This view of the zinnias draws me in.  I love all the color and the defiance of our ever lowering temperatures.

The mums were such a good idea!  They add pops of color in an ever chilling and browning garden.  But perhaps my favorite color belongs to the Limelight and Tardiva hydrangeas.  Timing is critical here, but for several weeks, I get to pick as many “heads” of blooms as I can.  Those blooms have started turning lovely shades of pink, and the color stays forever if you cut and bring them indoors.  I’m running out of vases because I now have time to pick. And pick.  And pick. It’s one of the perks of retirement.

The large vase these hydrangeas are in belonged to my grandmother who kept it on her front porch. Now it occupies a space next to my fireplace.

A combination of Limelight and Tardiva blooms that will keep all winter.

But, the mums and the zinnias deserve attention, too, though they will not last much longer.  I hate cold weather.  The older I get, the more I hate it. Today our high was 47 degrees and the wind cut through my sweater and light jacket.  I donned my bright red winter jacket to walk the dog.

As always, a grateful call out to May Dreams Gardens for the Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

Catmint, marigolds, and mums brighten the back door gardens. Yesterday when it was warmer, bumblebees feasted on the catmint. The little mushroom shaped piece in the middle is a reproduction of a staddle.  These were used as foundations for granaries in England.  The staddles discouraged rodents because of the mushroom cap.

And here are the zinnias, still pumping out large blooms. This is State Fair and I will always save a place for them in my gardens.

The common pink anemones have gone, but Honorine Jobert is wonderfully lush.

Here is Honorine Jobert brightening up the eastern end of the Secret Garden.