It's SPRING! And I have zone envy, too. Bill, your photos are wonderful and tempt me to move further south. NHbabs, love the stones and bleeding heart. Mine are in a shady area so I don't think they are as far along as yours. I love forget-me-nots when they bloom but then they get tall and unsightly looking. Should i just clip them? After an internet hunt for Black Chokeberry, we found a nice though small selection at Scenic Nursery in Raymond NH but they were already 6' tall. I wanted something next to a spreading cottoneaster that wouldn't get any taller than 6' and preferable stay shorter. These didn't look like could be pruned back much. Should you check out this nursery, it's in a delightful spot tucked next to a river, be warned that they are not open on Saturdays. I thought their shrub prices were reasonable. I ended up with Halo Dogwood. Our house is white so I think the red stems will look nice in winter and provide some perches for the birds we like to watch/feed. I keep meaning to take photos of my garden. After watching for bloodroot by the side of the road, I discovered I had some in my garden. I must have gotten it at last year's plant swap and it's very happy in my garden (soil on the moist side). The wonderful Viburnum Onandago that had to be moved away from the house was moved to my future wild life sanctuary. The viburnum kept getting taller, even after pruning (I waited a year too long) and was at least 9 feet tall. The pruning caused it to spread, I think. Fortunately, my husband has a backhoe. We only lost a couple of branches. I know this area of our property can be wet but it's wetter than I expected. The next day any holes left from backfilling were filled with water. A wonderful dark purple leafed perennial that doesn't bloom until late summer appears to be invasive. I don't want to remove it entirely but maybe it should be someplace else. It is Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker' (Hairy loosestrife) . Does anyone have experience with this plant and a recommendation about whether or not a should remove it from a medium size bed (about 15' x 4').

Greenhaven, I'm so glad you posted pictures. Welcome! You've really done a tremendous job in a short period of time. How lucky to have all that ledge and the way you've incorporated the gardens is really great. It all looks quite natural. PL, Love those sunflowers! I've tried them from seed before a handful of times, but as soon as I get them planted the chipmunks come along and dig them up while mocking me. Jewel weed brings me back to nature walks with my mom. Used to use it on poison ivy. I always thought it was a great cure, but as I got older I realized I'm not allergic to poison ivy, so I'm not sure if my "tests" as a child were valid! It looks great in such a mass like that. I guess I made it just in the nick of time to post for August. Hard to believe tomorrow is September. I know there was some talk in another thread about the smaller butterfly bushes. They're kind of hard to photograph, but I have three in a row forming a bit of a hedge and I really like the way they bloom later. There was also a discussion about heptacodium on another thread where everyone said it would break and most were unhappy with it. That really changed the way I'm treating this shrub/tree. I was planning on limbing it up into a tree, but after reading everyone's experiences I've decided to leave it more as a very large shrub, or at least a non-limbed up tree. The hibiscus are in bloom now on the other side of the fence. Those will stay when we get our new fence later this fall. I've never done annual asters before, but this middle bed of the veggie garden starts as lettuce and once the crop is done I let the nasturtium take over. I threw in some annual asters and I have to say I really like them a lot. One of the back beds with zinnias still going. Another bed back there. Holy cow! The bees are insane with the turtlehead and anemone blooming. Interestingly, the bees swarm to the barely open anemone flowers with 5 or 6 of them all huddled and fighting for space. The open flowers are not touched. The lespedeeza is starting its show. I do wish the clethra would bloom just a tad later so the white would be blooming with the pink. Here's a closer shot of one of the back beds. There's a carpet rose blooming in the bed behind the butterfly bushes. I like the peach and blue combo with the physocarpos mixed in for good measure. Love the fairy rose that comes back strong while so many other plants are withering in the heat! The front slope is filled in with all the colorful shrubs. Lobelia and caryopteris. I put them together because the caryopteris can hold up the lobelia when it flops. Cottage garden gone wild! I really, really, really love amsonia hubrichtii. I'll post this picture again when the amsonia and the climbing hydrangea both turn glowing yellow. Ironweed is great this time of year. Okay, okay, I'll stop! LOL! I get carried away. There is so much going on in the garden now and so much more to come. Such a great time of year.

On this muggy day it is much nicer to be in your gardens instead of mine! Love all the photos. My planters are looking ratty but I know it's because I haven't kept up with fertilizing. There are annuals planted every year by Blackwater Nursery folks at the junction of Rt 3/4 in Boscawen and it all looks gorgeous. 603, the yellow squash and red kuri look beautiful! nhbabs, that field must be well fertilized. I think that's the tallest corn I've ever seen. I have noticed the small birds seem to be flocking in our yard and going after seeds. I want to cut off the pink tall phlox in the circle bed because it's not supposed to be there, only white, so I don't want any pink seedlings. Of course, now that I'm thinking about it ... maybe the white phlox will have pink seedlings because the pink pollinated it. Rats, didn't think of that before. The pink phlox I planted is about 50 yards away. Usually I have some red peppers by now, at least the Italian kind but nada so far although pepper production has been great. I think cool nights have been a problem. The ones doing best are in the high tunnel with the sides rolled up. With just the plastic roof and back wall (front has a double door that is left open all season) it gets over 100 on a sunny day. Never got any green beans planted except for the ones that didn't germinated (seed too old or maybe not enough water) but the yellow wax were great. Plenty of beets and carrots to pull. Yanked out a cluster of shallots. Planted Moose's Tubers storage potato sampler this year and had a very nice meal of Peter Wilcox/Blue Gold. I did fingerlings last year but only grew one variety this year. A red skinned variety did very well in the high tunnel for some extra early potatoes but I just did two 3' rows. Need more veggie space next year so have added length to a couple of beds, just another three feet using the lasagna method of piling up grass cuttings, old pea vines, kitchen scraps, etc. We don't use a rototiller. Put three mums in planters this week. Alas, fall is coming.

pixie_lou: Nice job on the hardscaping in the front of the house - have you decided what you want to plant in that big empty space on the left? nhbabs: Gorgeous pictures! I love the muted colors, particularly the delicate pinks and the morning mist view. Nothing very dramatic here for the end of September - lots of berries and grasses and goldenrod. The cotoneaster along the wall: Volunteer crabapple fruits: Winterberry with Euonymus 'Silver King': Winterberry with Osmanthus 'Goshiki': Miscanthus 'Cosmopolitan' is beginning to bloom, but the seedheads aren't all fluffy yet: About half of the seedheads are open. The birds are finding them. The old forsythia leaves are turning red: The path to the house is getting wilder: The wisteria pseudo-standard keeps trying to extend its reach and I keep cutting it back. I usually leave some vines in the skirt if they're not a tripping hazard. You can't really see them in the previous picture, but the three big Blushing Knockout roses are blooming. Not a huge flush but still pleasing. Sedums with Juniper 'Grey Owl': A few plants are still green. Maybe it's because of the shade but the slugs haven't bothered these. Hosta 'Paul's Glory' with variegated Solomon's Seal: and Hosta 'Northern Exposure': Claire This post was edited by claire on Mon, Sep 29, 14 at 12:41