September Bloom Day

September is one of my favorite months in general, and in the garden. The hardy cyclamen likes September too. This is the second one to bloom. The third bulb is MIA.

The 'Spring Fling' petunia has been cut back hard at least three times this summer. In its second year, it has grown to gargantuan proportions, especially considering it only gets three hours of sun each day at most. Maybe I'll overwinter it again to see what happens.

Helenium, a/k/a sneezeweed is a native started from seed this spring from Monica's seed swap. It's growing happily in the swale way in back.

The first formerly-known-as-aster to bloom is this teeny tiny one from Gail. When it really gets going it'll be a cloud of beautiful airiness. Late last September, during a visit to Mom's, all the asters, and many other plants were chewed to ground by something, I think rabbits.

These are August blooms, too late for August Bloom Day. We found a sweet spot on the patio where the brug gets lots of sun.

I love the foliage of the variegated brugs, but still was determined to find a spot where ours would bloom more than once a season. In its new spot since mid-August, it bloomed for the first time this year in late August, and already has its next set of buds.

Love double impatiens in hanging baskets! This color is salsa. We've been eating a lot of salsa lately with all the beautiful tomatoes growing in the veggie beds.

Calamint is still going strong. I'm not sure who loves them more - the bees or me.

'Blue Hill' Salvia is blooming even more prolifically than last month.

Not many coneflowers left - the goldfinches have pulled off most of the petals. Only a few on the other side of the garden escaped their notice.

Rudbeckia 'Herbstsonne' has been blooming since July,

as have the agastaches. Strong winds early this month pretty much flattened them though. Normally they stand nice and tall.


Hummingbirds visit the hanging fuchsia several times a day.

I love the soft color of Sedum 'Matrona.' Last year they didn't flop, this year they did. They're pretty anyway.

Smooth blue aster has escaped the bunnies (so far) in its protective cage. Everything that got eaten last fall is caged. The fences are easier than spraying something stinky all the time. They disappear from a distance (kind of.)

More double impatiens - I like them with 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia - like roses and baby's breath for shade.

Pink Dragon Wing begonias bloom non-stop spring to frost, and are easily overwintered indoors. We have the reds too. Ever notice how foliage colors are slightly different with different colors of the same plant? The reds have ever-so-slightly darker foliage. The double impatiens are like that too.

We have the nicest farmers' market in a neighboring town. This bouquet came from the booth of neighborhood organic backyard kitchen gardeners. They sell home-grown veggies, herbs, and cut flowers, and hand-crafted organic homemade teas, soaps, lotions, lip balms, even insect repellent and dog shampoo, and more. I try to visit the market early, before the kitchen gardeners' flowers, and the farmer's eggs in another booth sell out. Our own town's farmers' market is nice too, while much smaller. I shop at both as often as I can.

We still have pink and white phlox, 'Happy Returns' daylilies, sambac jasmine, 'Rozanne' geraniums, all sorts of heucheras, lots of single impatiens and wax begonias, purple oxalis, Susans, and a few other odds 'n ends.

Last but not least, Japanese anemones, almost forgotten a second time. They're blooming for the first time ever. They've been blooming since early August. Our second attempt at these, I thought our garden might be too dry for them since the first ones withered and died their first summer. These started life here as tiny transplants from a client's garden, and haven't seemed to mind the dry shade. They took three years to bloom, and were worth the wait.

I hope you're enjoying the cooler weather of September. Here it's been a welcome relief after a very hot summer. I won't say long hot summer though - time seems to go by far too fast anymore, no matter what the weather.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is celebrated on the 15th of each month by bloggers around the world. To see what's blooming right now in gardens everywhere, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Happy Bloom Day!