September Arrives

September arrived today, ready or not! And with its arrival the dahlia patch in the big garden is set to explode with color. Almost all the plants have a few blooms now and most are loaded with buds. With the overcast, cooler weather this week the bloom color is fantastic.

I do know however, that Monday's heavy rain will soon germinate a million weed seeds. Soon my perfectly weeded garden will be a mess! It was lovely while it lasted.

"Tioga Autumn" a laciniated B sized dahlia in a light blend of yellow and dark pink.

I found this bumblebee asleep in an immature bloom of "Lakeview Glow".

An old favorite of mine - "Camano Sitka" a B sized incurved cactus form in a light bend of bronze and yellow.

So much potential in this bud of "Creekside Volcano". I haven't had one of this variety open yet, so I am anxious to see if it is as pretty in person as it was in the catalog!

"Carmen Bunkey" a dark pink waterlily form. Another new variety for me this year.

There is a lot more going on in the big garden right now than just dahlias blooming. My poor, late planted "Chimimen " winter squash has finally set its first fruit. It is only about 2 inches long!

And the "Canoe Creek Colossal" cantaloupe are setting fruit like crazy these last 10 days. This is the biggest - again about 2 inches long. We better have a warm, dry September!

The "Bingo" pole beans are continuing to set. These were the biggest beans I found and they are starting to turn a very attractive mottled color.

On the other side if the dahlias the tomatoes are doing well. This is a truss of yellow "Taxi".

The "Hutterite Soup" bush beans look great too. But they will also need lots of sunny dry weather to make it to maturity.

My "Persian Carpet" Zinnias are starting to bloom now. This mix has such beautiful, miniature blooms. This one has a maroon center tipped in vanilla.

Another bloom in the mix - a red and orange center tipped in yellow.

On my way home the clouds departed and the sun came back out just as it set over the hill. Our three days of rain and cooler weather seem to be over. Tomorrow's forecast is for sun and the high 80s again.