August 5 in 5: Dahlias and Hydrangeas

I’m cutting it pretty close to the wire to link in with Sandi’s 5 in 5 meme—taking 5 photos in 5 minutes. There’s really no excuse other than a busy schedule since the photos were taken several weeks ago. Just exactly, where has August gone? We have had the most glorious dahlias and hydrangeas this summer in our yard. The hydrangeas in the back of the house hardly flowered at all, but the smaller ones in the front have been profuse!

In addition to these beauties, we also have a hydrangea tree which has also been lovely—and a favorite place of the birds to rest between feedings at our bird feeders.

Unbeknownst to me, Tracy wintered several dahlia plants from last year. We planted them in the cutting garden without a lot of expectation, and they’ve been the showcase of the garden. This dahlia is huge! You can see the comparison with the Shasta daisies in the background.

Hard to tell from the photos, but this dahlia is half the size of the white one.

Surprisingly when I was taking the photos earlier, I never took a photo of the front yard, so I did this morning. Clearly not one of the 5 in 5. In just a few weeks, nearly all the Shasta daisies have gone to seed, and the hydrangea tree flowers are now pink rather than white. The dahlias, however, continue to bloom, and are just lovely when cut and brought inside.

Thanks, always, to Sandi for a fun photography project each month. In September, it’s likely the meme will be late again as we’ll be away for a good part of the month—but in a fun place in which to take 5 in 5. I’m contemplating traveling with just my iPad this time around, so may be off the grid for the better part of September. I’ve not tried to post from my iPad, although I know it shouldn’t be too hard to do. We’ll see just how much internet time I’m willing to spend while we’re on the road.