Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
"If the sight of blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~ Eleanora Duse
A common misconception about the Pacific Northwest is that it rains like the dickens here all year long. In actuality, the amount of rainfall during our summer months is barely enough to fill a thimble. By the end of September, grass is yellowed and brittle, foliage is crisp, and it's not uncommon to see a tender bush or baby tree retreat into early dormancy to protect itself from the blistering sun. But in spite of the parched lips of summer, some things in my garden continue to thrive ...
Italian Plum trees are loaded with fruit ...
Apples are crisp and sweet ...
The fig trees are even offering up a second crop this year!
Elsewhere in the garden, a few clever roses ...
managed to escape the jaws of marauding deer ...
While other roses have gone straight to hip ...
Chocolate cosmos stand tall and fragrant ...
Sadly, i've forgotten the name of this cheerful perennial (mustard greens, maybe?) ...
Lavenders, bless them, just never seem to tucker out ...
The Italian term chiaroscuro (chiaro, "light"' scuro, "dark") refers to the interplay of shadow and light, and while the pictures i've shared here have plenty of both, do not be deceived! On Monday, i scrambled to snap a few photographs under the canopy of a sunny sky. By Tuesday, shadows softened, clouds rolled in, and we were blessed at last with the quenching rains that mark the beginning of autumn. Soon, the concrete soil will yield more easily to the shovel, and planting can begin again. By the time October rolls around, the weather in the Pacific Northwest finally lives up to its reputation.
Meanwhile, at the risk of overt self-indulgence, i could use your help! I'm currently participating in an on-line ukulele contest, the premise of which is to make a video about what it's like to wait a year or more for a custom-made ukulele. So i wrote a little song about it.
Here's a link to the YouTube video ...
If you could take a moment to click on the above link, it would be deeply appreciated. In the event of a tie in the judging, the number of "views" and "likes" the video receives will act as a tie breaker.
What's the contest prize, you might ask? A ukulele, of course! And as Uma Thurman said in Pulp Fiction, "I do believe Marcellus, my husband, your boss, told you to take me out and do whatever i want. I wanna dance. I wanna win. I want that trophy. So dance good."
I admit it. I want your vote. I wanna win. I want that ukulele.
What's going on in your gardens?
8:11 AM PT: Oh wow! You guys are giving my video your thumbs up! Thank you, thank you, a thousand times, thank you!