I have still

not been out in the garden much. Pulled some weeds around the front walk and the front bed, that's about it. Here's a small report: my milkweeds are still tall and untouched. I did see one swallowtail in the yard the other day, and a goldfinch on the echinacea. The joe pye on the smaller sideyard are towering tall and lovely, but I haven't noticed any of those blue-winged wasps. My cardinal climber is pretty all over the deck railings, and I have to pinch off new runners daily to keep it tidy- but there's very few flowers. Because I planted it so late? I have not seen the hummingbird much (though it did come a few times to the geraniums outside the kitchen window, which was delightful. I hear the cicadas- they're not nearly as loud and annoying as previous years- but haven't found one up close for a picture yet. Borage came and went around the mailbox spot with only some aphid damage, I never saw a single japanese beetle- though I did find one on the catmint in the backyard. Only one! (Promptly squished). I pulled out all the fading stems to let the self-seeded celosia there grow in- but again, late in the season so I doubt there will be any spectacular flowers. Likewise my cana lilies are getting bigger! but I don't see any sign of bloom. 

I'm still quite pleased with the late boneset in the rear by the camellia, really want to get an earlier-blooming common one too. There's two butternut squash getting fat and tan in garden bed nine, I can't think what else they might be. Weeds are getting ahead of me in the lawn and fallow beds, all I have done is make sure to put the catcher bag on the mower when I see them seeding. I did some work on the smaller sideyard to pull out mock strawberry and vinca runners, and some weeding in the bed where the panicle hydrangeas are, and got most of the creeping jenny out too. 

On the deck, most things are doing okay, though my basil and chocolate mint are more bothered by aphids than usual. (I haven't been throwing soapy water over them as often as I should). The fenugreek was lovely for a while, especially the scent when I ran my fingers up it- but now it is faded and gone.

Thyme got big enough to eat a few times (in lentils, on fish, in chili and soups etc) 

Dill is all gone to seed and I pulled out most of the dried stalks. Scattered some randomly into the garden beds because I didn't feel like walking out to the compost bin, and now there's dill seedlings popping up all over. Which I like. I've cut summery savory to dry, and next will be tarragon. We've eaten more of the sculpit but that wasn't the best idea- the flavor was very strong (not quite bitter) and it caused some digestive upset. I think because of the heat, too far gone in the season and already flowering. So now I am just cutting it back to keep from encroaching into space of the tarragon, winter savory and lemon balm.

My little experiment with kidney beans is a fail. We have not yet got the fence built, and the deer eat every leaf off the plants. If I remember to scatter hair and/or irish spring soap shavings, they stay away for a few days but then come right back. Or maybe they are staying away until the plant regrows enough leaves to feed them again. 

I've been cutting back and pulling out yellow salvia from under the panicle hydrangeas, that bed just looks too cluttered and untidy now. And I'd rather see the pink turtleheads (deer are eating the buds off those too) and wild chrysanthemum- which grew much thicker this year and even has a few little offshoots. I'm thinking of digging up and replanting some of that into the front bed. The deer don't seem to touch it, whereas they've eaten the heads off most of my 'autumn joy' sedum this year. This chrysanthemum will bloom late in the year when not much else is . . . 

So that's very rambling but I will try to get more active in the garden, and keep up with posting here too. I'm starting to finally get my energy back and do more than just the bare minimum of housework and my usual tasks indoors- need to do some outdoors now too!