The Leaves That Are Green Turn to Brown

Cottonwood leaf on young tree in back yard-early sign of season to come.

OK, it’s a bit early for those Simon & Garfunkel lyrics, fall isn’t here at all, yet.

But, as I noted on my bike blog, high summer, a dryer, less lush season is here, signs that Iowa vegetation is getting ready for the long sleep ahead. Trees aren’t putting on growth spurts anymore, they’re socking away sugar in their roots. Grass and other plants are drying out and seeding. Plenty of flowers are still abloom, but they’re the persistent late season flowers.

In my gardens, some roses are in “second spring,” the post-Japanese beetle bloom which is nice just because those beetles are hell on roses. The Rose of Sharon, one of the later hibiscus plants, is finally in bloom.

Rose of Sharon, late blooming hibiscus

No sign of mums yet, and I’m not sure there will be many. They are perennial, but don’t seem long lived, and are tasty to rabbits.

Well, what can I say? I feel both happy and melancholy that school is so close. All that I was to do this summer has come down to one week when only a percent of it will get done. Yet, it’s always fun to see the students again and to meet new ones.

Ying and yang. Simon & Garfunkel. Hello, hello, hello, hello. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. That’s all there is. And the leaves that are green turn to brown.

Hibiscus in back yard near cottonwood tree

Rose in front garden in "second bloom" has lots of buds

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