My Autumn Garden

Hey, I'll tell you what...this Picasa is AWESOME. If you haven't downloaded it yet, you don't know what you're missing. It's free, it's easy, and it's practically idiot proof, which is a good thing, in my case. ;) Plus, you can make your own lame garden look really spectacular when you collage all the good stuff together like the picture above! If you click on it, it'll enlarge, too.

My garden has been completely neglected this year. I think I weeded twice back in June. Since then--nada. I either haven't had the time, or if I've had the time, I haven't had the inclination. The flowers please me, but the weeds make me nuts. Plus, beading is much more rewarding for me--I think it's an instant gratification thing.

This morning, however, I thought I'd venture out there and see what was peeking out between the dandelion greens and clover. I found some beautiful morning glories growing up the "fence" I made this spring out of matchstick blinds and plant stakes. I found my potted sweet potato vine and coleus sitting on the bench my friend Kelly made, and even without one speck of water from me, they are thriving. I found lots of nasturtiums, which have to be my favorite annual. Their leaves look like lily-pads, and the dew on them this morning almost made me cry. My garlic chives have gone to seed, and their heads are spectacular. My snapdragons, although top-heavy and weird, are still blooming and glowing. I have a Russian sage that my father bought me two years ago in Cape Cod that I almost killed, which seems to be fighting valiantly for its life, to my great joy. I'll have to move it somewhere where it can really take off next year. Maybe I'll even water it. Hmmm. And finally, the cleome, which is attracting bees and believe it or not, hummingbirds! I couldn't believe it when I saw one on them the other day! Every time I see a hummingbird, I'm enchanted. I also have hummingbird moths that love my phlox. The first time I saw one of those, I thought it was a hummingbird, but it was brown, so I consulted some gardening friends, looked it up on the internet, and, well, there you have it.

So get out in your garden, whether you've weeded it or watered it, or not--take some really close-up pics (so as to avoid evidence of said weeds), and then make yourself a nice collage with Picasa. It's sure to impress your friends (as well as those other random strangers who may happen upon your blog.)