Gardens of Fall

Ravishin' Robbie's gardens have donned their fall colors and decorations. The vegetable garden has been stripped of its spent tomato, bean and squash plants. The boarders are in full color though as the Marigolds planted there to help deter insects quickly expanded to capture the new found space and burst forth with a thick mat of orange. Morning glory and Brown Eyed Susan vines cover the corner posts in thick lush greenery, liberally decorated with blue and yellow flowers.

The plants of Robbie's herb garden, or as we called it in PA, the Kitchen Garden, are tall, dense and mostly flowerless. The Basil looks like a small hedge with leaves of shiny green, and being just a foot off the front porch, its sweet smell drifts in to greet us each time we open our front door. The Sage having weeks ago lost its last delicate scarlet red flower stands as a stately bush waist high and thick as a bramble. Several varieties of Tyme have spread out to carpet the floor with dainty leaves and a spattering of  tiny white flowers. The Oregano plants have fallen and began pushing up shoots creating artwork that looks like so much driftwood on the beach.

Mums of many colors, orange, white, russet and red are in their glory now and crowd the flowerbeds that earlier were packed tight with a dozen different summer flowers. Mixed in between the Mums are a few struggling, but gracious blue and pink Cosmos, the last of the deep red Love Lies Bleeding and a few brilliant Daisies.

The Zinnias, perhaps my favorite garden flower, have had a rebirth in the cooler weather and are celebrating with flowers galore. Whether Robbie had strategically planted the Zinnias in locations to define, accent and glorify the flowerbeds, or they had migrated on their own, the patches of Zinnias exploding in red, blue, yellow, orange and pink bring broad smiles like so many exploding fireworks at the county fair.

Take a few moments today to stroll through your gardens of fall and enjoy their gifts.

Kessy and I are heading out to explore a few wild fall gardens. You all have a wonderful day and God Bless ~ Dutch