It is the second week of September and doesn’t feel like it one bit. For starters, it is HOT! Sizzling, heat wave hot. And oh so dry that even the trees are gasping. Along the highways, the greenery looks so brown and parched you’d think they’d been deliberately torched. In my own garden, I’m torn between watering my plants copiously and letting nature take her course. What survives should be my guide for future plantings. But then, what about the plants I’ve paid for dearly and lovingly cherished? I’m constantly tussling with my conscience about doing the right thing. A good, thorough drenching rain would go a long way in serving my cause.

I note that the fall plants like asters and monkhood are slow to bloom this year which is not a bad thing as the hydrangea, phlox, cone flowers and Joe Pyes are still going strong. But I hope then that we do not get cheated out of a colorful autumn with an early winter.

By now, I’m usually getting the tender perennials into the freshly scrubbed greenhouse, cutting back spent plants and generally cleaning up. However, it feels too early this year and I’m kind of at a loose end. No doubt the mad rush to complete the chores will occur in due course.

As I await my shipment of bulbs for fall planting, complete my list of perennials to purchase, set up a plan to replace the gazebo that supports the wisteria and prepare to harvest fruit, I’m determined to enjoy these days of transition as both summer and fall vie for attention.

Come, enjoy the beauty of September:

(c) 2015 Shobha Vanchiswar

[do_widget “Blog Subscriptions (Jetpack)”]