Cutting Out the Ugly

 That's what I've been doing.  We are on the brink of tearing out a lot of the garden for autumn, but for now I just start each day with a muck bucket and a pair of snips and I trim out anything that doesn't look nice.  That could mean anything from just deadheading Dahlias to lopping off a wheelbarrow load of Sunflower tops and overgrown Cosmos.  We have just reached the end of a two week dry stretch which culminated in several hot, oppressively humid days.  We are now entering a break of cool weather with some rain and I won't have to worry so much about watering annuals to keep them looking nice.

The grasses in the dry river bed are heading out.  Above is a Pennisetum Foxtrot.  This is the second season for this plant and it has finally filled out and reached its full height of four feet and is putting out these fun little fox tails.

One of my stand out Dahlias this year is the new to me "Ice Tea" which always has a dozen or more blooms on it.

It began flowering as a rather monochrome, ball style dahlia, but later in the season it is showing some good, dark eyed color and looser, decorative form.

Another favorite is the Mai Tai (above)  This is a big, impressive plant with close to ten blooms at a time.  Not bad for a first year single tuber.

Summer's End

I am deep into planning for next year's garden.  I have my layout finalized and am already placing seed orders for things that are available now and going through my inventory to make sure I have everything set for next year.   I use a spreadsheet and create icons for each of my containers, plant supports and required row covers so I know I have the proper equipment to carry out and support the plan I've made.

 I have a list of fertilizers and such that I need to restock so I can budget for that in the spring. I have placed orders for spring bulbs and those will be arriving the end of this month so I will be able to enjoy planting again.  At the same time that I am cleaning up the detritus from this year I will be putting new life into the soil for a fresh, new spring.