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Farewell Summer, Welcome Autumn – Seasonal Changes in my Garden

Summer season - flower patchAutumn season - flower patch
Autumn season has been here for almost a month now, but the favorable weather we have been enjoying  makes us cling onto summer, at least for few more days.

Spring and Summer are my favorite seasons.  I like the beginning of Autumn, while all the leaves change colors, but once they fall off, and leave everything so starkly looking, I begin to miss my happy summer days.

Since I love gardening, end of Summer brings a lot of work into my already busy schedule, in preparation for the Winter season.

Today I will share some pictures of my garden during this transition period.  In the top picture you can see my East side flower patch in its full bloom during the summer, and how it is getting more and more bear at this time.

Westside flower patch - mid summerWestside flower patch - Autumn season

This is my West side flower patch during the Summer and now.  This one actually looks better now, since these flowers enjoy the cooler nights, and really spread out.

Red Canna standing strong...not wishing for early frostEvergreen all trimmed for winter, and Hydranga changed its color once againCosmos flowers still hanging in there

Here we have few of my summer plants  still trying to “hold their own”, to add a splash of color to my otherwise dreary looking garden.

The Hydrangea is a very interesting plant, since it changed its flower color for the 4th time this year.  It started with green color, then turned to blue, then changed to beige like, and now it is kind of burgundy.

My last veggie crop for this yearLast tomato crop - picked green, ripened with timePreserving a cucumber for seeds

 

These are my last crops from the Summer gardening.  I picked off the remaining green beans, few green peppers, and to my surprise, I dug up couple of potatoes….must have missed them few months ago.

A week ago I picked off all of my green tomatoes, spread them over a thick layer of newspaper covered with paper towel, on the table in my sunroom, and look how nicely they matured into beautiful red tomatoes.

The yellow looking cucumber is no longer edible, but rather a source of succulent seeds for next year’s crop.

Autumn season vegetable garden

This is how my vegetable garden looks like now.  Almost everything has been harvested, with the exception of  Dill Weed, Italian Parsley, Red Beets, and Sorrel leaves.

collecting dried up flowers for next year's seeds

 

Every year I pick off dried up flowers, and collect seeds for next year’s seeding of the same flowers.  This is a real money saver!  Seeds are not cheap!

Passion Fruit plantPassion fruit

Photographed above is my new plant in this year’s garden.  It is the Passion Fruit plant.

I failed to capture the beautifully dainty flowers this plant produces, but you can click here to see some pictures.

I am not sure how large this fruit will grow, and if it actually will be ripe enough to consume, but right now it is the size of an apricot.

If you ever grew your own Passion Fruit plant, please share some tips.

Nettle plant

To my total surprise, I found this plant growing in my garden…don’t know how it got there, but it is called Stinging Nettle.

Nettle leaves are edible, while still very young and tender, but once they mature, watch out….they are not a friend of mine.  You barely touch the plant, and it will sting you  something fears, and cause temporary blister like bumps on your skin.

While visiting Poland, I have noticed Nettle Soup (zupa pokrzywkowa),  and Scrambled Eggs  with Nettle, on a restaurant menu.   I wish I was brave enough to taste it, but maybe next time…

I have been told that Stinging Nettle has many homeopathic medicinal benefits, and found a link to support some of these beliefs, so please check it out.

My grandma used to brew dried Nettle leaves to soak her feet to relieve arthritis pain.

Now I understand why some chefs incorporate it into their favorite dishes, and here I thought it was just a nasty weed in my garden.

I still would love to know how it ended up in my garden, as this is my first time to come across Stinging Nettle here in the US.

I was so amazed by it, and did not want to destroy it, so I transplanted it into a pot, since like any other weed, this one will overtake my whole garden in no time, if I let it grow freely.

Have you ever experienced a contact with Stinging Nettle?

Please share your experience with all of us.

Happy Halloween - decoration

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

 

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