Fall additions to the garden

I planted the bed in the back yard. Here is what we get to monitor:

Hosta - City Lights

in the front, middle, and side: Liriope "Monroe White"
- 12-15" tall, blooms summer

to the left: Helleborus Brandywine "Lenten Rose"
- 18" tall, blooms early spring

in the back left and right: Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' Solomon's Seal;
- 24-30" tall, blooms mid to late spring



The Clematis went in next to the light pole.


I cleaned up the pumpkin vine which died once the pumpkins started turning orange. Now we have two great pumpkins we grew ourselves!


Here are some pics of the beds in September.

Things that will make you nuts...

I just drove between my house and a friends' to check on their cats.
I took all local roads, there was no traffic.
Google told me it would take me 15 mins, it took 25 mins.
I thought about why that might be and realized it was probably all the traffic lights that stopped me for very long durations.
So, on the way home, I timed how much of the trip was travel vs stopped as a result of lights.

40% of the time I was in the car was stationary at traffic lights.

That is a CRAZY high number, I think.

The shortest stop was 4.6 seconds, the longest was 2:35.7 (This was the light close to my community that I know is long. I stopped while it was already red, so if you catch it just turning, you wait is longer than 2.5 mins).


Traffic lights seem to me to be a huge waste of my life.
I don't understand why the U.S. transportation community is so adverse to traffic circles!

Planning for Fall - continued...

First series of Fall purchases are here.

To encourage the hummingbirds, I just bought these two Agastaches.

I'm going to plant Desert Sunrise next to the rose, just behind the downspout.

Pstessene Coronado Red will go in front of the kitchen window next to the Buddleia.

I want to put some Hollyhocks behind the Rudbeckia. I just need to figure out how to do it...
buy small plants?
start seeds in peat pots in the spring?
sow seeds now?

some research is in order.