One of the homeliest photos ever to be featured in this blog is my dug-up “vegetable patch.” On Wednesday, while out watering the garden, I removed the protective netting, mixed compost into the soil, soaked it thoroughly, and left it uncovered until next weekend, when I plan to sow lettuces and radishes. So the squirrels get to dig around to their hearts' content for a few days. I learned only recently (after years of trying to keep squirrels from unearthing newly-planted bulbs and seedlings) that they don't often eat the bulbs. They're just attracted to freshly-dug soil, because they think other squirrels have been burying nuts in it. But alas, it's only me, putting un-tasty plants in the ground. Some gardeners would consider them simply a nuisance, but I think squirrels are cute and fun to watch. I mentioned our birdfeeder in previous posts; there's also a dish which holds larger seeds and walnuts, stuck onto the back fence for the squirrels.

While I've been picking cayenne peppers all summer and early fall, the habaneros have been slower. Last week I noticed a few peppers had grown to marble-size. I hope they can become twice as big, and turn a ripe orange, before we get any frost.

Flowers that do well in the increasingly shorter days and cooler nights, including wallflowers (Erysimum), cyclamen and violas, are blooming bountifully around our yard. I'd transplanted the white cyclamen into a new pot along with a red begonia earlier this year, and am glad to have thought of combining them. The colors are striking together; and these plants don't seem to mind sharing space.

I didn't get as much planted during the main growing season as I would've liked. My morning glory, delphinium and columbine seed packets are still half-full. And I never got around to trying some of the new plants I'm interested in, such as rhododendrons or squash. There were both hits and misses with this year's experiments; I learned a lot over the past eight months of planting and nurturing, and it's not quite over yet.

I enjoy being out in the garden on these remaining warm afternoons, but am also really looking forward to spending wintery (hopefully rainy) days indoors, reading about plants and doing craft projects. It's been a long time since the sky has watered the garden for me! So it will be somewhat of a relief to switch gears from keeping plants hydrated and from taming the abundant growth of summer.