A little bit of everything this week.

Stop and smell the roses

That is my literal plan on the morning of September 19th. Well maybe not that exact date, depending on my recovery, but a day or few after that. Actually, let’s call it no later than September 26th.

I’m finally doing it. I’ve scheduled septoplasty surgery and it will be on September 18th.

It’s been a long time coming and I’m super excited. I’m ready to be able to smell for the first time in a long time. I’m ready to be able to breathe through my nose while running. I’m ready to, fingers crossed, be able to sleep more comfortably and snore a whole lot less.

So if it all pans out, you’re going to read a lot about my enjoyment of smelling flowers for the first time.

The spit is the least of my concerns

One of the plants I’ve been touting a ton this spring/summer was this newly planted willow-leaved sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius).

I’m in love with the texture and would be happy even if it never bloomed.

But one morning this past week I noticed this all over all of the leaves.

I’d seen it before many times on other plants but never did anything about it. It never seemed to cause the plants any harm.

But this was excessive and it made me panic. So I did my research and I’m proud to say that I’m now educated on the spittlebug. And if I’m interpreting what I read accurately, there is little reason to worry about long term damage.

Bullet dodged temporarily though.

This plant has begun to flop and it hasn’t even bloomed yet. I couldn’t get a good photo of the collapse but just know it isn’t pretty.

My dreams have been crushed.

It’s getting hot in here

Contrary to what you may think, I do grow plants that one can actually eat. I have a bunch of tomato plants grown in containers on my deck where I can keep them away from the deer. While I don’t eat tomatoes (please don’t judge), my wife happily consumes them and I at least think they’re pretty.

This year I’m growing a habanero pepper that I think will be in regular rotation moving forward. It’s called Cheiro Roxa and she is beautiful.

While not exactly a chef in the kitchen, I do have plans to use these peppers to make my very first hot sauce. I’m thinking this one.

The peppers can be harvested once they transform from black/chocolate to a light pink which a few are at now.

To top it all off, the foliage of these plants is killer. Check this out.

Add this grass

I mentioned it last week and I’ll do so again.

I love Molinia (moor grass) more and more each year as they continue to mature in my garden.

This one is ‘Skyracer‘ and it’s majestic right now. This is the view off of my deck.

And from around the corner (top middle of the photo).

Am I right?

Facebook anyone?

Many of you have told me that you shun the Facebook. If you fall in that camp, please ignore the following request.

I’ve created a “John Markowski – Author” FB page and I’d love for you to throw it a “like” if you’re so inclined. You can access it here.

It’s becoming a place where I can share my non-gardening writing as I continue to pursue that option moving forward.

Thank you in advance.