First, a shout out to May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. I always enjoy looking at what is blooming in other gardens all over the world. Thank you!
It is fall here in West Michigan, and the rains have arrived. I love how everything glistens. But the garden continues to withdraw. And while I love red, and Michigan’s autumn leaves are spectacular, those leaves will fall and the garden will go into hibernation. The anemones are gorgeous again. Despite it’s very French name, Honorine Jobert is a Japanese native. It loves moist soil and that makes it the perfect perennial for Michigan autumns. Honorine Jobert is a sport of the more common pink anemone and was spotted in the royal French gardens, hence the French name. I am five feet, two inches tall, and my anemones are taller than I am.
Also blooming are the mums, the chrysanthemums. I have a few that survived the winter in pots, and I scoop up lots of new pots so I can eek out a bit more color into the shorter days of autumn. One of the pots that wintered over is in the entrance garden, nestled behind the Walker’s Low catmint. That, by the way, is still sending out blooms. Sadly, Callie the Calico cat who loved nibbling on the catmint died in September. She was 14 and had a good life.
Along the narrow bed under the sun porch is a bit more Walker’s Low and a few gazania that never seemed to thrive. I won’t plant them again. But, they do make for a pretty picture. And, so do the maple leaves that are falling rapidly now.
The Knock Out rose in the lower garden has suddenly popped. I really had hoped for something like this all summer. So, now it decides to go crazy. The Hansa roses are a little more subdued. I’ll probably see a few more blooms from them before the first killing frost, but they are pretty much done for the year.
The hydrangeas are still kicking out some fresh blooms. I love how the color deepens as they “cure.”
Garden 337 