Fluff Head Sneak

A perfect little fluff head to spread weeds in my garden beds.

Lonely Bell Pepper

I've never had much luck growing bell peppers in my garden beds, so I'll consider this solitary pepper as a victory this year!

Dahlia-Like Zinnia

This zinnia looks like a dahlia with its multi-layered bloom.

Zinnia Gone to Seed

I haven't been very good about dead-heading all the zinnias this year - here's one gone to seed.

Yellow Rose Mini

The yellow mini roses are putting on one last show for the season.

Clematis Fluffs

These spidery tufts are on the clematis vines. They replace the purple flowers seen during its height of blooming.

New Visitor to the Neighborhood Yards

I spied the roundish body and orange legs in the yard across the street and thought a duck had stopped by....a closer look proved it was a chukar. This is the first time I've seen a chukar in the neighborhood. This one wandered around several yards throughout the day on our street, pecking in flower beds.

Garden Mums

The autumn garden mums (chrysanthemums) are starting to bloom, as if "on cue" for the change in the seasons.

New "Pet"

My daughter's new "pet" - a katydid. She scooped it up and put in her bug pavilion and considers it to be quite a find.

Blue Morning Surprise

I love this electric blue morning glory "volunteer" in the tomato garden bed.

Crazy Daisy

A lonely Shasta "crazy daisy" at the end of the season.

Rose in the Changing Seasons

Looks good enough to eat. The coloring of roses change slightly for the blooms so late in the season. I think they're more intense than the spring colors.

The Purples are My Favorites

The purple roses are my favorites. They have the strongest and most interesting scents in my rose garden. This is another third-round-bloomer.

Another Sweetheart Rose - Third Bloom

This bloom is kind of spent. It's another third round bloomer this season. Sweetly scented, this is the "Princess Diana" rose.

Yellow Rose Third Bloom

After yesterday's discouraging post about the hops making a comeback, here's something I'm proud of. This is the third round of blooming for this yellow rose bush. The blooms are lightly scented and a little bit spicy.

The Hops Win...for Now

I was bound and determined this spring to not let the hops make a come back and choke anything, including me! Well, I ignored the area under the windmill for a couple of weeks and...here they are. This week's cooler weather will give me an opportunity to dig in and dig them out. Hops have caustic oils on them, so you have to wear long sleeves and gloves when pulling them out, or harvesting, or you get all rashy.

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother Would be Pleased

One of the Cinderella pumpkins (Rouge Vif E'Etampes) surrounded by culinary thyme. This is not an eating pumpkin, strictly ornamental or to be 'bibbity-bobbity-booed' into a carriage.

Late Season Black-eyed Susans

Still blooming strong as we head towards fall.

Salvia Second Bloom

This potted salvia is on its second bloom.

Zinna Pastel

One of the most dependable flowers to plant in our climate: zinnias. I like this one's pink and white mixture.

White Wave Petunia

Another wave petunia grown from seed and still healthy at the end of the season.

Cherry Wave Petunia

The wave petunias I bought at nurseries are petering out, but the ones I grew from seed are still going strong. This is a cherry wave petunia - the cherry colors were slowest to germinate.

Plethora of Pears

A bumper crop of pears this year. An Eat Boise reader tells me they are Bartlett pears. They do not ripen on the tree, they ripen weeks after harvest.

Sign of Autumn

A couple of red leaves in the maple tree and a scattering on the ground confirm that autumn is on the way.

White Cosmos

One of the many white cosmos in the garden this year.

Ugh. Earwigs.

What a terrible year for earwigs in our yard. They've been eating all kinds of plants that, according to the "experts," they're not supposed to eat. Salvia and petunias have been munched. I spied this one in a water dish and thought I'd let it drown! Later, it was gone, so I suppose it swam to the edge and escaped.

More Morning Glory Sneaks

More sneaky morning glories making themselves at home. These aren't the evil morning glory "weeds" we have around here, but they were still uninvited. They're strays from when I planted seeds on purpose in a garden bed a few years ago. Now, they pop up every year.

Ivy Geranium

An ivy geranium bloom from the hanging basket at the front entryway. I really like the dark green foliage on this geranium, and house finches were attracted to it, too. They were shopping this basket for nest-building earlier in the season.