The family's focus is coming around to preparations for school, and I can't help looking back over this growing season with a feeling of disappointment. I've certainly had better summers, gardenwise and otherwise. I've learned to appreciate my huge clump of deformed Rudbeckia: from a distance, one can still appreciate some color. Blueberries are doing extremely well, but I think I had a blueberry tummy last night. After dinner, I forage among them like a big old bear.
The hugest disappointment this year has been the devastated E. pupurea and Rudbeckia. I guess they all have to come out. But there were others: The chrysanthemum "Clara Curtis" is supposed to be pink, but the flowers look weird and are actually gray, I kid you not. Rabbits decapitated all the parsley sown this year, but ignored the 2 year old plants. The ground cover experiment in my worst problem area has largely failed. I'm trying Euonymous now, even though I hate it.
What has done well: Asiatic lilies, blueberries, larkspur, peonies, most of the old reliables like coreopsis, Agastache, sage and iris. When I think back to spring I remember the daffodils and Dutch iris did make a lovely show. The spring garden definitely out-performed the summer this year.
Taking stock
I thought it was just me. I have never had such sad looking flowers. Guess I will just look forward to next spring and summer.