Garden Porn

i didn't get to spend as much time in my "secret garden" this summer as i like to..... thanks to bad weather mostly.

But come September and back to school - Mother Nature decided to bless us with a late summer.......... and i have been trying to take advantage of as much secret garden time as i can - before the winter winds blow.

This past weekend i was doing a little late summer gardening........ and realized i hadn't taken more than a handful of pictures this year....... so out came the camera for some late summer shots..........

My pride and joy is my hibiscus which Sir bought me. Actually truth be told, this is my 3rd hibiscus plant - as i managed somehow to kill the other two...... but practice makes perfect and this one is thriving......... It has a total of 9 buds on it.......... one flower and one nearly open flower........... To me the hibiscus flower is a treasure - it opens for one day then dies off......... and i have 11 flowers to enjoy !!!!





Past years i have taken many photos of my hydrangea ......... which has a soft purple bloom that changes colour as the season fades......... i realized that the fall colour of the hydrangea is possibly as beautiful as the soft purple of the summer months - only i never noticed before............ especially when viewed against the back drop of the Dusty Millers.




After i had taken the picture of the hydrangea .. i turned my head and noticed that my mums are just starting to bloom............ i am thrilled that finally my garden has matured .. and that i now have colour from beginning of the season to the end of the season...........



And lastly......... i have had another summer fighting with my nemesis the squirrels... at least they no longer find their way into the condo. But oh how they love to taunt the cats when they are out on their ropes.. running past their noses and chattering like mad as they leap to safety in the bushes...........

And they have decided to leave their stolen bits of food on my patio - last week there was a moldy pizza crust sitting on my wicker love seat......... and if they aren't leaving their food out ........ they are burying it in my potted plants........ often knocking the plants out of the containers to make room for some bit of stolen fruit, or nuts.

i finally gave up fighting with them over one specific pot........... and left it for them to bury at will.......... hoping that they would leave the others alone.......... (hey i am nothing if not an optimist!!! ) They knocked it over on its side in disgust i think.. they must love the challenge of fighting with my poor geraniums !!!!

And that dear readers is my one and only Garden Porn post of the year................ (i can hear some of you breathing a huge sigh of relief !!! hey .. there is more to life than whips and chains and floggers oh my !!! ya know )