By August, the garden has settled into that full, slightly unruly stage of summer.
The tomatoes are coming in faster now, warm from the sun and usually eaten not long after they are picked. The watermelon vines have stretched themselves across the garden, and cutting into the first ripe melons has been one of the best parts of the season.
The flowers seem happiest in the heat. The zinnias are everywhere, and the cosmos have grown tall and loose, leaning into one another and moving with the slightest breeze. I plant them every year, and every year I am glad I did.
And even while the summer garden is at its fullest, there are already signs of the next season beginning.
Our pumpkin patch is growing now, the vines making their way across the ground while we wait for pumpkins for fall. It always feels a little strange to be thinking about October while picking tomatoes and watermelon in August, but I suppose that is part of keeping a garden. One season is almost always beginning before the last one has finished.
For now, though, there are tomatoes on the counter, watermelon in the refrigerator, armfuls of flowers coming into the house, and plenty of summer left to enjoy.