After an exceedingly dry June and July, August delivered much-needed rain, lifting every plant in the garden both literally and figuratively.

This morning, I felt a briskness in the air—and despite next week’s forecast calling for several days in the mid-90s, the promise of fall feels firmly on the horizon.

But the garden is still very much in summer mode.

So today, I’m sharing an update on my own garden, including what’s thriving, what’s not, and what I’m planning to do next.

What’s thriving

The dahlias and Endless Summer hydrangeas are the happiest flowers in the garden, bar none.

Every day yields new blooms in the dahlia patch—both varieties that returned from last year, and just this week, new varieties that went in the ground very late this summer (July! 😅).

The Endless Summer hydrangeas also continue to shoot up new blooms, with their massive heads dotting the north garden in pinks and purples and blues. The flowers last extra long, and radiate a sort of aged Victorian quality, especially as they fade.

Meanwhile, drought-tolerant flowers like coneflowers and caryopteris (bluebeard) have persisted despite the torturously dry summer. They continue to shine merrily day-after-day, and fill the late-summer void as most of the summer-favoring flowers fall away.

What’s struggling

The annuals. I think both they and I are a bit fatigued, and it shows.

I’ve been slacking on deadheading, and the petunias are about to stage a walk-out. Admittedly, I’m about ready to turn them over in favor of fall flowers like asters and mums. But don’t tell them that.

The roses and Incrediball hydrangeas were decimated by deer this summer. The critters stole most of the buds for their midnight snacks, sadly depriving us of almost any blooms.

Nevertheless, they all show signs of foliage growth, which is good news for the plants. I may have to try some natural repellent next year. The deer can always have the hostas.

Two evergreens are struggling, which isn’t a bad ratio, considering the number of evergreens (upwards of 40) we planted this year.

My favorite, a slender hinoki planted last year, took a nasty turn in July and completely died. It happened so quickly, and I am still shocked by it. I can only assume it didn’t get enough water, but the thriving hydrangeas surrounding it make me skeptical.

We also had a ‘Cranberry Creek’ pyramidal boxwood bite the dust, amidst a number of other, thriving boxwoods planted at the same time. Curious, but this happens. We’ll replace both this fall and keep it moving.

What’s next

Aside from replacing the dying evergreens, we are planting even more ‘Green Giant’ arborvitaes come fall.

We are in the midst of planting an arborvitae border on 3 sides of our backyard. We have about 30 in the ground currently and need 5-10 more to fill in a few gaps.

We’ve also undertaken the enormously ambitious task of reviving a large hill in our backyard, only one year after doing the same to a large hill in the front yard. Both were previously overgrown with invasive weeds and poison ivy.

After a year in the ground, it's clear that a few plants are not thriving on the front hill. When the weather cools a bit, I will transplant them to the backyard—this includes two baptisia, a ‘Saybrook Gold’ juniper and a ‘Brandywine’ viburnum.

In their place will go caryopteris and coneflowers, which have, as mentioned previously, thrived in a similar spot.

September to-dos

The jobs on my list this month include:

• Expand my irrigation system on the back hill, ideally before the looming heatwave

• Continue deadheading, especially the annuals

• Harvest the bounty of tomatoes that are starting to ripen with vigor. We planted the varieties ‘Sweetheart Cherry,’ ‘Sungold Select II’ and ‘Black strawberry’

• Plant new bearded iris rhizomes

• Continue sowing salad greens for a late-fall harvest

• Buy spring-flower bulbs (do check out the Spring-Flowering Bulbs Guide if you haven’t yet!)

🌸 Flower I’m admiring

It has to be the bluebeard. Last year I planted a small ‘Dark Knight’ variety on the front hill, and it grew to be as tall as me—and about as wide as it is tall. The bumbles adore it as much as I do, and as I mentioned above—it thrives in drought conditions.

I just bought two more!

🍄 What I’m inspired by

The ineffable sketches of Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo is one of the best draftsmen that’s ever lived. Most know his popular works like the Mona Lisa, or the Vitruvian Man drawing.

Dive into his sketchbook pages, and you’ll find gorgeous linework, of course, but a few surprises.

Take this page of what appears to be various cats. On closer inspection, you’ll see Leonardo mixed in mythical creatures like dragons and griffins. It’s invigorating to see an artist so known for his renderings of people, places and things incorporating such imagination play into his sketchbook.

Tell me about your September garden. What’s thriving, what’s not? I think we can all get a little inspiration from each others successes (and wisdom from each other’s failures)—what do you think?!

xx,

Courtney