August in the Garden

Late summer has been a busy time. I spent a week out of town for a grant project, and then for the last several weeks we've had workers here on a special project (more pictures of that later). About all I've been doing in the garden is watering and some routine maintenance. The garden is showing its usual late-summer "it's too hot/rainy/weird weather-ish to get out and work today" rattiness, so here's for some close-ups:

This is something new this year -- a pomegranate blossom on my dwarf pomegranate bush:


And even better, a pomegranate! Compare it to the pansy in the background -- it's a bit smaller than a quarter:



Coreopsis has been putting on a good show this summer, though it hasn't attracted as many bees and butterflies as I'd hoped:


Rudbeckia is just starting to put on a show:


The seeds for fancy ornamental sunflowers that I planted in the spring all came to nothing. My best sunflower is one that came up under the bird feeder from seeds that the birds scattered:


Fall-blooming cyclamen are popping up, a veritable miniature forest of cyclamen marching through the parched soil:


A white cyclamen popped up, a sport that I've not seen before. I hope I get more:


The Tristar strawberries got off to a late start, but they're still producing well. I've had strawberries and yogurt with breakfast every morning for many weeks now:


My lilies have all petered out, except this big white one:


The late spring set everything back. I'm only now seeing the first blush on my tomatoes:


This pink picotee penstemon is just luscious:


My pink and blue border is pretty, but a lot messier than I imagined it:


The blue asters are just starting to bloom to the delight of the honeybees:


Honeybees also like my Chelone (turtle heads). There's a bee crawling into the lowest blossom in front:


Bumblebees seem to like them, too:


One of three small corn patches around the yard. This patch hasn't tassled yet, but the other two have:


And that's where we are at the end of August.