Savoring September

"The breezes taste

Of apple peel,

The air is full

Of smells to feel-

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

Burning brush,

New books, erasers,

Chalk,and such.

The bee, his hive,

Well-honeyed hum,

And Mother cuts

Chrysanthemums. 

Like plates washed clean

With suds, the days

Are polished with

A morning haze."

-John Updike, September

September is bringing activity, color and change to my garden! The dahlias are at their peak (often with earwigs lurking in their folds),the roses are brilliant and fragrant (between attacks of powdery mildew), both scarlet and lavender colored asters are just starting to bloom, the Japanese anemones are swaying in the gently cooling breezes, and the chrysanthemums are offering up their wine colored blossoms...

And a large population of crane flies are laying eggs in my lawn during the day then dying on my front doorstep each night, apparently a gesture of macabre honor having given me everything they've had to offer, including their next generation.

My blue mop-head and lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea Macrophylla) are blooming big and beautifully and some are starting to turn their gorgeous ocean colored aqua just for fall.

I'm also thrilled to announce that I purchased a new limelight hydrangea that is pruned into a tree shape. I had looked throughout the summer for limelight and didn't even know they could be pruned this way. I learned the paniculata hydrangeas are the only ones that can.  Here is limelight, snuggling with the roses and dahlias while he waits for his new digs to be dug. It has the potential of being 9 feet wide, so I'll probably have to break new ground,remove some sod,and build up some soil, ugh!

I attended Olympia's Home and Garden show a few days ago and learned a few new things about hydrangeas while in a workshop. For instance, apparently mophead and lacecap varieties bloom on old wood and therefore shouldn't be pruned or picked unless directly under their flowers at this time of the year. Paniculata varieties, such as limelight, bloom on new wood and are a bit more forgiving. I'm still remembering the gorgeous colors of a new paniculata hydrangea I saw there called, "Vanilla Strawberry". It may be added to my family if I don't stop thinking about it. While at the seminar, I was privileged to win a "Rainbow Sensation-Weigela" from Gordon's Nursery. I love its variegated and colorful leaves.

The other day my neighbor visited my garden and was commenting on how some blue lobelia looked so striking against the bright orange of some calibrachoa. It made me think of how I too loved that color combination and have decorated with it inside my home. My wheels began turning.

First I snuggled down three orange dahlias inside a blue hydrangia, wondering if the hydrangea could be used for a base to further compliment their contrast. Liking the effect (although I resisted the urge to add googly eyes to the hydrangea thinking the dahlias looked like curly red hair),I snipped a few more items and took them inside to make a quick arrangement.

 Standing back I found how the colors of the flowers joined in sweet harmony with a nearby painting.

I'm transported when I'm creating, gardening or decorating and it reminds me of just how much God cares for His creation.  In Isaiah 42:6-7 it says, "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.  I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness".

God loves me so much he will take me by the hand, train me up and let me assist Him in his work. I'm honored and am holding out my trembling hand in awe of God's unwavering faith in me.