So I guess it's Fall...

I've been in denial. There's no school year for my children yet, given their young age, and a stretch of cold days has been followed by HOT, and the calendar doesn't say Fall until the last half of September, but given that only Fall flowers are in bloom, and the past few nights have been in the 40s, and the foliage of my beautiful Spring flowers is starting to look like it's seen better days, I guess it's time to say it: summer is really ending, and Fall is arriving.

I don't know why I'm so pessimistic about it this year, as if there won't be many beautiful weather days to enjoy still before winter comes, but it is a little disappointing to feel the lack of all the super fun summer activities we didn't enjoy because, you know, young kids and going potty and changing diapers and sitting down in front of peanut butter sandwiches really does consume 99% of your "free" time in a day! 

I'm so excited that Mike found time to work on my front planter this afternoon. I love seeing progress! Hopefully I will have nice "after" photos in the near future! 

Otherwise, here's my perennial bed:

I got to spend a little time cleaning up spent plants and spreading some fresh mulch after I took these pics. So fun! Now, need to make some plans for expansion of my landscaping....

Mountain of mulch

A few days ago, my 3-year-old and I had a blast moving wood chips to the back planter.  Yard work is really fun for me, and I'm constantly working toward the goal of my outdoor areas looking cared for and attractive. Being in an environment like that makes me feel like I'm on vacation while at home! Currently, most areas around the house are full of big, yucky WEEDS. But that's okay, because once Mike gets around to moving rock mulch and building planting beds, we will be able to mulch and plant those areas and they will look nice. These things just take time. 

We were so blessed to obtain all this FREE wood mulch. It's good stuff, too! The trick is following the sound of the wood chipper in your neighborhood, and asking the wood-chipping company to drop the mulch in your yard instead of a landfill. Or having nice neighbors that will convince them for you. Mike used both strategies to obtain the impressive pile above, which would have been a few hundred to purchase. 

Once we get some of the areas around the house ready for planting, I can put in plants like this fountain grass that I have in a planter of annuals this summer:

Below is our freshly stained deck-- such an improvement!

And the beds around it that are now nicely mulched:

 

 

I know the pictures aren't that interesting, but I need them for reference when deciding what to plant next year. I have a couple perennial fruits here (a grape and a raspberry), and I'm planning to continue some annual vegetable and herbs so that I have easy access to them when cooking. Because when you're in the middle of watching small children and working in the kitchen, walking an extra 50 feet out to the garden really is too cumbersome!

A couple more updates:

Mike mowing his garden aisles- he had to get a new push mower because the old one broke, and in the meantime things got a little out of hand (as bountiful gardens usually do by the time August hits!):

 

 

 

And my delightful little perennial garden. My mum has tiny buds that are looking to bloom. The coneflowers are very short but still flowering. And I found another heuchera and a couple asters to add. Now I'm looking to expand the bed to other areas in front of the house.

Tonight we went for a walk and the weather was absolutely perfect. Warm evenings after hot days are the best. Right now, I would be happy if summer lasted forever!