This caryopteris is the only one of several that is left. As much as I loved them, they simply were too big for the space and I found new homes for all but this one.The old rose of sharon is still kicking out some blooms. This bud will open today.
We’ve had a gentle fall with mild temps and enough rain to almost make me forget that dry hot July. …Until I look at the hydrangeas. The white domes along the picket fence in the lower garden are stunted and bear evidence of the stress they endured two months ago. But they will probably survive the winter. So will the nikkos and the endless summers. On this Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, it is the annuals that are propping up the garden, and, of course, Sweet Autumn Clematis.
Also blooming is the nameless pink anemone near the garage. The sun sheds anemone and bird house shadows.
A few Fragrant Angel echinacea are blooming in the Secret Garden.
It’s easy to forget about the New Dawn climbing rose but it is sending out canes through the lilacs and across the path in the Secret Garden. It’s time to prune!
Every fall the Honorine Jobert anemone lights up the east side of the Secret Garden. A friend planted a small little shoot for me one day when I wasn’t home. It came from his garden.I cut the rose campion back about a month ago and now it is giving me a single sweet little flower. Awwww.In the Secret Garden, the white phlox and this nameless red rose provide a nice pop of color.
The Limelight Hydrangea seems to have fared the best during the drought, perhaps because it comes on later.
This Sweet Autumn has already needed trimming three times this summer, and it was cut to the ground when I had to install the new arch.I planted this Sweet Autumn Clematis last fall and it certainly seems to like this location. The bonus for me is that it helps hide the rather unsightly rental house on the other side. Now that it is no longer empty, things are tidy there again, but it’s nice to look at that halo of small white flowers.The marigolds and dahlias at the corner of the garage hide the sad Annabelle hydrangea that never got a chance to send out her large blooms.I think I’m sold on dahlias. I’m going to try and winter these over in the basement, but I will definitely plant more next spring.
I haven’t always been a gardener, but I have always loved gardens. It has taken 16 years to get my gardens into the shape they are today. And, I’ve had help. I’m 74 years old, have rheumatoid arthritis, and had a late stage cancer six years ago. I am, though, intrepid. I’m the kind of person who plods along, tailoring my goals as I go. Last November I had a long overdue knee replacement surgery and I’m hoping this spring, summer, and fall will be able to maintain and find even more joy working in all of my garden beds. Full disclosure, though. I have a garden guy who comes once a week to work in my gardens.
Garden 337 