Bloom Day - September, or August 2.0

Several of the bloggers I follow have mentioned a change in the air and are looking forward to fall. Here in Tidewater September is usually just an extension of August. In fact, I am thinking about petitioning the U.N. to have the first three weeks of the month ceded to August and October can get the fourth. Other than seeing school buses on the road and mums appearing outside the grocery store, there are few signs of a change here. The same can be said of my garden. Most of the players from Bloom Day August are still going strong, so I will spare you more Lantana and Zinnia shots.

Our often hot and dry summer was of no consequence to Portulaca 'Rio Scarlet'. My only issue with this plant is that the flowers keep banker's hours and do not open until mid-morning and close by mid-afternoon, so I rarely saw them bloom this summer.

Another annual that has not been so stingy with its blooms are Impatiens. I know they are used ad nauseum, but some things are common for a reason.

One plant that I wish would not bloom so much is one of my worst weeds, Passiflora lutea.

I will repeat a photo of Asclepias curassavica, mainly because it is such a good annual. Most of mine were stripped of foliage and flowers by the caterpillars in August. Now they have recovered, re-leafed and re-bloomed.

Another repeat is this unknown Dahlia, that rather than stake, I run up through other shrubs.

Several years ago a co-worker and I noticed that one Liriope muscari out of hundreds seemed to bloom with an extra effort in an extra purple color. We pooled our money together and bought this one for the extravagant sum of $3 and divided it in two.

Abelia x 'Sunrise' is no stranger to my Bloom Day posts.

I do have a couple of things that say "September is here". This is Poncirus trifoliata ...

... and Fireworks Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks').

If you would like to see what is blooming in other blogger's gardens, then you should visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. She always knows what month it is.

Union Square Farmers Market

On our last day in New York we took the subway to Union Square. Emerging from that dark and sometimes dreary underworld directly onto a bright summer day full of color and life is an experience I have a hard time putting into words. The Union Square Farmers Market is perhaps the city's most famous and is the flagship of a program designed to promote regional farmers and producers. As someone who likes to eat as much as he likes to garden, I was amazed at what was being offered, including more than a few things I did not recognize. Besides fruits and vegetables, there were also cut flowers, potted plants, fresh bread, jams, jellies, preserves, herbs and lots of opportunities for people watching, and of course photography. The market operates several times a week and at peak season has about 140 vendors. It was the most diverse farmers market I have ever been to, and it must be welcome and therapeutic to many a New Yorker.

(Although my brain is still racked with indecision, I have decided that the photo below of carrots and squash will be my entry in this month's Picture This contest at Gardening Gone Wild. I am not sure why I chose this one over another, but it likely has something to do with the light.)

The day we were there, Park Ave. was closed to vehicles, and the walkers, joggers, bikers and skaters were enjoying the traffic-free street. It made me long for a bike and caused a locally dramatic drop in the city's ever present noise level, but added to the green peace of Union Square (I could almost here the waterfall mural).

If you would like to see the rest of my set, you can do so by visiting my Flickr page.