As a beginning....I marked the things that I did want to keep there..... the PRIMULAS from my sister's garden, the CORAL BELLS, the HOSTAS, and WILD GINGER. Also staying are a few of the FERNS and LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY, and the MEADOW SWEET and small yellow FOXGLOVES. The LILIES have all been moved to another bed where they will get more sun and hopefully that chipmunk will not dig them all up. During the digging, I uncovered the round tubes that I originally meant to hold a stepping stone, and they came out. I divided the hostas to make a row down the center of the bed and arranged the lower growing things mmore toward the sides. It will look ever so much better now and give the hostas more room to shine.

The other gardens have had a renovation as well, with so much overgrowth removed. The DAFF bulbs had become too crowded and I've taken most of them out to be planted later in the fall. Most of the IRIS has gone as well since it spreads so fast, and I can get away with fewer plants for a couple of years.

I found a small white spider on the pink echinacea that had a stripe on either side of its body the same color as the petals. How pretty.!! Down in the other flower bed a white zig-zag in mid air caught my eye and I saw that it was in the center of a web strung between two columbine seed heads. The owner of that web is a very handsome large black and yellow spider with long striped legs. No idea what kind he is , but he is very interesting and I have never seen a decorated web beore. I suppose the zig-zag design has a purpose..... perhaps to attract larger bugs.

I made an attempt to clip the two columnar junipers and made a bit of a mess of one. The central leader has split and I had to chose one to be the main one and clip the other off. The shrub is a little lopsided at the moment , but I hope it will sort itself out by the end of the summer. Next year I shall set about clipping them into a spiral. They are about as tall as I want them to be now.....slightly taller than the fountain, but still within reach of my clippers.

The PHLOX is doing well as usual and again this year I have been lucky not to have mildew on the leaves. The HOLLYHOCKS are almost finished and can be cut back in a couple of weeks. I moved the POPPIES to the back of the bed that I put the LILIES in and they may take another year to recover. They don't like to be transplanted. They bloom first and then the LILIES, so the browning leaves will be hidden. Still no sign of buds on that cane rose and perhaps I shall not get anything there. Maybe next year. If not....it comes out.

The apples that began so well have not finished up well. They have mostly fallen which means that they are wormy and not worth eating anyway. I know that tree should come down bit it is the only bit of shade in a very sunny corner and even if the apples are no good the tree is pretty and brings birds to the window.

We are in the process of taking down or having taken away, the three bulidings on the south side of the lot. We will then put up one new garage to take the place of the three and tidy things up considerably.The added space is very nice and gives a better view of the lake. A new garden???? It is tempting but I know that I have my hands full with the ones I have now and another would be too much. Possibly I can use large planters at the doors of this new building and if we do put in a small screened patio in front of it there will be room there for planters. That might be a better way to go than another garden. It is tempting though.

The great good news, is that we have been able to salvage all the windows and doors from the cottage and they will be repaired and painted and turned into a lovely greenhouse for me next year. I cannot wait til we can start it. I plan to keep all the things in there that I cannot grow well now, like tomatoes and peppers and the vegies that love heat. It is just too windy and cool here for them to do well in the garden proper and then, there is the problem with chipmunks and racoons. Those fellows are assured that I am planting these things especially for them and if I don't get the miniature tomatoes before they are quite ripe, they aren't there to pick, and someone has had a feast in the night.

Hopefully, there will also be room beside the doors for a large cold frame to put in things like lettuce and carrots. There are enough windows to be able to cover the cold frame and keep these vegies safe from bunnies and whatever it was that ate them to the ground this year. Next year looks very interesting as far as the garden is concerned.

The leaves have yet to be raked up and put on the beds for mulch, but that will wait untill they are ALL off the trees. We have had rain and high winds for most of the week so there are not too many left to fall. I see that the WHITE PINE near the road has dropped its needles for the fall and I will rake them up and put them on one of the beds as well. They make a good mulch and do not blow away as the leaves sometimes do. The bed I tried that way this year needed very little weeding as well and the needles kept their color. That was a nice bonus.

I have cut down almost all of the HOLLYHOCKS and taken them to the compost pile. They do break down eventually and I now just put all the big garden stuff in a pile that does not need to do anything for awhile. I can get some good soil by digging underneath the pile as it breaks down. The smaller composting things from the kitchen go into the regular bins and I continue to use them over the winter. It usually takes a couple of years to fill those ones up so there is lots of room.