Urban Gardens

What is it about gardens in transition from summer to fall? The colors are most vibrant as the days get shorter and the plants prepare their seeds for harvest or set their roots for hibernating. Summer has its glory days but when cooler days start returning, I think nothing beats a garden in early fall. And what joy to stroll through my neighborhood and enjoy all the gardens around me

Starting in my front yard, the asters and sedum complement each other so well.

The backyard never looked this good all summer. The salvia and alyssum have finally filled in the flower box, the marigolds are golden and spilling over the border, and a lone tomato is left for harvesting.

Anticipating colder days ahead, lettuce and arugula have gotten a great start in the new cold frame while we wait for a late fall harvest of delicata squash from plants that have been growing since spring.

My neighbor's front yard has been blooming all summer with red and purple salvia, then I saw that one of my sunflowers jumped across to her garden.

This neighbor's apple tree is the envy of my garden. All our fruit trees perform well except for our apple trees. This one seems to be ignored by its owner yet produces abundantly.

What is fall without colorful mums? This arrangement dominates the patio in front of this home with an eye-catching arrangement.

This curbside garden is one of several in my neighborhood where neighbors have planted flowers and small shrubs between the curb and sidewalk. The long red flowers of the Love-Lies-A-Weeping plants dramatically border the street.

Another curbside garden of zinnias and coleus, two hardy plants that help the neighborhood look alive from spring through fall.

Urban gardens at end of summer and all summer long provide a comforting habitat for birds, butterflies, and all the residents of our neighborhood.

Weekend in Wisconsin

For a perfect fall-like weekend in Wisconsin, I recommend a visit to Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area where fall colors are just starting to show. This is from the Prairie Trail that leads to a wetland.


Here is a view of the wetland at Hoffman Hills.


At the cabin, three deer families stopped by to graze on clover and wildflowers that we have been seeding for the last two years. It was a treat to see them so close, just outside our windows and by the door.

We were encouraged also to see a honey bee at work on our wildflowers. There must be a honeycomb somewhere nearby.

Later we saw this young snake slither across the road.

The wetland at the south end of the property is filling in nicely with trees and brush, as the creek reclaims its banks and the beaver dam creates a pond in its center.

Labor Day Weekend 2007

This is the time for big harvests in our garden, but sometimes this summer it just felt as if the bunnies were quicker to harvest things (such as our beans) before they even started growing.


This bunny print sewed up nicely as a new apron! So appropos for this season.

Between our garden harvest and a visit to the farmers market, we cooked up a large supply of tomato sauce that will last quite a while. Fresh tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, and thyme leaves - this is what we live for all year long.

A trip to Minnehaha Falls on Labor Day presented the perfect photo opp. The falls were glorious on this day, with recent rains restoring the flow from a trickle earlier in the summer.

This statue of Minnehaha carried by Hiawatha is so sweet and stands in the creek leading to Minnehaha Falls.