The Beginning of the End

End of summer tasks have begun. Yesterday, while the weather was idyllic and the mosquitoes were in hiding, I dug all the amaryllis and laid them out in the sun. Today, I went back out to cut back the foliage and label them for storage in the basement and I nearly was carried away by those thirsty little buggers. Makes me wish for a hard freeze.

I left one bulb in the ground since it was in the process of blooming. 'Blossom Peacock' must think this is South Africa or something. This was the second one that bloomed in the garden this summer, and there will be yet a third one. I don't know if that one is 'Papilio' or 'Emerald' but we'll know soon enough which stripey one it is. I potted that one up and took it in the house so we can enjoy its bloom there.

I've got a number of things to do to get the garden ready for winter:

• Dig up the dahlias when they finish blooming and prepare them for storage in the basement
• Tear out the annuals after saving seed for next year
• Dig up the canna bulbs for storage
• Pot up all the brugmansias once they finish blooming (boy will THAT be a job and then I have to figure out just where I'm going to keep all of them)
• Finish bagging the extra mulch that's still sitting in a pile in the driveway turn-around
• Plant the campanula in the ground that's presently in a pot so it can get settled in by winter
• Trim off foliage from the Acidanthera THAT NEVER BLOOMED and store bulbs for the winter
• Dig up the GOBS of Caladiums for winter storage in the basement
• Get the "greenhouse in the basement" ready for the plants that will live there all winter
• Start saving milk jugs for winter sowing
• Tear annual containers apart, including flower boxes on front porch railing, and clean them up for storage
• Bring in all the concrete and composite figures for the winter
• Bring in glass hummingbird and oriole feeders
• Till the bare parts of the garden
• Prune back the clematis
• Bring in the solar fountain from the mini pond and clean the pond
• Drain, clean, store or cover the two water fountains
• Plant spring bulbs
  

. . . and probably some other things that I can't think of right now.

Where did the summer go?