Sunflower August on the Niagara Stone Road

Wake Up on the Bright Side  I stopped at the Jams and Jellies stall on the Niagara Stone Road this week.  The stand has been there since I can remember.  I stopped this time to take pictures of the row of sunflowers.  I was rewarded with quince, rose hip and 'almond fruit' jam.  So many unusual varieties.  You can find out about John Wiens - the "jam man" here.  He's in his 80's now, and still cooking jam.

Grimsby Gardens - Beautiful August Gardens

I wonder why there aren't garden tours in August.  There certainly are beautiful gardens.  This one is in Grimsby and has a wonderful display right now.  We see red Crocosmia, yellow Rubeckias, pink Echinaceae, and the soon-to-flower Sedum.  The wonderful architecture of the house and the pretty metal gate are the perfect setting for this beautifully designed display. 

So this garden tells us that August is a perfect garden month.  Besides the beautiful flowers in the garden, we might plant Day lilies and Hydrangeas.  They are perfect right now.  If you enjoy the Oriential Lilies, they scent the air and fill the garden with their large blooms in bright colours.  There's a beautiful array of yellow and gold in August - Helianthus, Helenium, Coreopsis, Yarrow and Rudbeckias.  There's a lot of  pinks, whites and lavenders with Phlox.  So there is a lot of floral colour in the garden in August.  

Usually, though, we have a bit of brown in our lawns.  This is not the case this year.  Everything is perfectly green.  It would be a great year for an August garden walk.