Decadence and decay

The end of September is a time of decadence and decay in my garden. The blowzy spent flowers and drying leaves give way to fruits and seeds. There is a last, all-or-nothing fight to procreate that belies the already-plump seedpods. Perennials that have all but collapsed under their own leggy weight have eeked out another bud or two to tempt the autumn bees. Spiders grow fat and lazy in dinnerplate webs and tiny clumps of sunflower shoots begin to appear where squirrels and chipmunks thought they would be safe.

It's messy and tangled like an old woman whose hose are wrinkled and slip is showing. Whose unkempt hair and wrinkled face remind us of what is yet to come. Instead, I like to look at the garden these evenings and remember what has been achieved. It lends a little grandeur to the sloppiness.

The above photo is NOT from my garden. It is from My Wildlife Friendly Garden. Although it looks remarkably similar to the disarray in mine right now.