First up, a look at what’s been happening around the neighborhood. Our neighbor, Jim, with whom we share a fence, hosted a wedding in August. His grandson, the bride-to-be and an army of friends worked all summer on sprucing up the place (which was already pretty pristine).
They did almost everything themselves, down to charming bouquets of home-grown flowers in canning jars on all the tables. We loaned them some of my banners for the occasion.
Across the road, Virgil planted a virtual hedge of Zinnias outside his fence. What a happy gift to all passers-by.
I’m experiencing some serious Zinnia envy. Plotting where to do something similar next summer seems like the best cure.
Zinnias are pretty upright, but wires run across the front, just in case.
One last shot, at the risk of boring you with my Zinnia fetish.
Helenium maximillianii
Back on my side of the fence, the late bloomers are putting in an appearance. I think I need to thin out the Helianthum maximilianii. They aren’t as tall as in prior years, perhaps because of crowding.
Asters ask very little to continue bulking up a little more each year.
How would you like to have dinner guests every evening? The herd has increased to about six, as far as we can tell. They drop by to feast on fallen apples and pears.
Here’s a little oddity that might work to the advantage of serious flower arrangers. A vase that was moved outside got blown over in the night. By morning the Kniphofia stems were already bending upward. I can imagine using this tendency to engineer the perfect configuration to fulfill a vision.
Zeroing in on the railing in the last photo reveals another visitor. It’s like a wildlife hotel around here. And with that, I will bid you adieu, with best wishes for a most pleasant weekend.
I have to admit, I’ve been having Zinnia envy all summer…maybe next year 🙂
Welcome to the club!
A zinnia hedge? I can’t say I’m envious, but I am suitably impressed. Love the lizard! Is it an alligator lizard or a skink? Hard to tell from the photo.
fraid I’m not up on lizard ID, but he was a cutie.
I grew Z. ‘aztec sunset’ a few years ago , such a nice mixture of midcentury brown, orange, yellows. I’ve been meaning to get those seeds again.
That sounds like a nice color mix. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that one.
Your place, and those of your neighbors, are all looking pretty nice! I have seen a zinnia crop like the one you show, and I was instantly smitten, too. And thanks for the botanical name of Helenium maximillianii – mine from you (at the swap) was my Friday surprise in the garden – it bloomed!
Always fun to hear that swapped plants are doing well in their new homes.
Living with wildlife can be a challenge but the entertainment value is wellworth it in my book.
I hope next summer will be a good one too…maybe with a little less heat.
Zinnias are the perfect cut and come again flowers. Yep, the perfect wedding setting.
I have a few zinnias but your neighbor’s zinnia hedge is a wonderful idea. Weddings! I love them. I look forward to seeing what shape you coax your Kniphofia stems to take on. My husband observed the same phenomenon with Obedient Plant.
A summer storm provided an opportunity to see that phenomenon at work on many plants that got beaten down. Once staked and tied up, they soon reverted to their upright ways.
What a sweet looking venue for the wedding, and oh, the zinnia border is fantastic. I too wish for open spaces to grow a hedge like that, to pick them at my heart’s content. I have to go to Sauvie Island to do that! Thanks for sharing, love the lizard and the horizontal vase. Sorry we didn’t get a chance to visit more at HPSO on Sat. – we were shopping pretty seriously, I suppose 🙂
I know…I kind of lost track of you after saying hello.
The zinna hedge is amazing! It looks like so many contributed in their own way to the wedding. That’s pretty cool.
Some of our neighbors are amazing…other, not so much. I guess that’s true of all neighborhoods.
Love Zinnias – the more, the better. If all the deer ate were windfalls they would cause a lot less heartburn around here.
The deer do like a little salad with their apples.