Picking Flowers
I have a lot of serious things on my mind these days, but I'm not ready to post about them yet, so I'll talk about my garden. That's safe enough.
I picked flowers today. No, not asters or zinnias or marigolds or sunflowers, but these flowers.
I needed a warm, sunny day to wash all of our glass flowers and get them ready to store away for the winter. It seems early, but today it was 87, and tomorrow it will be in the 60's with showers, so I made hay while the sun shines.
They are now all stored away in the attic.
Raccoon update: The midnight marauders continue to wreck havoc with our lawn, so our latest attempt to deter them was with moth balls.
It seems to have slowed them down for a couple of nights, but last night there was a lot of damage again. They may be getting used to the odor. I sure noticed it working outside washing the glass flowers when the moth balls got heated up this afternoon.
The garden is slumping toward autumn. The wind and rain earlier, and the squirrels, have beat down the sunflowers and the dahlias.
But there are still asters and marigolds and zinnias and dahlias for picking.
I picked longer lasting late summer hydrangeas for the family room. They'll last all winter.
We have a few fall bloomers in the garden, besides lots of hardy fuchsias. The sedums and kaffir lilies ( Schizostylis) add color.
A delphinium is re-blooming.
And the monk's hood caps are opening.
Today was too warm. Tomorrow and the next run of days will be more fall like. I think I'll like that. We're putting summer away.
It is time to put summer away definitely all over...what a lot of glass flowers-impressive!
ReplyDeleteAnyway you could keep a container of water off your property somewhere to keep those pesky raccoons out of your yard? Probably not now that they've had a taste of the good life.
ReplyDeleteI hope that your grass comes back after those bandits leave.
ReplyDeleteWashing and storing all your pretty glass flowers makes for quite a job! I have to do likewise with the garden tea cups, maybe this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThose darn Raccoons just won't quit! Your flowers don't seem very 'slumped' to me. They're still looking quite pretty.
You have quite the bouquet of glass flowers. Getting them all tucked away for winter is a great way to begin the end of the flowering season. I too am ready for some autumnal weather...including rain. I hope your raccoon problem is soon remedied.
ReplyDeleteIt was downright hot yesterday at 5000 feet. That seems wrong, so I too will be happy for a little more normal weather. Love your pretty glass flowers but the real ones are wonderful, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought glass flowers were low maintenance. Goodness you have a bunch. Didn't know they had to be cleaned and put away for the winter. There goes my low maintenance theory.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great collection of glass flowers! I'm lazy and usually leave mine out all winter and wash them come spring. Hope those pesky raccoons find somewhere else to destroy soon!
ReplyDeleteALL your flowers are gorgeous. I have started to do some winter storage prep as well even though temps were in the 90's last week.
ReplyDeleteIt is a goodbye to summer isn't it. We pulled up all our tomato plants (55 plants) don't ask! Other plants are looking droopy and shop worn so they are next then it is time to prepare those beds for Tulips and Daffodils. We have about 160 bulbs to plant half in our new flower bed. Never ends does it
ReplyDeleteMB
What lovely flowers. Your garden rewards you with all of your hard work.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful glass flowers !
ReplyDeleteYour glass flowers are beauties and I like the subtle colors of your hydrangeas in the vase.
ReplyDeleteI just love your gorgeous glass flowers!!! I can't get over the fact that you make them yourselves.
ReplyDeleteThat is a job washing all the glass flowers! They looks so good! I am going to leave a few of mine outside again this winter:)
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