I still have a bloom on my climbing rose bush…
…and I still have a few dahlias that are blooming.
There are still a a few spindly spires of salvia left after I had to cut most of it back when a storm blew through last month.
But for the most part, the flowers have been replaces by seed heads and the foliage is starting to fade.
I had hoped that zinnias would help carry flowers through until frost. But unfortunately – due to an unseasonably wet, cool August followed by a hot, dry September – my zinnias got a bad case of powdery mildew and I had to rip them all out.
A couple of things about the zinnias and the powdery mildew:
1) I ***may*** have overplanted them and not given them enough space which probably contributed to poor circulation which probably contributed to the powdery mildew.
Please…I know. Don’t say it. Trying to squeeze too much into too small of space. Raise your hand if this comes a surprise to you.
Yeah…that’s what I thought.
Hello my name is Kelly and I am an overplanter.
Shaking my head….
2) If I had been a little more proactive with treatment, I probably could have saved them. But in my defense I wanted to avoid spraying anything for fear that it might hurt the butterflies and/or the hummingbirds. So I checked with the Google, and after a bit of research I learned about a couple of non-toxic treatments. They also suggest giving the plants plenty of space.
Dear universe…I hear you – loud and clear. Duly noted.
As always, my garden is the best teacher about life.
Anyway, with the growing season winding down, I am thinking about next year armed with some good information and beneficial experience. But for today, I am just going to savor these last beautiful blooms with a grateful heart for all of the beauty and lessons learned.
Happy Friday friends! Hope you all have a great weekend!
Love, Kelly
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