Demanding an audience

As a photographer of limited skill and talent, I know there are scenes in my garden that I'll never be able to fully capture with my camera.  And even the most skilled and talented photographers can't capture all of the elements - the scent, the sound, the feel of the air.  So why is it that when I encounter one of those scenes - one that stops me in my tracks, makes my heart beat fast, causes me to whisper an awe-filled "thank you" - my very next impulse is to go get the camera?  

Surely I want to preserve the moment for myself - the photos, after all, will remind me of the smells and the sounds and the awe.  But it's more than that.  I know it's more because the next thing I want to do is show someone the photos I've taken.  I want to share the experience.

Is this universally true of gardeners - that we all want to share our gardens?

This time of year there is so much I want to share!

This little wren had to wrestle some of those twigs inside the bird house.

The Shasta Daisies must be the cheeriest flowers in the garden.

Red Yarrow, from our local Master Gardeners Plant Sale

I thought the asters bloomed in the fall, but not this variety.

I planted a pair of these daisy gardenias beside our sweet dog Bear's grave.
A sweet flower for a sweet dog.

Coneflower.

I love them when they're opening up.

Snow Fountains Gaura - a favorite of the bees.

Blue Salvia - the bees love this one, too.
Can you see the bee in the photo?

Hosta blooms attract the bees, too.

"Ditch" lilies

August beauty gardenia

My favorite shots of the hydrangeas are the close-ups.

"Gardening, I told myself, is the  most sociable of hobbies.  The very nature of one's field of activities demands an audience.  No one wants flowers to blush unseen or waste their sweetness."

Barbara Cheney - The Atlantic Monthly, June 1936

"When God sorts out the weather and sends rain"

It is no use to grumble and complain; It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice; 

When God sorts out the weather and sends rain - Why, rain's my choice. 

James Whitcomb Riley

Rain is definitely my choice!  As I write this, the rain is falling and I'm rejoicing.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon planting some coreopsis and blanket flower in anticipation of today's rain.  It was at least 95 degrees and the gnats were relentless. The ground was dry at least a foot down.  But today I feel rewarded - and the forecast calls for more rain over the next two days. 

I always have plenty of pictures to download after a weekend working in the garden.  I'm often distracted from my work by something and have to run get the camera.  (Even though it's a small camera, it bothers me to carry it around with me in my pocket.)

The early morning sun seemed to be shining a spotlight on the verbena bonariensis.

The New England asters have burst into bloom and the mums are ready to.

I have perennial mistflower in abundance, but much of it looks ragged from powdery mildew and chewed leaves.  This one may be the only one that's blemish free - I reminds me of why I love it.

Next to the mistflower, the coleus has sprouted a bloom.  Normally I don't care for blooming coleus, but this one is pretty.  You can see that it's struggled with the dry conditions and poor soil where I have it planted.

This plant with the dainty pink bloom volunteered itself in my bed of impatiens.  Does anyone recognize it?  Is it a noxious weed in disguise?

The birdbath in  the birdbath garden is nearly hidden by the late-planted zinnias.  Tricolor Sedum and pentas are blooming, too, but the main attraction is the hot lips salvia.  The hummingbirds and bumble bees love it.  But even in the midst of the salvia, the hummingbird enjoys a drink from the feeder from time to time.

At the end of the birdbath garden, the fireworks clematis and snow fountains guara continue to bloom, though not as vigorously as they did earlier in the season.

With the rain the temperature has dropped.  I'm sitting by the open window listening to the rainfall, enjoying the cool air, and feeling thankful. 

"Hummingbird don't fly away"

The weather report makes me thirsty - hot and dry through the week and into the weekend - after many days of similar conditions.  The garden is longing for a long slow soaking rain, and so am I.   But I'm amazed at how well most of the plants have held up this summer.   Looking out from the deck in the late afternoon everything looks fairly green and healthy.

Up on the deck, in a container, I found this bright bloom on the dahlia.

I planted these in the spring from one of those kits with the container, soil, and tubers that I found on clearance at Lowe's.  All summer long I've watered and watched the foliage grow - but no buds until last week.  This is the first bloom to appear and it was worth waiting for.  You can see that the foliage was appetizing to some kind of chewing pest.
Also up on the deck, the gerbera daisy has been sending up multiple blooms - while the plant in the ground has hardly bloomed at all.  I love the shades of pink in this one.

The New England aster, purchased at the Master Gardeners' plant sale in the spring began blooming this week.

The highlight of my afternoon in the garden wasn't a bloom, though, it was the hummingbird enjoying the hot lips salvia.

Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away.

The sweetness of your nectar has drawn me like a fly.

I just love you, love you, love you. I don't even know the reason why. Now,

Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away.

from Hummingbird by Seals and Croft