by Marilyn Homewood, Master Gardener

We have now just slipped into the first days of August, a time that most of us can stop and catch our breaths.  Spring cleanup, plant division and new plantings seem to be a distant memory (it wasn’t that much work, was it??). 

Upcoming fall tasks like seed saving, bulb planting and dahlia dividing are still far enough away not to seem real. Settling on a topic for a blog post just seems like too hard a task.  Garden musings might be more in tune with the time of year.

Of course, I am still busy in the garden as there are the omnipresent weeds that need to be dealt with and the harvesting that goes along with a cut flower patch. At least there is something to harvest.  What a change from the drought of last year.  Rainfall was so scarce at my place that most of my cut flowers performed poorly and went uncut.  Being on a dug well means managing water resources. 

As I now look around the garden, the daylilies which came on fast at the beginning of July and were quite bountiful are now fading away.  The purple coneflowers have been blooming for a couple of weeks and with rainfall look to go on for a bit longer. Even the lupines that were planted last fall are still showing some bloom.

The return of the lilies this year was a welcome sight.  Last year, not a single lily bud (Asiatic or Oriental-Trumpet [OT] hybrid) survived the ravages of the chipmunks who were most likely looking for moisture due to the lack of rainfall.  While I am used to the buds being swiped from the shorter Asiatics, my OT hybrids which are 5 to 6 feet tall, usually go untouched.  Not last year!

In my nursery bed at the back, I have a large stand of Liatris ligulistylis. It is starting to be filled with monarch butterflies stopping for some nectar. It truly is a monarch magnet.

In the cutting garden, the Sweet William, Marigold and Zinnia are blooming like crazy and the Lisianthus is just starting to bloom.

Heading back towards the house, I pass by the form of Alium schubertii, planted last fall less for the bloom and more for its architecture. They look rather like a something better suited to outer space than an Ontario garden.  I like the effect and will be adding more.

As I reach the side porch, my gaze falls upon a bulb crate full of drying Bells of Ireland that I am attempting to save seed from and on a seed tray of biennial Sweet William that I have started for planting this fall. 

Better enjoy this break, the fall is coming!