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.
Garden337 
Hi Nancy, the sweet autumn clematis looks really lovely, I think I might research that plant and see if there’s any place I can put it, but I have recently bought three climbers so I might be out of space. We have a Caryopteris too and it does like to spread but I can just about keep it from getting too big. I think they can come back from older wood if you do decide to prune them hard (in stages) I think. I’ve certainly had to hack mine back when I was first “reclaiming” the garden.
What a lovely garden! I, too, love Sweet Autumn Clematis, and my Limelight as fared better than the other hydrangeas this year. For some reason, I’ve never added dahlias–but I definitely need to add them to the list after seeing yours! What a stunning bloom! The bed by your garage is just a spectacular burst of color. I just found your site but look forward to visiting again soon. Cheers!
Julie, thank you!! Everything is quickly tucking itself in for the winter, but the dahlias are still sending out big and beautiful blooms. I’m going to plant more next spring!