Looking back I’m a bit shocked to find so many weeks have shot past since I’ve last posted anything. It wasn’t for a lack of anything worthwhile going on, but rather as one of the last few gardeners without a smartphone, I don’t have a camera handy in order to capture images of those events.

My friend Pat Karl and I, have been making weekly trips out to Hidden Lakes Gardens ( in Tipton Michigan) in order to volunteer, working in the Harper Conifer Collection, a designated reference Conifer Garden of the American Conifer Society. Most recently, there’s been small but growing number of volunteers who have joined us. They share a passion for conifers, and their efforts are making a difference. We’ve been enjoying our time there assisting with edging, weeding, pruning and mulching the beds. It’s been slow going (it is quite a large collection), but what’s been accomplished by the tireless and undermanned staff at HLG can only be called impressive, well and beautiful too. Sadly, my thoughts on those Wednesday-Workdays have been focused on the work to be done and remembering to pack the right tools needed for the day, and never a thought about a camera.

Work in my own garden has for the most part, been limited to dragging around hoses. The usual Monsoon season, that normally brings rainfall to the American Southwest (and then on to us as it moves East and North), hasn’t been making it this far (or at least not to my garden)! Additionally, the Hurricane Season which plagues the Southeast U.S. seems behind schedule as well, and that also plays a role in putting an end to our annual Summer drought. So for the most part the garden is beyond dry. Frankly, much of my garden is crispy with brown foliage.

If I limit the scope of view though, I can capture a few images that look presentable.

A number of late season flowering plants (at least in this garden) seem to take the extended dry periods all in stride. Decades ago Andrea’s mom shared seed of Nicotiana sylvestris from her garden, and it has proven to be a reliable performer here ever since.

Just like the Asters, the Anemonies have shown themselves to be equally up to the challanges of less-than-ideal growing conditions.

Hardy begonia’s have amazed me by their tolerance of droughty spells!

However it is the arrival of the late season bulbs that ( for me) signals the waning days of Summer.

The lead off to the fall bulb season, is a toss-up between the pink scilla (above) and the Cyclamen hederifolia (of which I neglected to capture a single image). I was introduced to this easy-to-please little bulb over a decade ago by my dear friend and garden mentor Dick Punnett. It does put on a good show, however it is “a good doer” aka a bit of a weed, so you’ll need to give it some room. Here it is taking over a path in the Limestone Bed, but it is rather late in the garden season, and the foliage will wither in the coming frost, by spring there’ll be no sign of it until the foliage begins to appear in mid August.

Ah but the Colchicums! They have won me over, and there’s no such thing as too many colchicums, at least not in this garden. They thrive just about anywhere I site them (except really dry spots) and unlike the autumn flowering crocuses, Colchicums are not devoured by rodents, as they are quite poisonous. These easy to please, fall flowering bulbs, seem to relish the heavy clay-loam soil that makes up most-all of my garden, but don’t seem to mind the improved drainage found in the raised beds either, again so long as it’s not too dry. In this garden, the bulbs off-set with such great abandon the off-sets “push” themselves up and out of the soil. I simply gather those heaved up bulbs, and find new spots to tuck them into the garden.

The first Colchicum to flower here is always C. agrippinum, ( another gift ) from a generous and longtime friend Bill Brown. Not only does it “open the season” but it is by far the most commented on, and requested Colchicum in the garden.

Next to appear is C. ‘Disraeli’ also a handsomely, tessellated-colchicum and good increaser. As with so many others in my collection this came to me as a gift from yet another very generous and long, long-time friend Don La Fond. Thankfully non-generous gardeners are an anathema!

Once things get started more colchicums start popping-up daily

And now (in mid September) the early season Colchicums are in full swing!

I have been spurring them on with a drink from the hose in order for a better showing at the GLC’s Open Garden & Fall Plant Sale that was I hosted this past weekend.

Good thing too, as the prolonged drought had left the garden’s floral display pretty sparse indeed!

As I feel there’s never too many Colchicums in my garden, I couldn’t pass-up this potful of beauties above. The only purchase I made at the sale, not for want of other treasures, but rather too many distractions as host!

While not a colchicum I couldn’t resist adding the first of the Sternbergia lutes to bloom. Several years ago I teased several bulbs out from an overly crowded clump of bulbs, and scattered those divisions into raised beds elsewhere in the garden. Only a few, which had benefited from my passing-by with the hose while watering new additions (such as the weeping Japanese Red Pine in the background) are blooming. All of the others have, as yet to come up due to the dryness of their sites.

As I said previously, the Colchicum season is just getting started. What with all of the species and hybrids there will more new flowers to feed the bees as well as this gardener’s heart for weeks to come.