Hello, friend! Welcome! Here we are mid-August and I just can’t believe how fast the month is already going. Before we know it, September will be here and what I call “the transition month” will bring with it those little changes auguring the arrival of fall. Here in Minnesota, the morning have started to chill into the mid-50s already. But for now, we continue to embrace however long summer lasts, especially in the garden.

My garden is still a hot mess. Recovery from the gallbladder surgery is going well. Aside from a little bit of exhaustion when I walk for a bit too long or try to do a little too much, I am good. Thank God, my system seems to be handling living without an organ, well for now. I continue to be even more careful about what I eat. This is one situation where I am having to be very in tune with my body and the signals it is sending. What this all means is that I still have not been able to do much in the jungle that is the little garden now…and it is driving me crazy. So much to do there.

The garden is a mess and right now the garden is not as vibrant as it was last month, but the late summer flowers are putting on a show right now. So let’s start with this month’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day hosted by May Dream Gardens on the 15th of every month.

This year the triumph for me as a gardener are the dahlias. I’ve grown dahlias since I started gardening, then three years ago, I start having a “black thumb” with them. From mosaic virus to rot from too much rain, I just could not keep them. This year I decided to give it one more go, and because I did not want to get my heart broken, I really have not done much with them. And here we are! My gardener’s heart is full of joy. Isn’t it crazy the things that make us happy? :) This beauty is Kogana Fubuki, a decorative dahlia that I grew for the first time five years ago. I love the petals and —how in true dahlias fashion— the more you prune cut the flowers, the more it flowers.

I always know when September is approaching by the initial blooms of the New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae). I love it when it is in full bloom, as it is pollinator central in the garden. I have counted up to 11 monarch butterflies and 6 bumble bees at one time in the aster, making for quite a show!

Another harbinger of September’s approach in my hardiness zone is the appearance of Black-Eyes Susan (Rudbeckia Hirta). This favorite in the garden is always showy, which attracts butterflies all the time.

This year I planted many different varieties of cosmos because I just love them and how they keep the flowering season going for longer than most flowers in my garden. When you look at them, nature (and the breeders) are pretty amazing— from fuzzy fluffly ones to delicate single petals, they are a fun flower to have in the garden.

Unfortunately for us, living close to farm land, they are prone to pests. Cosmos represent the eternal conundrum of fighting destructive insects— destructive insects are attracted to them, but so are pollinators and good insects looking to eat the bad ones. So, do you spray something (even if its labeled organic, it makes me cautious), or do you continue to let nature do it’s thing? I always think of how hard I tried to bring pollinators into my garden, and so the conundrum. So for now I enjoy for however many hours they are pristine before they get eaten.

Another popular attraction in the garden it is the Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia). This was its second year in the garden and was slow to flower after the winter. However, now that it got going, it is looking and smelling amazing!

Moving to the front of the house and the porch, the roses are not blooming a lot, as they are preparing for the September flush, but there are still a few rose blooms here and there, especially in Imogen and Roald Dahl— my two workhorse roses. I have to say, that this year, the roses have been super high maintenance due to sawfly larvae damage on the leaves. It has just been brutal. But I still love them and will continue to grow them. :)

Two new additions this year are pigmy Japanese Maples. These are my favorite tree, but because of our hardiness zone, they have to be overwinterized insidoors. Thus why I am going with pigmy varieties. The first photo is Acer palmatum 'Waterfall' Japanese Maple which will turn a beautiful bright orange in the fall and the second one is Acer palmatum 'Orangeola' Japanese Maple which will turn deep red. I got them both online because they are not even sold in nurseries around where I live.

A little story on these two trees. They were shipped with great care, but it so happens that it was during the very hot spell we had in June. So the Orangeola tree (below) did not fare well— I am talking, all the leaves were dried and had fallen. I contacted the store, and they wanted me to try a little experiment. Treat the tree with SuperThrive, a vitamin that they recommend customers use anyway for the stress of shipping. So, for 12 days I treated this tree and look at it now! It is thriving! I am so happy!

And that is all for what is blooming in my area! Heading now to May Come Gardens to see what else is flowering around the world. Couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend a quiet Sunday!

Other wonderful link-ups you may find me: Inspire Me Monday In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, Nature Notes, Wonderful Wednesday Blog-Hop, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Garden Affair, Love Your Creativity Link-Party, Thursday Favorite Things, Floral Friday Fotos, Farmhouse Friday, Pink Saturday,