Summer break is almost over, with school starting up again next week, and major gardening begun today. I got tired of looking at the ratty summer foliage of Iris cristata, so I decided to hide it under Geranium 'Rozanne.' Of course this required major digging and soil improvement and the moving of 5 other plants and the planting of one of the plants I purchased back in May. (And people wonder why it takes me so long to plant anything.) Before:
and after:
The back path and former pit are now a sunken garden,
requiring the removal of all the plants I planted there, the addition of several bags of topsoil, and the re-installation of the plants. One Tricyrtis has been in a pot all summer, still waiting to go into the ground. Notice the large chunk of concrete in the above photo. I still haven't gotten rid of it all yet. I'm hoping, once school starts, I'll have more time to get things done (both in and out of the garden).
Disease rears its ugly head in August, and this is an annual event with the Monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii).
I should just dig it all out and start over with new plants.
While my jalapeno pepper is producing fruit at an astonishing rate, the yellow Bell pepper is having serious problems.
I suspect this is the result of my poor watering practices, but if anybody knows the cause, please tell me. I have yet to harvest a fruit, but it looks like I might get a few.The garden is tired and ragged looking (much like my summer wardrobe), and I'm looking forward to the refreshing days of autumn.