I didn’t garden much at all this season. Life kept me extra busy in spring and early summer. I managed to do a few pots and plant some seeds and that's about it. Later in the summer when I did have time, the garden had frankly gotten away from me. So my garden looked after itself this year.
Some good things happened: the coneflowers and rudbeckias spread out and made a grand show from July to September, the morning glories growing from seeds from last year's plants were super from mid August on although the colour reverted to the species purple, the geraniums in the pots outdid themselves, the bit of chasmanthium we left at the front had its best show yet, and the huge hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ is magnificent.
Some bad things happened: I didn’t attend to the rascally trumpet vine and am going to have a real fight on my hands next spring. The squirrels decimated the plants in pots -- especially the sweet potato vines. Yellow sorrel shot up between the pads of the prickly pear! Several hostas have overgrown their spots. And most annoying, Creeping Campanula has invaded the front.
What amazed me the most is how fast nature will take over a patch. In just one season, my garden looks like I moved away and left it.
Is that what happens when the gardener dies?
