September in the Artist's Garden palette knife oil painting floral cottage garden by Roxanne Steed

10"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board

"If you do not find peace in yourself, you will never find it anywhere else."
- Paula A. Bendry

If you've followed my blog this summer, you've seen the paintings of my garden & it's progression during it's first year. Everything has filled in beautifully - it's been a joy to paint. And the large plant on the left? Yes, that's the tomato plant, "Brandywine tomatoes". It's been such a cool summer though here in New England, we've only gotten 4 or 5 off of it so far. There's more on the plant, it's a race against the frost to see what gets here first, tomatoes or cold weather. My daughter jokingly said, I should hold a hair dryer towards them, to warm them up, perhaps they'd get red then! hehe, if I only thought it would work, I'd give it half a chance! But I think if it gets any cooler than today, I'll bring them in & see if they green up on the window-sill. So far, they are the best tasting tomatoes I've ever eaten! I DO like this variety!!

The little peegee hydrangea in the corner has gotten a nice - pluffy - droop to it, it's flowers hanging over the fence. The color has gone from a whitish-green-cream to it's end of summer mauvey-amber color - so pretty. The pale yellow nasturtiums that had taken over the rock wall had been cut back once, only to fill in nicely for a second round. And lastly, the cosmos is still blooming, it's pale lavender blossoms tossing around like a happy child! From the view I'm standing at, I'm below the upper fenced-in courtyard. It used to be a big slope and felt like "falling off the earth" when you walked out the front door. Now it is inviting, and makes you want to go further into each space as you leave the sidewalk. Next year should be even more interesting!