Pigeon or Dove?

I had a visitor who took up residence on the scupper. Not sure why. I don't know if it's a pigeon or someone's white dove. I tired to get it to fly but it wasn't scared of me on the ground.

I wonder how long it will stay.

Joining Tracie at Cottage Flora Thursday.

Bee Balm Bust

I took the suggestion of someone and cut back my bee balm in the late spring. It was supposed to make it fuller. Well, it may have worked for her bee balm but it didn't work for mine. It's a real bust this year. Even the hummingbirds take a sniff and buzz on by. I had had flower supports around it expecting it to get to where it would need them. I took them down last week because they never got tall enough. Next year I'll leave them be the bee balm they are meant to be.

Harvest Monday

How soon we forget. I went back to last year's postings for August and read my laments that the zucchini wasn't producing and there were no green peppers. I was celebrating tomatoes and eggplants, however. This year the zucchini are just about done for the season, the peppers are mass producing, the tomatoes are satisfactory and no eggplant. What a difference from one year to the next.




Most of my tomatoes have been frozen, eaten or the last batch made into tomato jam. We are eating peppers but I could freeze some too. The basil you see above was washed, dried, chopped and drizzled with olive oil then frozen in a bag flattened so I can break off bits to use in the winter.

See other harvests at Daphne's Dandelions.

August Flowers

Thank goodness for black-eyed susans. Like the energizer bunny they keep going and going and going. That means the primary color in the perennial garden is yellow. There is pink with the hibiscus opening one or two flowers each day and the phlox blooming for who knows how long yet.




Along the glen most of the hostas have bloomed and their leaves are looking tired. Where they get lots of sun, leaves are showing their distaste for sun and heat by crisping along their edges.

A hosta bloom singled out looks like a lily. These are the last of the blooms for this year.

The planters are holding their own so long as I keep them watered well. The raccoons have stayed out of them mostly. There was a visit last night and it got into one of the succulent pots and did some digging. For what? Who knows!


These were the last pots planted in an effort to save impatiens from bunny teeth. These pots have filled out nicely and look so nice on their stump perches.

More stump sitting pots that have taken to their shady locations, filled out and are looking nice in this August heat. They help give the impression that the shade is cool and relaxing.


These hanging baskets were in full sun on the deck and now on the swing along the glen they are doing much better. They're out of reach of the ground hog but in reach of the deer. No problem yet and they got a good dousing of liquid fence.


Come and sit for while and enjoy the shade!