Garden Tour/Sad News

The weather was much cooler today. After relaxing on the patio to finish reading my book, I spent several hours working in the gardens doing late summer clean up of dying perennials and dried seed pods. I also did some weeding and pick up of twigs that seems to be ever increasing. The lawn was looking quite dry until the rain last night and the weeds are sure to spring back to life as well. I managed to fill two large bags of yard waste. That was my goal.
Mom stopped by while I was doing yard work so I took a break to look up information on the Internet about a new car she is considering. The deals are good right now but it is a hard decision to make and so expensive too. I hope my car lasts for a few more years. Oh Please, Please, Please!!!
Since the wind was just right, I also hosed down and cleaned the patio furniture and the dusty cat carriers from the basement. I am giving my sister a square coffee table with a Formica top for Jackson to use when he plays with clay and crayons. The table is just the right height for him and it won't matter if he gets paint or crayons on it. I cleaned that table up so that Terri and Rodney can take it home with them next weekend. One more thing out of the basement!!! Yippee!!
I did finish reading " The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs and I recommend that you check it out. I did not expect the way it ended, but it was a good easy read. I hope to read her next book soon.My Aunt Mary gave me this rattan ottoman. I just love it. I have a "thing" for circles and this is quite circular.
I finished this garage sale bench a few weeks ago and just now remembered to show you. I think it turned out quite nicely. Although, my new staple gun was not powerful enough to blast staples into the maple so I had to resort to upholstery tacks.
Here is what it looked like when I bought it. I love the improvement over the original look of the bench. The finish on the wood is beautiful despite its age.

As promised, here is a garden tour. Some plants look old and dried out but that's what happens this time of year.
My tomato plants. One red and one orange yellow.
Very tasty too.
Thyme and Oregano.
Parsley

Two kinds of Basil.
Hydrangea.
Endless Summer Hydrangea.
Mammoth Hydrangea.
Again.

The small patio lavender and coral bell garden. I saw a humming bird late the other evening.
This garden is already partially cleaned out.
But there is more to be done next weekend.
Yes lots more.
The iris and columbine were cut down.

The badly neglected garden. It is full of unwanted grass. Yuk. I am thinking about turning this garden into a vegetable garden. Hmmm .......more work, do I want that. May have to rethink that idea.
Annabelle Hydrangea and Limelight Hydrangea.
Nico Blue Hydrangea, soil needs to be basic to get blue flowers, may resort to chemicals next year to see what happens.
Another Nico Blue bloom. Try saying that fast several times.
This was an expensive golden cypress that I got free at the end of a fundraising plant sale for Advent House. No one wanted it. It was quite sad looking. It is doing quite well in my garden. The original price was $99.oo!!!!

A volunteer. This one is a juniper tree. I have two others about the same size.
My volunteer Red Bud that seems to be doing quite well. It came up from seed from a now deceased tree that was in my front yard.
A view of the big patio from the middle of the yard.
Two of my six Japanese maples.
The huge Sugar Maple. It provides a great deal of shade. I hope it continues to be healthy.

We all received sad news today that Ed, the husband of my quilting friend Ruth F. and father of Habitat Lansing board member, Susan, passed away yesterday morning. Ed has been in a nursing home for the past year or more. Our hearts go out to Ruth F. and Susan who have gone through so much with Ed being ill these last several years. Ruth and Ed were married for 57 years. They kept their vows "in sickness and in health".