We are having beautiful Indian Summer weather lately. Mornings are chilly, but our afternoons have even been rather hot! A lot of the leaves have already turned color, although we aren't at peak foliage yet...

My arrangement this week is a joyful mix of my favorite late-summer/early fall flowers. I'm so grateful that our growing season is being prolonged awhile yet!  

Overhead views...

Giant Primrose sunflowers...only one plant survived so I hadn't planned to cut any, but several stems got snapped in the wind, so I now have a good excuse! 

Dwarf Queeny hollyhocks...

A few of my balsam plants are still flowering. 

I believe this phlox is "Franz Schubert"...it was also a gift from a dear friend!

The hyacinth beans are so beautiful. I feel rather sad that I may not grow them again, since it takes them so long to grow and bloom here. Still, it's satisfying that I did manage to grow a tropical African native in Maine! (Not taking credit myself-I just like to defy our climate now and then!) Lol

Sensation Mix cosmos (there are some white flowers in this bouquet, too). I planted these in my first flower garden, 8 years ago!

And of course, more malope! 

Hope you all have a great week! Please visit ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/in-a-vase-on-monday-sunshine-on-a-cloudy-day/ to see the lovely arrangements other gardeners have contributed this week!

We had some much needed rain this past week. The weather was chilly, but still no frost, so I'm savoring what time is left in the garden! 

A delightful tangle of flowers...but I admit my garden is a little too messy this year! 

Finally! A picture that I think almost does the malope justice...

The balsam is still blooming. I'm anxiously waiting for the seeds to ripen!

One of the few hyacinth beans that climbed the bean arbor...

Giant Primrose sunflowers...these are taller than me!

Some scenes from the vegetable garden...

I hope your garden is bringing you delight as Fall approaches! Please visit wordsandherbs.com/2017/09/12/the-tuesday-view-12th-september-2017/ to see other garden views around the world this week! 

I had a lot of fun with this arrangement, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out! I've been noticing lately how nice orange and yellow look with blue and purple, as I have nasturtiums growing alongside heliotrope and petunias, and borage next to marigolds in the vegetable garden. 

The scene in my vegetable garden that inspired this bouquet...borage and marigolds.

The seeds for these marigolds were a gift from a friend, so they are quite special to me!

Most of my borage is done blooming, but there is one plant in the vegetable garden (the one next to the marigolds) that just keeps getting bigger and better! 

Dill turned out to be a nice filler, I think...

These are the darkest of my Old-fashioned petunias...

There are a few nasturtiums tucked in here, too...

I look forward to seeing what other gardeners have created this week at: 

Pink, purple, and white has got to be my favorite color combination! I just stuck these into a Ball's canning jar, in hopes that they wouldn't look so crowded as in a smaller vase, but apparently I just picked too many anyway! A white lace doily would have complimented this arrangement nicely I think!

I love the way this picture turned out! Our early Fall sunlight is so soft and pretty on the flowers.

There is a lot of Malope in this bouquet! 

A few Old-fashioned Vining petunias...I haven't been dead-heading my plants because I'm saving seed, so most of them are past their prime now.

Echinacea is still blooming...

Hyacinth Beans...

And here's a surprise! This is Buckwheat from the cover crop I planted on my new vegetable garden plot! I thought it was pretty enough for the vase as well! 

These are just some wild asters that are in bloom everywhere here...

Here they are in the field...

I keep telling myself I'm not going to pick anymore of the snapdragons, but they are irresistable! 

And that's it! Please visit ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/in-a-vase-on-monday-coffee-n-cake to see what other gardeners have arranged this week. :)

It was good to see my garden again after almost 2 weeks away. Not a whole lot has changed, but the Only the Lonely nicotiana is taller and my one and only sunflower plant is blooming!
Fall is in the air...yesterday it was in the 40s all day, with wind and rain. But no frost yet, thank goodness!

Oh! And a few of my hyacinth beans are actually blooming! They don't compare to Mr. Jefferson's of course, but I'm happy just to have a few blossoms! 

The Four O'clocks are really at their loveliest now! 

Just for fun, I decided to take some pictures of the gardens from upstairs yesterday. It was interesting to see everything from a different perspective! 

And here are some more close-ups...

Someone had a feast on my broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage while I was away. :/ Most likely a moose...

But on the bright side, I'm getting so excited about these pumpkins! I counted 12 a few days ago. The white one is Dishpan Cushaw, and the buff one is Long Island Cheese. I also have some New England Sugar Pie, but didn't take pictures yet.

Well, I should go get back to work...more later!

A couple weeks ago, I visited  the home of Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president and one of my favorite gardeners! This was quite a dream come true for me! 

"I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of the garden. No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden. Such a variety of subjects, some one always coming to perfection, the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another, and instead of one harvest a continued one through the year."
Jefferson to Charles W. Peale, August 20, 1811

The bean arbor...this is what I was hoping my bean arbor would look like by now, but apparently hyacinth beans don't like Maine!

Close-ups of hyacinth beans and flowers...

The vineyard and orchard...

Cockscomb and Globe Amaranth in a couple of the Oval beds...

"I have an extensive flower border, in which I am fond of putting handsome plants, or fragrant."

 Jefferson to Bernard McMahon, April 8, 1811

Do these look familiar? In his garden book, Jefferson mentions sowing "Double balsam" on April 2, 1767. It is also included in a list of plants sent by Jefferson from Paris about 1786 to Francis Eppes. 

"Heliotrope. To be sowed in the spring. A delicious flower, but I suspect it must be planted in boxes and kept in the house in the winter. The smell rewards the care."”
— Thomas Jefferson

"Mirablis just opened. very clever."
(July 18, 1767)
It was almost 100 degrees when we were there, so they weren't open, obviously!

Some more pictures...I just don't have time to write about everything!

Just a quick post with a few pictures I  snapped of my garden and some of my favorite flowers a few minutes ago . This actually isn't a very good picture...the afternoon lighting isn't great for photography, and its a hot day, so some of the flowers are wilting or closed. I wish I had taken pictures this morning! 

The first thing I do every morning is look out my bedroom window at my garden. A couple days ago I was thrilled to see the first "Only the Lonely" nicotiana flowers! Such impressive plants from such tiny seeds! The leaves are huge! 

I have two malope plants, but one of them is so bushy it looks like two or three!  

The other plant surprised me by blooming with pink and white flowers! 

Love-lies-bleeding...

And that's it! Tuesday View is hosted by Words and Herbs...you are welcome to visit at wordsandherbs.com/2017/08/15/the-tuesday-view-15th-august-2017 to see other views in gardens right now! 

And here is another vase! I really enjoyed IAVOM last week and appreciated all your kind comments! :)
I was thinking of doing something a little more sophisicated this week, but apperently that's just not my thing, because this is what I ended up with! This is another one that you have to view from different angles to see everything that's in it...

One of my Apricot Beauty foxgloves sent up another flower stalk after I cut back the old one, but it was very short, so I decided it could be better enjoyed in a vase.

And who can resist a David Austin rose? I just love all his roses. This Crocus Rose is the only one I have right now, but if it survives the winter, I will definitely be adding more to my garden! It has a delicious light tea fragrance. 

And then there is 'The Fairy'. No fragrance whatsoever, and rather thorny, but the flowers are so charming! 

Mollie Rilestone sweet peas...they are supposed to be cream with pink edges, but instead mine are pure white! Hmmm, what did I do wrong? 

Malope...this is a lovely plant, but sadly, has become rare. 

And some smaller love-lies-bleeding tassles. When I put these in, the whole vase tipped over and dumped most of the water out! This was taken after I refilled it, and explanins why the poor flowers are looking a little bedraggled! 

Love-in-a-mist...

There is a little lemon balm tucked away in there too.  It smells nice, but there wasn't enough room for it, really! It is probably my favorite herb. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Please visit ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/in-a-vase-hello-ruby-monday/ to see what other gardeners around the world have made today! 

The days are getting noticeably shorter and there has been a definite chill in the air the last few mornings. The goldenrod has been in bloom for about 2 weeks, then the asters started to bloom, and now the mountain ash berries are turning orange. The weather is lovely and rather dry. A few days ago, I got to help put up hay at a friend's farm. Since I want to have a small farm of my own someday, that was quite a thrilling experience for me!
​Anyway...back to the garden!  

The nice thing about the cooler days is that the four o'clocks have been staying open until late morning, or even into the afternoon! They add so much color to the garden. I was struck by the way they contrasted with the lilies the other day...

They make wonderful pressed flowers because they hold their color so well. And of course I couldn't resist photographing them all lined up!

They are just wonderful flowers! 

Some other views of the garden...

Dwarf Queeny hollyhocks...I'm not especially fond of double-flowered hollyhocks, and will probably take these out next year, since I can't save seed from my black hollyhocks when they bloom at the same time. 

My love-lies-bleeding got off to a slow start. The plants seem taller than last year's, though. 

My David Austin Crocus rose is already blooming a second time. The trouble is, it is completely buried in nicotiana! 

Another picture of the balsam...these are the only plants that can be seen without pushing taller plants aside! 

I love my oriental lilies, but they also signal the end of summer to me, so seeing them in bloom is somewhat bittersweet. 

The vegetables are coming along nicely. There isn't really much of a need for weeding this time of the year, with all the volunteer trailing nasturtiums covering the ground! I need to find the time to make pickles one of these days!

Pumpkins...I'm growing 3 different kinds, each from a separate family, so I can save seed from all of them, even though they are growing side by side. 

And they are invading the peppers. I've been picking some Hot Hungarian Wax peppers lately, and in a couple weeks I think we'll be overwhelmed with all kinds of  peppers! 

The Dorinny Sweet corn is almost ready! 

Hope you all are enjoying what's left of summer in your gardens! 

I have greatly enjoyed seeing others' weekly flower arrangements on some of the garden blogs I've been following, and finally decided to join in this week!​​ As I think I mentioned in a previous post, my flower arrangements tend to be as messy as my garden. But these lovely old-fashioned flowers never fail to look good together, no matter how inexperienced this gardener may be! So here is a little bit of everything...

An attempted close-up of the heliotrope, surrounded by nicotiana, catnip, snapdragon and a bachelor's button...

Most of the borage has finished blooming, but I still have a few plants in a shady area that got off to a slow start and still have plenty of flowers. In the background is balsam, catnip, and a petunia (barely visible).

I think this is some kind of campanula. It blooms under a tree in the front yard every August.

Appleblossom snapdragon...these actually smell like bubblegum! This is actually a picture from a bouquet I made a couple weeks ago (I couldn't seem to get a good picture of it today). The white flowers around it are valerian.

And some columbine seed pods. I like a flower that continues to look interesting even after its flowers have long gone! 

And that's it! To see more arrangements from gardeners everywhere, please visit ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-snow-in-summer/ !