the season of spent

My garden is spent. The coneflowers, phlox, daisies and black-eyed susans are still blooming. The Japanese Anemones are starting to open up. The white flowers of the big green hostas are opening.

But lots of stuff is tired, through blooming, ready to be cleaned up, cut back. There's weeding to be done. And I suppose this is the moment of garden malaise. Can we call it that? Call for a season change. It was 60 degrees this morning -- it got hot later in the day -- and for the moment, it felt like the beginnings of early fall. We must wait for that. It is still August.

This is the exact time one should divide bearded irises, by the way. All other plant moving around should wait till the temps are cooler and heat stress is not a possibility.