A Kansas Country Garden: The Month of August

It took all summer for the Morning Glory to grow on the bridge and begin to bloom.

The month of August was tough for the garden. Its hot. A certain weariness sets in. The gardening enthusiasm of spring is hard to muster in August. Most perennials have finished blooming. We depend on annuals for a bit of color, but not all of them are in top form. Some plants are looking bedraggled. They need to be cut back. However, if you look closely you may notice that a patch of bermuda grass has crept in a place or two and taken hold. Can I just admit that gardening in August is not as fun as in June?  Still, if we look at the garden through eyes that see what's good, instead of what's not so good, there is still beauty to be found.

Morning Glories reseed prolifically. Many years ago I purchased  two kinds, the dark purple and this white. I love them both, but sometimes they crossbreed and the result is a washed out lavender.

Gomphrena have oval blooms and are ideal for drying.

Tansy is an aromatic herb with a lovely foliage and yellow "button blooms" in August.

Garlic chives are a useful and beautiful herb to have in the garden. As soon as they have finished blooming every single blossom should be cut off and removed or you will have far more plants that you want. I speak from experience.

Perhaps the longest bloom perennial, Russian Sage just keeps right on blooming.

The final hibiscus, this photo is from early in the month.

A few sweet peas bloom on a trellis.

A Kansas Country Garden - Second Week of June

Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, adds a splash of color to the garden.

What a wonderful summer we've had so far! And I'm not just talking about the weather. Although in a week with two lovely rains and a little bit cooler temperatures, the weather certainly adds to the wonder. To be truly wonderful, it usually involves people you love and that's what has made my summer so special. 

I'm still on a high from our Girls Weekend with my Schroeder cousins. We sent Mike down the road to bunk with our son and welcomed seven cousins plus a sister for an fun weekend. We are spread out far and wide and decades go by sometimes between face to face visits. 

We laughed, we cried. We talked, we sang. We shopped, we painted birdhouses. We ate, we ate some more. All too soon, we were saying good-bye. Precious time. So glad we did it!

Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, blooms by the garden bridge.

Early morning light gives a glow to the Rose of Sharon

Hollyhock in the dawn's early light.

A medley of blooms.

Allium continues to bloom.

Sedum is grown mostly for its faithful foliage, but it does have a bright flower, too.

Gomphrena dries well, but is a great garden flower, too.

The Butterfly Bush, Buddleja, or Buddleia, grows quite tall.

In the Vegetable Garden

Is that a really big onion or are they really small tomatoes? The tomatoes are the first of a hopefully long harvest.

Peppers are beginning to set on.

Guineas in the garden does have a down side. It is this: they like bean plants. We finally fenced part of our beans and you can see the difference. The guineas could easily fly over the fence, but so far they haven't. (The round white flower is from the neighboring onions.)

A Kansas Country Garden - Fourth Week of May

Big news in our yard! The eggs have hatched and we have keets (baby guineas).

Throughout the week, when I head for the garden, I bring my camera, too and snap a few photos for this blog. Its not until the weekend that I sit down at the computer to download the photographs and see what I really have. Sometimes I am astounded what my simple camera has captured. This week, not so much. Still, I place them here to show what is blooming in my garden as spring fast-forwards into summer.

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa, lives up to its name and attracts quite a few butterflies.

If the army worms had had their way, there would be no lily blooms. Read here about what it took to save them.

Though not completely damage free, these white lilies are still lovely.

Pink Missouri Primrose, Oenothera speciosa, blooms beside a blue larkspur. The primrose are not as profuse this year as they have been in the past.

 Stella de Oro Daylily, Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’, are the first and perhaps the last daylily to bloom. You often see this flower in commercial landscaping.

Yellow yarrow, Achillea, glows at dusk. It is a long lasting flower that dries well. 

I call these baby hollyhocks, but I believe the proper name is Malva Zebrina. They are a cheerful plant that tends to reseed.

The foamy beauty of German Statice, Limonium tataricum, adds grace to the garden. Wonderful filler in bouquets, it also dries well.

Red Hot Poker, Kniphofia Uvaria, is an interesting flower. Their bloom time is relatively short.

Feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium, is a medicinal herb, but I love it for its little happy flowers.

And from the vegetable garden . . .

We are enjoying new potatoes with their delicate flavor and skins. They are getting a quick rinse in the kitchen sink.

A Kansas Country Garden - First Week of May

The peony bushes were not full, but the individual flowers are beautiful

When I showed a student some photographs of iris, she asked, "Are those the flowers that wear dresses?". Iris and peonies make a lovely combination.

Note to self: Do NOT drink caffeinated tea after 1 p.m. again. Ever. You know why. But, if I had followed my own good advice on Friday, well, I might have not been quite so alert for some nocturnal garden adventures.  
We've had an invasion of "miller moths".  Annoying? Yes.  But miller moths lay eggs that hatch into army worms and they are much more than annoying. They may be evil.

Temperatures in the 90's meant fleeting bloom for peonies.

I discovered the army worms as I was watering at dusk. Some plants didn't look so good.  By the time I'd gone inside and googled them, it was dark. The news was not good. Army worms come out at night to do their damage. They were just beginning. Wait until morning to do something? Would there be anything left?

A perfect rose. It is a David Austin Rose, but I am not certain which variety.

This is also a David Austin rose. The bush is quite short.

Flashlight in hand, I returned to the garden. It was even worse than anticipated. The lilies! Worms, lots of them, were munching on the leaves and the buds that were just beginning to swell. NO! Not the lilies. You shall not eat the lilies! (think Gandalf's "You shall not pass.") And do you know what I did? (Stop reading now if you're squeamish.) I squished them. Yes, I did. Mild mannered, nature loving me. Wearing plastic coated gloves,  I grabbed them between the left hand thumb and forefinger and applied just a little pressure. No more lily eating for them.

We interrupt the photos of roses for this not-so-pretty photo of an army worm on the lilies. You can see that the worms caused quite a bit of damage to the foliage, but I am hopeful that I will still have some blooms.

This bush blooms only once, draping over the fence.

Hours latter, lying in bed, wide awake, but trying to sleep, I heard a chicken. Oh, surely not.  Then I heard it again. It didn't sound unhappy. However, a few months ago, dogs got through a fence into our barn and chicken pen and killed  almost all our chickens. Mike has been slowly rebuilding the flock. We often comment that if we had been able to hear what was happening in the chicken pen, perhaps disaster could have been averted. And now I was hearing a chicken. Probably that should be checked out. Beside me my husband slumbered. Thoughts of waking him were dismissed. I slipped on my garden clogs and went out to investigate. A full moon lit the way, but I had also grabbed a flashlight. 

Fragrant Sweet Briar Rose, Rosa eglanteria, wanders like the wild rose it is.

There wasn't much to see. All was quiet except for two chickens strolling around in their pen. Banished to the outside pen because of behavior or lack of egg laying, they couldn't go into the barn. Evidently the full moon had deceived them and they were just enjoying the weather. No danger as far as I could tell. 

Before returning to the house, I thought again of the lilies. Had I saved them? Not entirely. There were a few more army worms on them. I returned to the house for my plastic coated garden gloves and took care to them, too. 

This is a David Austin Heritage Rose.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is an exciting night in a Kansas Country Garden. One I might miss next time if I stay away from that caffeinated iced tea!

This old-fashioned rose has a brief bloom.

A pink rose.

Rose bushes on the east side of the house do quite well.

Blue salvia has a long bloom time.

Allium Christophii, Star Onion, have multiplied over the years. After blooming, the seed head still adds interest to the garden.

Not invited, but who wouldn't welcome a flower called the Prairie Wine-cup or Buffalo Rose (callirhoe ivolucrata)? This wildflower can be purchased from mail-order catalogs now.

A butterfly visits a blooming shrub.