I don’t know about you, but I’m loving that chill in the air…sweater weather is on the way.
What can we say about the “Summer of ’26”? Hmmm. I don’t really want to start a new season of blogging being negative, but…was there really a summer? There were days and days of grey, cloudy skies, rain and more rain, hail, scary storms, destructive winds, broken branches, and swarms upon swarms of mosquitoes.
***I know I should be grateful for the much needed moisture and deep down, I am. Although it came in torrents, it didn’t cause destructive flooding. And we’ve been fortunate to have had no forest fires when so many have lost so much.
Our summer season is short, meaning that gardening in our zone is counted in weeks, not months. All I can say about my garden this summer is that it’s green, overgrown and loaded with weeds. As I go through photos on my phone, I see very few are of my garden. And for good reason. Without sun, the roses stems have grown long and gangly with few blooms, the peonies bloomed very late and for a scant few weeks, and the hydrangea blooms are a fraction of the size they normally are. The ferns are wind-whipped, brown and broken, and the hosta leaves are shredded. I’m ready to cut everything back.
I hope your summer was brighter (no doom and gloom). The leaves are just starting to turn and the odd one is falling…we can look forward to a new season.
xox Judy❤️
So happy you are back Judy!
My exact sentiments about this “summer.” I wanted to chop down all my greenery after the hail storm, but knew the leaves, even though shredded, were necessary to absorb nutrients for next summer. At least we were not alone, if you live in Edmonton, and I have never seen my lawn so green.
Next to Summer, my favorite Season is Christmas, and I am already looking forward to what will be new in decor. I hope you will post what the 2026 Christmas decor trends will be. Not that I follow trends closely, but new ideas are always nice to see and incorporate a bit.
PS. Have you had a Better Baker croissant yet? ❤️🥐
Hi Karen, it’s good to hear from you too! You are so right about the leaves needing to absorb energy for next year…let’s hope for lots of sun in the coming weeks. It’s sad that we haven’t even finished with this summer and are already planning for next year. Christmas is not far off and it’s never too early to plan for the festive season. Although I haven’t seen much in the way for coming holiday trends, I’m guessing it will incorporate all the cozy, comfy vibes. Cocooning seems to be the buzz word for fall, hardly breaking news! And no, I haven’t even heard of Better Baker. I’ll have to check that out. xox Judy❤️
I totally agree Judy, this was not our best summer for gardens! I think the last two weeks in August were the summer we never had, however it was abruptly cut short with the arrival of September! Such a sharp contrast, this seems like October…hope we’re not in for a long winter…lovely to have you back!
Catherine
x
Hi Catherine, it’s so interesting how the weather shifts from summer to fall as soon as we flip the calendar from August to September. It’s like the beginning of a new year. It should encourage everyone to start to bundle up which may be a good thing. Enjoy the autumn leaves as they turn and start to fall. xox Judy❤️
Hi Judy and it’s so nice to see you back! It really HAS been a weird summer. I feel like we just got started and now we’re coming to the end. My vegetable garden was the worst it’s ever been because of the amount of rain. My flower garden had a late start also due to the heavy amount of rain and was just starting to look a bit better when it was obliterated by that awful storm. We still had hail in our garden 2 days later. We had really bad flooding in our basement and, although we’ve ripped out all the carpet and gotten rid of most of the ruined items, we are still sifting though things and realizing how badly it hit us. I’m looking on the positive side though and glad that we had much better air quality this summer compared to the last few. Hopefully, we have a mild autumn and winter to make up for it! I must admit that I’m enjoying the “sweater weather” and that little bite in the air in the morning! Enjoy these fall days! Hugs, Karen xo🥰
Hi Karen, it sounds like the stormy weather at your house was worse than mine, and I’m so sorry to hear about your flooded basement. That happened to us during the “storm of the century” in 2004 and it took months before we got that all resolved. I remembering hauling up rolls of berber carpet from the basement that was heavy with water and the smell…unbearable! We can only hope for clear skies and warm temperatures in the next few months just in time to put our gardens to bed before winter! xoxJudy❤️