Good morning, and with Vol. 26 we're half-way through another year of Saturday Morning Garden Blogging. Welcome!
Here in Denver, our long weeks of heat have broken, and we're taking the first slow curve into Fall. I can feel it, and I can see it.
As to feeling it, last Monday the overnight low went down to 54°, the morning air was fully cooled and the high of only 79° gave the hint that the relentless heat of June and July had been broken. And yesterday morning the low dipped down near 50° — it was sweater-chilly when I walked to our new office a half-mile away.
I can see the changed angle of the sun, which rises after 6:00 a.m. these days. A few leaves on a few of the early-changing trees have softened their bright green.
But it's different now: for more than 25 years I've watched the seasons change from an office on the upper floors of a downtown high-rise; now I look out a 2nd floor window. I'll see less of the big picture, but more of the small changes.
I've been so swamped with the changes in my job life I've had little time to note those small changes, let alone take photos of them. This, I suppose, is just as well, as the long dry heat of June and July played havoc with my flowers. The photo above the fold is one of the few Lady of the Mist roses which came into full bloom without the heat crisping the edges of the petals as they opened. The photo is from early July when we had a brief cool spell; after that I saw no more buds on the bush. The only rose that has performed even half-way decently is the always rugged rugosa hansa — and even it hasn't been as floriferous as it usually is.
The gladiolas suffered similarly — some never bloomed at all; those that did had short-lived blossoms that quickly wilted in the heat. This pink variety was one of the exceptions — its sturdy ruffled flowers managed to open fully before fading away.
One successful planting, however, is the chocolate flower. I planted it last year and was disappointed; this year it came into its own and, on warm mornings, it was like standing in a kitchen while a rich chocolate cake baked in the oven; the scent of chocolate was that strong. I'll need to get it well-supported next year as it tended to sprawl all over the place, but otherwise it’s a definite winner, performing well in the heat and without any additional watering in one of the hottest, driest areas of my front beds.
In the veggie patch, after an early and bountiful start with the tomato vines, we seemed to hit a spell where it was too hot for the tomatoes to set fruit or ripen. I went from picking several beautiful large, ripe tomatoes every few days, to having none. However, I found a couple of ripe full-sized tomatoes on Thursday and a lot of ripe cherry tomatoes — so I should soon be swimming in tomatoes again.
It's even been cool enough to leave the swamp cooler off for hours at a time, and to sleep with the windows providing cool air, rather than the air conditioner. The quiet is… blissful after weeks of roaring fans.
So another summer is winding down — and it's really been a weird one.
That's what's happening here. What's going on in your gardens?