The Strangeness Continues

I've been lazy. No, I mean reeeeally lazy where my garden is concerned. For the past few weeks I haven't done much more than watch it from a distance as the winds picked up and tossed all manner of garbage in it. I didn't even bother to drag out the hose and water it since we've had some rainfall. Not a lot of rain, but enough to convince me that I didn't need to exert myself. I didn't need much convincing.

Usually this time of year signals the end of the growing season. The leaves fall, the crops wither and the blooms droop and drop, but that's not what's happening this year. To be sure, all the unmistakeable signs of autumn are upon us, as I can attest to by all the leaves I swept up today. There is a little chill in the night air and the sun goes down a lot earlier than it did a few short weeks ago. But regardless of these signs, my garden shows every intention of behaving as if it is mid-season. My flowers are still blooming fiercely, as are my strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes. My cannas are standing three and four feet tall and are blooming and propagating as if it's midsummer. I'm still finding evidence of Japanese beetle grubs, something I usually only find in late spring and summer. If it were not for the many migratory birds visiting my backyard on their way to warmer climates, the season might be mistaken for early summer.

Today, in a fit of guilt, I decided to sweep the leaves out of the garden and clean up dead plants. To my surprise I discovered three more well-developed cucumbers on the vine along with a couple of tomatoes, some strawberries and lots of new blossoms. Unfortunately it is too late in the season for any new fruits to ripen so I snipped the blossoms off in order to redirect the growth hormones to the ones that were already growing.

So what's happening here? I'm not really sure but I have strange feeling that something isn't quite right. I just can't put my finger on it. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this last, brilliant show that the garden is offering up. In the cold, blustery days of winter, I'm going to call up the image of those brilliant blooms to warm my heart and fill me with the promise of spring.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva