sweet autumn clematis

There is something about the light in September, especially at magic hour before sunset when the sun is bright but lower in the sky. The gardens are bathed in golden light and petals are backlit.

Here is what is blooming today in the garden.

The potted geranium lights up against the early evening sun.

What would a late season garden be without annuals. These provide the bulk of the color in September. But, enough catmint is blooming to feed the native bees and butterflies.

I tend not to keep track of annual plant tags. So, I will just have to appreciate this nameless marigold for being hardy and lovely.

I am always amazed at the fragrance of Sweet Autumn clematis. It has been looking fairly puny this summer, and though I wish it had grown farther up the arbor, I have to love the abundance of white fragrant flowers.

A friend gave me this pink anemone years ago. It’s been moved a couple times, but continues to thrive against the garage.

The queen of the garden might just be this hibiscus. It is at least seven feet tall.

Autumn is turning here in West Michigan, but on this rainy cold Bloom Day, the gardens are still kicking. And here’s a shout out for Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

The datura just keep blooming. And because it is a wet and gloomy day, last night’s blooms have remained open.

Sweet Autumn clematis is in full bloom, both at the entrance to the Secret Garden and in the lower garden. Notice that I have experimented with a few bricks.

My big news, though, is that in a couple of weeks my crushed limestone paths in the Secret Garden will become bricked pathways. I initially thought I would hire a landscaper to do the job. But my garden guru Dale has a neighbor who needed to get rid of more than a thousand bricks that were once a retaining wall. And, my friend Maja in Maine volunteered to lay the bricks. So, rather than the sterile perfection of a professionally laid path, I’m going to get something far more interesting and meaningful.

These lovely little stars send out a subtle fragrance and from a distance create a halo of white on the arbor and on the fence in the lower garden.

Sweet Autumn clematis taking over the fence and spilling onto one of the arborvitae.

And, of course, I’ve been playing with bricks. At first I thought I would need to get rid of the crushed limestone, but now I think it will create a good foundation for the bricks. This means the pathway will be a little higher than it is “supposed” to be, but I suspect that won’t be a big issue, especially when fresh bark is spread on the garden next spring.

The Walker’s Low catmint in the entrance garden are lush and on sunny days a lure for bees. There are several pots of rudbeckia and some yellow blackberry lilies ready to plant.