Not much seemed to be blooming, but I was wrong.
Not much seemed to be blooming for this August Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, but there were more meadow flowers for pollinators than I first thought.
All the usual suspects
Many of Bloom Day’s usual suspects like tall garden phlox are in flower as the summer garden waits for fall. A lot of rain fell in July–in the last 60 days, 9.84 inches–and the grass remains green. I don’t water most of the upper and lower pastures. I do water sections of the upper pasture meadow.
The field runs beneath the trees and up by the road. 
New septic field lies across the lower pasture. 
New septic field laid next to green she shed. 
New septic tanks installed this summer. It’s been quite the summer for home repairs.
We had some work done.
As you can see from the photo above, we had some work done in the lower pasture right next to the bees. Our septic system failed after forty years, and we had new lateral lines laid. It was quite the process. I should have taken more photos of the process, but in the space that was overturned, I’m going to plant clover for the bees. I bought a bee clover mix from Deer Creek Seeds. The clover may make a funny stripe in front of the hives, but the bees will appreciate it. We don’t have horses anymore so the Alsike white clover won’t hurt anything.
I do have some Dutch clover that naturally occurs in some of our pasture grass, and we’ve let it grow, but this will help make more honey. It’s all about the pollinators at our Little Cedar Garden these days.
The mini meadow continues.
The mini meadow is pretty even though it is quickly going to seed. Gaillardia and Mexican hat are still going strong, and I’m collecting seed for the upper meadow.
Zinnias and tropical milkweed for Monarch butterflies. My zinnias have a lot of mildew because of all the humidity from the abundant rain this year. 
Gaillardia is blooming its fool head off in the mini meadow. 
Gaillardia quickly going to seed. 
Bumblebee on gaillardia. Pollinators are why I grow meadow flowers. 
Saving seeds from the mini meadow for the upper one. It’s a slow, but steady rehab. I also ordered some Texas bluebonnet seed for the upper meadow to spread in fall. The bluebonnets I had were very pretty this spring.
Flowers bloom in the upper pasture too.
In the upper pasture meadow, blackeyed Susans, Rudbeckia spp., of various types bloom sporadically. Goldenrod, Solidago spp. is starting to strut its stuff, but that also means ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, will begin flowering making people miserable. I’m pulling the ragweed out everywhere I see it in my meadows. I know it’s futile, but I still try.
It’s all about the pollinator plants.
In spite of the stupid, wind-pollinated ragweed, the honey bees will love the other fall flowers, and our fall honey flow will start.
Goldenrod, Solidago spp., is just starting to color up in the upper meadow. I hope all of the pollinators find it. It is a great source of pollen for them. 
Gaillardia, blackeyed Susan and coreopsis all bloom together now. 
Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ is a plant I’m going to transplant to the upper pasture. i’ll keep it in the bed facing the street too, but I want this tall drink of water to tower over other plants in the upper pasture.
Speaking of great plants for pollinators, let’s not forget African blue basil. Gail from Clay and Limestone turned me onto this fabulous nectar plant. All of the bees and hoverflies are mad for it. It was hard to find this spring, but I ordered from Lazy Ox Farm on Etsy. I have three plants, and I’ll take cuttings in the fall. African blue basil isn’t winter hardy in Oklahoma.
African blue basil, Ocimum kilimandscharicum × basilicum ‘Dark Opal,’ is a pollinator dream plant for nectar. See the honey bee? 
African blue basil, Ocimum kilimandscharicum × basilicum ‘Dark Opal’
Fall is coming in on tiny cat feet.
Apologies to Carl Sandburg and “Fog” aside, I can feel fall creeping around the edges in our morning lows this week. Highs in the 80s and lows in the mid-60s are way nicer than they are supposed to be on August Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. I’m going to take a breath, drink my coffee on the deck, and dream of shorter days and pumpkin lattes. How about you?
Thank you, Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day yet again this month. The longest-running garden meme in memedom. You should be proud of yourself.
Great gardens! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for stopping by. ~~Dee
I take a lot of “backyard” butterfly photos and have never noticed a tongue. That’s an incredible shot.
Hi Carol, it was a lucky shot to be sure. I shared it on the Butterflies and Moths of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas on Facebook yesterday. ~~Dee
It seems strange to be reading about all that rain in your area right now Dee. I am sure it is a blessing except maybe for the septic installers. It must feel good to have that big job finished. I am sure the bees will appreciate the clover and all else you do for them. I am truly enjoying this cooler weather. I know we will probably have much more heat but I am sitting here enjoying the cooler than normal mornings. Happy GBBD. It is always a treat to see whats going on in your garden.
Hi Lisa, you’re right. It is very, very strange for this time of year. Luckily, my soil in the lower pasture is red sand, so it wasn’t too hard for the septic installers. I’m so appreciative of their work. These cooler-than-normal mornings are a wonder to be sure. Happy GBBD to you too!~~Dee
It is all so beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by Rosebud. ~~Dee
Your meadow flowers are all so pretty! Henry Eilers is a delightful rudbeckia not only in the garden but has a nice vase life, too. Failure to read the tag resulted in mine being planted at the front edge of a border. Oops! Was I surprised! Hopefully you’re set for another forty years with your new septic system.
Hi Ginny, I love the meadow flowers and appreciate them more and more. I never thought about putting Henry Eilers in a vase, but of course, it would be great. It stands up so straight. I’m going to pull a piece of it and transplant it and a very tall coreopsis to the upper pasture meadow. I’m slowly creating that wonderful space.~~Dee
You are welcome, Dee, and your garden looks amazing. Isn’t it great what a little extra rain can do to a garden?
Thanks Carol!