In late summer of last year for some mysterious reason our beloved begonias hadn't done very well. They started the season robust and thriving, colourful, lovely to behold. By late summer they were in the kind of doldrums we had never before seen, and we had no idea why that might be. Those we had planted at the front of the house in our many garden planters and urns were the ones that were languishing, while at the back of the house in containers and in the gardens, those that I usually overwinter in the basement were thriving. So perhaps it was just a bad crop, last year.

On second thought, perhaps not, since I also overwintered last year, all of the begonia bulbs and have long since planted them in the following spring, and all of our begonias, those freshly purchased and those that overwintered, including the ones that did so poorly last year have been blooming furiously in their usual overwhelmingly lovely manner. Whatever the reason for their decline last year, we're grateful that this year they're thriving, giving us the usual pleasure we derive from their colourful, textural beauty.

In fact, the garden looks pretty good, still. At this time of the garden year many of our perennials have done their duty and are in decline. But roses are still blooming, and the echinacea are in full bloom as are Japanese anemones, black-eyed Susans, asters, Monkshood, ligularia, chrysanthemums, Turtleheads, hydrangeas and hyssop, so there is colour wherever we look, still.

These ongoing eye-candy treats send us into ecstasies of delightful viewing whenever our eyes happen to wander toward the outside, from our dining room windows, the front door, or from the backyard deck. Approaching our house from a ravine walk, the view of the gardens provide the finishing touch of satisfaction with the season, the environment we are ensconced within, and our good fortune altogether.

Now that our gardens have been long established there isn't all that much work associated with their maintenance. Mostly, it's cut-back, weeding and tidying up. And the occasional plant replacement. The really arduous times of focus and work relates to spring and fall, when winter clean-up takes place, and when spring planting of annuals is done and then, finally, when the last growing season has elapsed, cleaning away the spent annuals, and cutting down the perennials in preparation for winter.

Meanwhile, there's still plenty to enjoy and we relish doing just that.