Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Earlier this week I went outside looking for something to bring in for a couple vases and the sedum caught my eye.

I also picked some of my Sunpatiens and dahlias. What great color! Also I had a huge surprise to find that my hibiscus was in bloom again with 8 buds, and after talking with a friend found that her plant was blooming also! Would love to hear from other gardeners of their garden surprises.

Today I’m looking out the window at the sad state of some of my beautiful annuals after two hard frosts. As soon as it warms up a bit I will be going outside to pull the last vestiges of summer. It would have been a difficult task a couple days ago when they were still in their glory, but not such a grim task today. They will contribute to my huge compost pile along with leaves, grass clippings and garden refuge. My husband is most anxious to turn this compost pile over but had to wait until this week for the over 40 volunteer butternut squash to ripen. (Later in the day this is what my compost pile looked like.)