It is still August. My Hostas and Day lilies have bloomed and are now “pooped out”. No more flowers can be found in my yard. Even the daisies in the cul de sac have gone to seed. Usually they last until well into September. My mums have come up but there aren’t any buds on them. I’m a little worried that they won’t bloom at all! On the plus side I’m going to get a couple zip-loc baggies and gather some of the seeds from the daisies. There are 2 varieties – oxeye (white with a nice yellow center) and black-eyed susan (bigger and taller but yellow with a dark brown center). The only reason I know this is because they were planted by the neighbors who had a landscape business. Their son now owns/runs the business. It is kind of funny because they don’t have any flowers in their yard. It is completely low maintenance – even the shrubs are slow growers that don’t need to be trimmed, and they have ground cover around all the trees and deck so they don’t have to weed or mow! So as I gaze with a touch of envy at their yard, I realize I need to go out and cut the ugly stalks off the spent hostas so my front yard doesn’t look so derelict.
Unfurl
Petals unfold
The flower opens
Wilt
Edges brown
Petals droop down
A little Hay(na)ku poem for you to enjoy. The Hay(na)ku was created in 2003 by Eileen Tabios. It consists of 3 lines with a word count of 1/2/3. There is no rhyme or meter required and no restriction on the number of syllables in the words. The Hay(na)ku can also be written as a reverse with the counts being 3/2/1. Enjoy the remaining days of summer! (that’s an order!)
A Different Perspective 
This was always my mother’s least favourite time of year, in terms of the garden-the lull between summer blooms and fall colours. Trips to the beach became more frequent-so maybe the Dunes will beckon you more fervently.
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It isn’t the dunes but the woods that is calling. We are planning to hide some geocaches at the Fernwood Nature Preserve & Botanical Gardens. There is still plenty of summer left.
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This time of year, endings in sight, hope in the seeds you are gathering, soon fall colours will charm you. I enjoyed reading this and the no sweat yard of the neighbour too, he has the secret. But then I enjoy colour, therefore flowers and they required tender loving care and some labour. I copied the info on your hay(na)ku, I love this and will be using it in my own poetry.
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I’m thrilled you liked the hay(na)ku! I’ll be looking forward to see what magic you create!
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We are still triple digit or close to it. I took the pot that had the dead begonia and pulled that out and ‘planted’ the ashes of 3 deceased cats and stuck artificial flowers in the pot with a butterfly. I don’t know why in my time of sorrow I fell on that band wagon years ago and had pets cremated. What happens to the lovely boxes when we are gone? Daughter doesn’t need them. 😉
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Lots of people have the pets cremated and then bury them under rose bushes or other flowering trees/plants – at least around here. Mostly because it is against the law to bury animal carcasses in the city limits… The flower pot sounds like a good compromise.
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I was just trying to decide this morning, whether or not to pull up the tomato plants. They are not producing anything worth harvesting at this point. It is time. Summer is coming to its end.
Do you keep your marigold seeds for use from year to year also? When I moved from my apartment I had an over-abundance of baggies full. (Ha! that made me think of that nursery rhyme, ‘yes sir, yes sir, three bags full’ 😀 ) I always intended to take the marigold seeds up to the elementary school teachers for spring teaching subjects.
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The reason the neighbors keep a simple yard is probably for the very reason you mention…. their landscaping business…. when you do it every day for work, you don’t really want to do it at home too. 😉 Home is for resting from work.
Sort of the same thing with auto mechanics. Ever try to get one to work on your own car? My brother-in-law is an auto mechanic.
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That is probably close to the truth!
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I don’t have marigolds but I do have 3 bags full – one of columbine seeds, one with the daisies from the cul-de-sac, and one with seeds from a money plant. I keep thinking I’ll plant some but I haven’t yet. Maybe next spring…
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Oh! You said mums. 😛 Silly me. I always do mix them up.
What’s a money plant… I always thought money didn’t grow on trees… not for me anyway. 😛 Maybe I should ask you to send me some of those seeds. 😉
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Money plant is Lunaria biennis and is really hearty. It has pink to purple flowers that bees and butter flies really like. The seed pods are large and round with a silver look once you peel off the outer layer. Sometimes they are called Silver Dollar plants… https://www.everwilde.com/store/Money-Plant-Wildflower-Seeds.html
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It’s been so hot here that it’s difficult to keep flowers blooming..but we did have a couple of roses bloom the other day. I was thrilled. Now, if the grass would stop growing so fast..that would be awesome. 😉
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Hot with rain is a bad combination! Every time it rains we have to mow as well. Although it is still summer soon we will trade mowers for snow shovels.
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Most of my flowers have wilted away too, except for a pot full of yellow and white ones that are still going strong. I wish I had paid more attention to what they were when I bought them and planted them!
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I stick to the perennials because I always forget to buy the annuals until it is too late and all they have left are the nearly dead ones. I’m not good at bring them back from the brink of death…
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Nice reading your hay(na)ku!
Seems like your neighbours conserve their efforts for their work, with a good looking low-maintenance home yard. It’s very much like what I do at home as I reorganize and declutter regularly because I feel extra stuff to clean is time badly spent. I’d rather play the piano. Or sing. Or write.
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Hi Anita! I had to laugh as I couldn’t remember writing a hay(na)ku then realized it was a post from 2018! I’m so glad you liked the poem and that you took the time to peruse the archives! The last of my hostas are just now blooming and my daylilies and columbine are done for the season. I really like low maintenance yards. I however have a love hate relationship with my home décor. I collect hammered aluminum dishes which are displayed causing me to have to dust and move things… But they bring me joy and I do use them!
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🙂 As Marie Kondo says – some stuff sparks joy.
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Hehe! Yeah, she has a very minimalist attitude but I don’t think I’d be happy if I followed her system. Someday I’ll pare down some of the “stuff” but right now I just want to enjoy it!
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