The Back Garden - A Tour

I've done a very poor job of showing what has taken place in the garden over the past summer.  I talked a lot about my plans in the spring and then quickly became overwhelmed with work.  Once again I planned too much and was unable to keep up with all that I wanted.  Add a sore back into the mix from the car accident, followed by vacation and now here we are, the end of summer already.  So let's take a tour and see how the garden looks after another season has passed.

At the far end of the property I had big plans.  I intended to renovate the hedgerow and install a new large circular bed.  The diseased trees in the hedgerow were cut down but work stopped there.  This is a large project that will take a number of years to complete so one step at a time is okay.  Perhaps next spring I'll clear some spots for planting and we'll add a few shrubs.  The circular bed didn't go quite as planned either.  We rented a sod cutter to start the bed but had difficulties cutting the tall grass roots so only a crescent moon shape was cut.

The crescent shape that was cut back in May

The shape wasn't what I wanted but I was determined to make use of it anyway so I decided to plant annuals as a temporary cover.  Well, truth is I didn't even complete that!  I ran out of time and energy and only half of the crescent was dug over and the rest gone to the weeds.  Despite my plans being sidetracked I am actually pleased with the small garden that is there.  The annuals I planted have grown large and bring me much joy.  My growing dahlia collection found a home here.

You might recognize this white dahlia from last year.  I love the white blooms tinged with yellow.  Also growing are a pure yellow dahlia and most recently a pink dahlia edged with dark red.  Unfortunately in Irene I lost one dahlia altogether but I think at this point the tuber has had a pretty good growing season so I see no reason why it won't take hold again next year. 

Among the dahlias I also planted my tiny seedlings of Love Lies Bleeding.  I started these indoors in April and they have grown considerably since then.

They aren't as large as I had anticipated, only a couple feet high, but quite lovely just the same.  The bright red tassels laying against the lime green foliage are stunning.

The final plant to fill out this bed was sunflowers.  I planted a large variety called Giganteus which is already taller than I am but hasn't yet bloomed.  I'm hoping for a few more weeks of sun so these beauties have a chance to open up.  I tried starting sunflowers indoors to give them a head start but my indoor seedlings were quite scrawny.  The seeds planted straight into the ground did much better but have been slow to grow in our rainy summer. 

Half the crescent planted with dahlias and sunflowers

A second variety, called Ruby Eclipse has been blooming for weeks.  These are a slightly smaller sunflower that are good for cutting.

Red and yellow sunflower Ruby Eclipse

A red sunflower!  Aren't they pretty?  I've become obsessed with photographing these flowers.

From the first buds opening

To the multi coloured petals

Some of the flowers appear more red

And others are more yellow.

No matter the colour they all provide great shade for a black cat on a hot day.