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.
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| (From our back yard, clouds were doing crazy things!) |
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| (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!
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| ('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.
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| ('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!
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| (Mystery grandiflora rose) |
'Mardi Gras' has had a stellar year! The best since I bought it back in 2007 from the clearance table!
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| ('Mardi Gras' floribunda with 'Black Knight' Buddleja) |
Will the real 'Queen Elizabeth' please stand?
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| ('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!)
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| (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.
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| ('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.
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| ('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!
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| (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.
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| (Old, longtime friends) |
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!
