Waning, tilting and glowing

 

I'm showing you only the best bits of the beds & borders near my home and completely skipping over my own garden. The kindest thing I can say about my balcony is that it's in transition. The plain truth: it's dry, brown, messy, drooping, wilting and waning. It's still edible, though, but would satisfy only the smallest appetite with one or two ripe cherry tomatoes every morning and a few eggplants and peppers slowly expanding in length and girth. I'm noticing subtle changes in colour and light, too, as the sun follows a lower path across the sky and now brightens the back corners of the balcony. My favourite color-and-light times are late morning and afternoon when the heuchera glows burgandy.

Last Saturday morning, which was still August and still technically summer, the light and the air evoked a feeling of "tilting toward autumn", a reflective state-of-mind-and-spirit, a mix of wistful, hopeful and nostalgic.  (Thank you, Lucy, for inspiring the "tilting" phrase and perspective with this recent, gorgeous post.)  Many, including myself, think of September as a second new year and a time for a fresh start.

But before I can start fresh, I need to clear some interior and exterior space. So this Labour Day weekend I will be on the balcony, restoring it to order, openness and life. Fern's excellent posts on end of summer tips and fall vegetables for container gardeners will guide my to-do and to-plant lists. I'm also going to go treasure-hunting near the recycling bins for one of these.

I'd love to hear your goals and plans for the new gardening season, which may be fall or spring depending on the hemisphere you call home.