Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
For a variety of reasons, Summer, the little scamp, was a particularly difficult house guest this year. With one foot out the door, she spun on her heels, looked us straight in the eye, and tossed us a parting gift of back-to-back heat waves, followed by a series of wildfires that shook the Pacific Northwest to its core. For nearly two weeks, the smoke-filled air transformed the entire landscape into something resembling a storyboard for dystopian cinema. And we were among the lucky ones! At this point (knock wood), the worst of it is behind us. Air quality is out of the danger zone, temperatures have cooled, and we're finally getting a mixture of sunshine and rain, occasionally on the very same day.
Although the main garden areas on our property are fussy and demanding, the backyard trails have proven to be remarkably self-sustaining and resilient. With no rain at all during the summer drought, the back woods remained green and growing. Now, beneath the shaded canopy, ferns abound in seemingly pre-historic proportions, blackberry vines are still offering the last of their sun-ripened fruit, and the deciduous foliage is gradually transitioning to an autumn color pallet. Without further ado, let's grab a water bottle, slip into our comfiest Crocks, and take a little stroll along the backyard trails ...
It's such a relief to be able to walk outside and inhale deeply the clean, fresh air. Our first stop along the trails will be the tree we lovingly call Grandpa. Grandpa is by far the tallest tree in the woods, and we never pass it without tapping the bark several times for luck ...
A trio of the seemingly indestructible "dinosaur" ferns ...
Dappled sunlight ...
Tree roots that can either trip you, or anchor your feet like nature's stairway ...
More dappled sunlight ...
The last of the season's blackberries ...
"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out until sundown:
for going out, I found, was really going in." ~ John Muir
Elsewhere in the garden, succulents are beginning to dry out ...
Roses are ripening their hips ...
Woolly bears are bundling up ...
It's not hard to guess what this little beauty is praying for ...
Persimmons ripening ...
Apple trees (to the lower left) - really the only fruit ready to pluck at this point ...
Red apples against a patch of blue sky ...
Perfection ...
The plums are mostly spent, but there's still enough hanging on the trees to fill up a small bucket ...
This smells intriguing ...
You gonna make a tart?
Can i help?
Yes. You can help, Leeloo. As if i have a choice in the matter ...
That's pretty much it in my neck of the woods, garden bloggers. Keep the faith; be kind to yourselves and one another. And what's going on in your gardens?
PS: Here's our upcoming Saturday Morning Garden Blog hosting schedule. As always, if anyone would like to write a diary (whether it be about gardening matters in general, or a "How To Use It" special feature), drop a note in the comment section (or send one of us a private message). We need more regular writers if we want to keep this series going, and new contributors are always welcome.
October 3rd (Vol. 16.40) — Merry Light
October 10th (Vol. 16.41) —
October 17th (Vol. 16.42) —
October 24th (Vol. 16.43) —
October 31st (Vol. 16.44) — meadowmist
November 7th (Vol. 16.45) —
November 14th (Vol. 16.46) —
PPS: If you regularly participate in the SMGB but have yet to become an "official" member, just let one of us know and we'll send you an invitation to join the group as soon as possible.