End Of Summer

It's the end of summer--well, almost the end. The daytime temperatures have been hovering around 100º F. but the overnight temperatures are around 72º F., cool enough to give all the plants some relief. Much is in need of trimming and shaping and the whole place needs a good blow-out and raking. Most of this will be done by a landscape maintenance crew because of the size of this place. I have to keep an eye on them as they love to go around shearing all my bushes. It's almost a compulsion for them. No matter how many times I tell crew leader, the crew, which is different each time, always has a sneaky, shear-happy individual.
The Queen's Wreath (Antigonon leptopus) has started to produce fall flowers. This variety is called Baja Red. I planted this fast-growing vine last year at this time, and it has struggled along, so it didn't grow as much as I expected. In late winter I will cut it to the ground and in spring, it will come back. Maybe next year it will really take off. This sad looking rose (Rosa 'Tiffany') is the first one in months. It's not yet cool enough for the roses to produce nice flowers. At least I hope that's the problem. It looks deformed, but I won't get worried until late October, when the temperatures are cool enough for the plant to put some energy into the flowers.
I moved my Madagascar Palm closer into the patio a month ago to protect it during a 70 MPH wind storm, and it really loves it there. This is as lush as it's been in two years. I'll need to move it back out into more light in October, but back in again when it gets too cold. At least now, I know exactly where to keep it next summer!


Every year at this time, the skies are extra blue and clear. This will last all of October and maybe into the first few weeks of November. As it cools down later in the year, we get an air inversion, causing a smoggy look to hover over the Phoenix Metro area. I live in a semi-rural area, so it's not as bad as closer into town.