dianaschnuth

Summer is drawing to a close and autumn is definitely taking hold in my gardens here in USDA Zone 6b. The roses are preparing for one final bloom flush to finish out the season. The leaves on the maple tree out back are just starting to take on a rosy tinge along the edges, and the leaves on the flowering trees in front are turning a subtle pinkish red.

The plants that set fruit and seed in fall are showing their colors. The Amur Honeysuckle is full of red berries…

…and the jumpseed has put out its stalks of red seeds.

As far as actual flowering plants, the most prolific right now is the chrysanthemum in the back yard. My three-year-old even took a break from riding around the driveway to help me do some deadheading!

Also in bloom, although not quite as showy, are the sedums. I have several of these in various spots all around the property, and the bees are happy about this.

The bees (and even a hummingbird!) are also glad that the butterfly bush decided to put out some more blooms. After the first two rounds of weekly deadheading this summer, the blooms slowed way down — there have been new ones coming, but they mature and open ever so slowly.

Another favorite of the bees, though not of mine, is the goldenrod that is so prevalent in this bed that faces the street. There are bits of phlox and two hardy hibiscus shrubs in the bed, as well, but the goldenrod dominates.

I’m sincerely hoping to eradicate the goldenrod (probably over time, as I don’t want to disturb the massive amounts of daffodils that also live in front of the fence) and replace it with something that will provide just as much of a show in the fall without looking like I just forgot to weed during the summer.

Speaking of phlox… Like the sedum, this appears in several places on the property, and I can’t get enough of it.

I love my Hydrangea paniculata. Takes a lickin’, keeps on tickin’. She’s put on a great show both summers I’ve lived in this house so far — even a Polar Vortex winter can’t keep her down. (Not like my lacecaps and mopheads, which lost all their flower buds, with the exception of two blooms on a total of ten plants.)

Finally, in the category of not-exactly-blooming… I have one border in particular that has been overrun with Maypop passion flower vine. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I finally ordered up the Big Guns and bought a container of Milestone herbicide to kill it off once and for all. Pulling it up wasn’t helping, and digging it up never got all the roots. But the flowers are beautiful and so unusual!

So, before I napalmed the heck out of two-thirds of a flowerbed, I dug up two specimens and potted them up. They’re not blooming, but they do have new growth. Perhaps they’ll thrive as indoor-outdoor hanging plants. If not… I’m sure I won’t be rid of them in my beds for a few years yet, so I’ll have at least one more chance to rescue some.

Now that I’ve spent a year and a half in this house, and I see what comes up where, I’m excited to start making these beds and borders my own. I enjoy looking around at what other garden bloggers in my zone have growing in their gardens!