Port Potager

Ok, so there are still not all that many flowers left for cutting, but at least I found a nice new way to photograph them. The vases are set up atop the closed piano keyboard. Also, check out the big daisy that rebloomed — it's the only one to do so in the perennial border, and it's a good one! Artemisia and Shasta daisy. Snapdragons. Chrysanthemums, echinacea seed heads, and marigold.

Another kinda lame Flower Friday , but I am on vacation. Instead of vases of flowers that will definitely be dead by the time we get back, here's what the cutting garden looks like in its current, pre-cut state: Here you can see short marigolds in the front, tall orange cosmos in the back, and some pink zinnias mixed in. This is from another angle: The cosmos are on the right, with zinnias in the middle and black-eyed Susans to the left. Not much going on here in the way of perennials lately, although I do have some echinacea, salvia, and veronica trying to make a go at a second flowering. I hope so — I don't think there will be much left for September and October unless I pick up some new annuals to round out the fall.

Not too much to choose from right now — just the late-summer annuals are still going strong. The marigolds and zinnias also last pretty long in the vase, so I don't need to replace the bouquets as often. That's good, since I'm busy dealing with peaches, pickles, and tomatoes right now. Zinnias and hosta leaves. Brown-eyed Susans, snapdragons, echinacea, and zinnia. Marigolds and zinnias.

Most of the perennials in the cutting beds are past their prime — or in between their first and second flushes of flower. I'm relying a lot on annuals (or snipping from the border out front for those hyrangeas) to make up the difference.   Zinnia, cosmos, and calendula. Echinacea. Hydrangea. Zinnia (in shades of pink that I actually like — not too fuchsia). Marigolds.