much blooming in addition to what's pictured above!  (Like the dark purple (not blue!) morning glories now blooming with the beans on the red gate arbor).  Many I shared with you in my last post, An August Garden Walk.  If you missed it, click here.

And yes, I grow all that you see here in containers!  (Except the peach trees, those are along side of our place up north).  I do have one raised bed which is overflowing with coneflowers, hosta, lemon balm and some other autumn blooming wildflowers I can't recall the name of!  

What's blooming in your garden so far this September?  Share with me in the comments below! 

The unofficial end of Summer has come & gone and with it most of the tourists here in our neck of coastal NJ Zone 7b.  The sun rises later & sets earlier, its' rays more golden.  Leaves are already turning.  I am ready for Autumn!  Ready for cooler temps and less humidity.  Ready for Autumn in the garden.  It's my favorite time of year!  September's arrival has me breathing a sigh of relief as I know the heat of Summer is finally going to wane.

But, with September's arrival comes the anniversary of September 11th.  A day I will never forget.  Can never forget.  And I feel as though I'm holding my breath until September 12th.  If you'd like to read my September 11th story, please click here.  If you have a September 11th story, please share it with me below in the comments.

Until next time…

~Jo

aka Bloomin'Chick. Wife, mother of an angel in Heaven, survivor; a real Jersey Girl. (What you see on those reality shows isn't real!) Writer, photographer, joyful gardener (coastal Zone 7b/mountain Zone 6a) & avid reader. Eclectic, creative & happily married late 30-something who lives at the sea w/her heart in the mountains who happens to be disabled with Seronegative Arthritis & Fibromyalgia.  I blog about my passions & life at Diggin’ Around and my NJ at NewJersey Through My Eyes.   

Be sure to catch more of my daily garden photo shares via #GardenWalk where you can see what's growing around the world right now & share your garden with like-minded folks!