Garden Tour - short and sweet

I've mentioned a touch of Autumn in the morning air, and the garden is sure showing it. The summer flower show is at a close and it's time for the mums. Last winter took just about all of what I had, but a couple plants survived and are starting to bud. We'll take a look at those in a week or two.

Today I want to show a couple of sweet blossoms that are still going strong and keep me smiling. The first is this gorgeous red hibiscus. I've been trying to keep a red hibiscus plant alive for a few years, and we finally have success! I imagine it was all the rain we had early in the year, but keeping the mower away from them probably helped, too. I wish these flowers lasted longer than a day, but I've been deadheading them, so there have been quite a few blooms. The plants are still short and fairly compact, but in the next couple of years, I plan for them to be tall and spread out. Next we have the dependable morning glory. There are purple and pink and they are growing everywhere in the backyard this year. These are "volunteer" vines. I planted the seeds several years ago, and just leave the dried vines and flowers on the lattice until Spring. They reseed every year. I usually don't get blooms until mid-August, but this year they started mid-July. Again, thanks to the rain, I'm sure. While I wouldn't call these my favorite flowers, I want to get a small vine of bright pink morning glories tattooed on my back, to go with the hummingbird. Yes, I'm serious. No, no plans for it. Yet. And yes, there is a hummingbird there already. :o)

Lastly, there is this guy. He's one of thousands. Okay, not thousands, but lots. He's going to be a mini-pumpkin when he grows up. Isn't he pretty? There are dozens of tiny pumpkins all over the garden. And climbing the rototiller. And trying to get into the grass. I can't wait to harvest them for my Fall decorating. Do you know how many $$ I will save this year by not having to buy dozens of mini-pumpkins? Yea!

There is lots and lots of gardening to be done yet, to prep the yard for winter. These cool mornings lend themselves well to puttering around out there, and that's the plan for this coming week. Oh, and getting out the Fall stuff. Because tomorrow is September. Hooray!