Flowers in the Late Summer Garden

Hello Friends, with summer moving 

so swiftly, I thought I would take 

you on a little walk to meet my flowers

before it is too late! 

As the sun was setting last evening, the clouds

were moving in and today we are 

expecting showers. 

I am happy about that, as it saves

me from watering! 

So come along with me and we will 

see what is blooming in my woodland gardens,

 here in the foothills of the Cascade mountains

of Washington State. 

Here we have Butterfly Bush, 

against a backdrop of tall trees

with Tansy and Sedum in the foreground. 

The garden is in the front - side of the house. 

This Butterfly Bush is very old

and extremely fragrant, scenting

the whole property from one end to the other. 

The Sedum has not 'colored' yet, 

but it will soon turn a beautiful, 

rosy hue. 

The Butterfly Bush flowers are so large

and so strongly scented that I am not 

able to bring them inside. 

They make Ramblin' Man sneeze! 

But the butterflies and hummingbirds love them! 

And the snails seem to love the Tansy! 

Another very strongly scented plant;

the leaves are gathered for drying

and used in herbal moth repellent sachets. 

Nikko Blue Hydrangea blooms in front of the house. 

It seems like they are right up against it, but 

there is actually a picket fence behind them

and space for more gardens against the house

with a pathway in between. 

On the other side of the house, 

I have woodland Phlox blooming, 

alongside more Nikko Blue Hydrangea. 

I have just recently added these, and 

they seem to like living under 

the drooping boughs of the large Hemlock tree. 

At their feet bloom creeping Campanella. 

A large Bleeding Heart (not in bloom)

floats above. 

The Hydrangea lives in the barrel planter. 

Pink roses and blue hydrangea make a pretty combination. 

I've added a birdbath, too.

There is a cement garden turtle inside,
as the birdbath is deep with slick sides.

The turtle allows any creatures to safely escape. 

Next to the birdbath is the rose arbor. 

A view from the back deck. 

You can see the Hemlock tree

and how it dominates the garden. 

I love this tree <3

Once, there was a young Mountain Lion

perched there, chased up the tree by my dogs.
I was standing beneath, giving sympathy,
as I thought it was a large, lost house-cat -
until it turned and looked at me with large, golden eyes
while its tail fell down - all three feet of it! 

I quickly retreated to the house, bringing in the dogs,

and it eventually jumped down to join its mother. 

Oh, my - its mother! I wonder where she was the whole time ?! 

Yes, I live in a wild place! 

The beautiful Rugosa Rose I planted 

in memory of my parents. 

Down in the back corner, 

we have our fire-pit. 

The forest lies beyond. 

I've never been brave enough to 

sit back here after dark, 

but in the evenings it is lovely. 

It sits in the corner of a large lawn, 

bordered on both sides by woodlands, 

with the house to the left and 

the mountains and wilderness to the right, 

beyond the viburnum hedge. 

You can understand why I wouldn't want to 

be here at night, although if the whole 

family were with me, I wouldn't mind. 

Even during the day, I am cautious....

Once I ventured out onto the deck

early one spring morning a few years ago, 

to see a very large 'blonde' black bear

standing on his hind legs, trying to get over

the fence there. (Hidden by brush)

Both my cat and Whitey Bear saw it, too. 

They flattened themselves onto the deck

and literally crawled back inside the house!

I knew if he got inside the fence, we might have

a big problem, so I ran in to wake Ramblin' Man. 

But I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.....

I kept stuttering....B....Be......

finally I screamed, 'Bear!' and Ramblin' Man woke up

with a startled expression, grabbing his robe and slippers. 

The only thing we could think of to do was to 

grab some pot lids to bang together, 

and so out we went, running and shouting,

banging those pot lids, and that poor bear

thought twice about hanging around! 

By then, Whitey Bear and my other dog, Little Bear, 

who was quite old at the time, decided to join us, 

barking and growling hysterically. 

We made quite a team and must have looked 

hilarious! We never did see that bear again!
(Although I've seen others) 

I do keep a large canister of bear spray with me

when I garden 'down back'. 

I've planted some bright Black-Eyed Susan 

along with Day-Lily (not blooming yet) in some

large tubs. 

Tiger Lily blooms behind. 

Here, Ramblin' Man holds one up to see.
Arched sections of fencing work beautifully
for staking. 

I have fond memories of Tiger Lily growing

in my Mother's garden as a child. 

These make a lovely combination. 

I also planted orange Crocosmia alongside the lilies, 

but they have not bloomed yet. 

This is a rather wild little corner, with blackberries

bordering all. 

In springtime I have Narcissus that bloom behind the lilies. 

I would like to expand this garden with more bright flowers.
This area gets lovely sunshine. 

Perhaps sunflowers and more lilies for next year. 

Lots of berries to snack on!

xoxo

I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my flowers, 

Dear Friends, and hearing my crazy 

wilderness stories. 

We are always reminded that we are simply 

temporary guests  

and that this land truly belongs to nature. 

We try to coexist peacefully and respectfully, 

and our motto is 'Do No Harm'.

xoxo

"I have a garden of my own
But so with roses overgrown,
And lilies, that you would it guess
To be a little wilderness."

- Andrew Marvell -
Occasional Poems (1681)

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Flower Wednesday

Won't you join the fun?