Seasonal Interest

It depends on what you consider "interest". For me, the whole garden holds interest in differing ways every season. Right now, it's the light - the grasses and seed heads catching the light with the occasional pop of color. Fine foliage also looks smart, but for this post I'm getting in the mindset of most people looking towards flowers for a spark. 

While I did not necessarily set out to take flower photos this week, I did gravitate towards what I thought looked good. Thus, there is a mix of flowers, grasses, seed heads and more and though it is officially autumn, there is still a lot to absorb. I am also looking forward to what I consider to be one of the finest times of year in my garden, mid to late autumn, on the horizon. However, let us embrace the now and check out the garden this first week of a new season.

Artemisia versicolor 'Seafoam' loves its new home out in the open with heat radiating from the gravel. Those spikes are flowers, unusual and interesting flowers.

A clash of colors to bang on your eyes. Diascia 'Coral Canyon' is the pink, Tagetes 'Cinnabar' and Salvia 'Celestial Blue' complete the colorful display near the artemisia pictured above. If I removed the orange red of the marigold then the colors would be more harmonious, but lately I have embraced color clashes.

Looking towards the meadow garden with the last remnants of Echinacea purpurea petals mingling with Hylotelephium 'Matrona' (syn. Sedum 'matrona'), silver foliage of Teucrium fruticans, hebes, grasses and more. And can I just mention that no matter what anyone tells you about Echinacea being "drought tolerant" is wrong here in the summer dry climate where I live? They are among the first perennials to wilt in dry conditions.

Solidago 'Fireworks', happily visited by all manner of flying insects and Rosa glauca behind with its gorgeous red rose hips.

If you have the luxury of fruit trees in your garden, they count towards garden interest, especially this time of the year when the Honeycrisp apples are getting sweeter by the day. Applesauce is in our future.

One of the last batches of Rudbeckia hirta (and this patch is self-sown), a cheerful scene this time of the year. They also are like Echinacea in that they sulk when they dry out which is why I no longer have large patches of it in my garden; it was too thirsty to be practical for me.

Penstemon kunthii is having a swell year and has given me many seedlings in the surrounding gravel. It has been blooming for several weeks if not a couple of months.

Rosa 'Mutabilis' and Berberis jamesiana. The rose has been blooming all summer, coming and going, shifting colors from salmon to bright pink.

More upright sedum - Hylotelephium 'Stardust' which is supposed to be white, which it primarily is. I get a few pink flower reversions and I decided I'm not going to keep cutting them out, rather I'm going to leave it to do as it wishes.

Abutilons, if they are happy and well watered and fed, are still blooming. On the edge of being a high maintenance plant for me, I still love it and will keep watering it often in its container so I make sure and see such pretty flowers well into autumn.

A sedum mash-up in a container on my deck. The smoky gray purple foliage is Sedum 'Bertram Anderson', a trailing plant that really looks fine in a container where it can spill down a bit. Others are Phediumus spurius 'Tricolor' (syn. Sedum spurium 'Tricolor') and some other unknown Phedimus spurius.

Epilobium canum (syn. Zauschneria californica) and other cultivars of epilobium have been blooming for a few weeks now and are well-visited by our resident hummingbirds. This West Coast native plant makes a swell groundcover for full sun and even dry sites but I will say if it does get a little summer water it doesn't complain. And it keeps blooming.

Seed pods of Baptisia australis are as interesting to me as its pretty but short-lived blue-purple flowers that come on in late spring.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome' (syn. Aster 'Purple Dome') is one of my favorite asters. it has a great bushy habit and blooms profusely beginning right about now. Each clump grows slowly in size and it doesn't set off seedlings, though I wouldn't mind. Many asters are real thugs which is fine for the right circumstance but sometimes you want a plant to stay put.

Many of my manzanitas have had an epic fruiting year. This is Arctostaphylos pumila loaded with orange red berries (little apples?) coupled with gray green foliage is especially gorgeous.

Just barely visible blooms on Fuchsia speciosa and Liriope 'Big Blue' under the tree are a soft and unexpected bit of color here. The Liriope is not my favorite as it looks kind of crummy much of the year but it has its moments and is a useful plant for the most part.

Salvia 'Brilliance' has been in bloom since late spring, I'm not exaggerating. Such a great salvia with vibrant color, too. Arctostaphylos pumila in the background.

Late morning light catching the fuzzies of Cotinus 'Pink Chamapgne' and foliage textures of the labyrinth garden.

Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Torch' starting to bloom.

Front and center are Teucrium chamaedrys, wall germander. Though their blooms are long over the flower stalks are interesting and catch the light. Behind it is Pennisetum 'Karly Rose' which I threaten to take out every year because it flops in the tiniest amount of moisture. I like my grasses upright, not floppy.

Anaphalis margaritacea, pearly everlasting, is a volunteer in my garden and a most welcome one. With a little bit of summer water it has kept on looking good for weeks.

Marigolds, Tagetes 'Cinnabar' have also been blooming for weeks on end.

Another salvia that keeps on giving is Salvia 'Arctic Blaze Red' front and center. It too has been blooming since spring. To the right is an orange cosmos and to the left Phlomis russelliana among other drought adapted selections.

Even though the flowers of Deutzia setchuenensis var. corymbiflora finished a few weeks ago, the effect is still that it is covered in blooms. This deciduous shrub with somewhat glaucus foliage should be grown more, it is so interesting and its flowers are the prettiest little white things.

Looking towards the blue shed, Geranium 'Gerwat' (ROZANNE) still blooming on the left and Fuchsia speciosa is behind it. The geranium has been in bloom all summer but the fuchsia started a couple of weeks ago.

Closing out this post with a view looking past the fire pit into the labyrinth garden, many shades of green still holding strong and keeping me interested.

Summer as I've mentioned before was a blur and I was certainly not present for my garden this year. That is slowly shifting towards a reconnection and I love it, It is so healthy to be out there working away in the garden just for the act itself. I'm really looking forward to the shifting autumn colors and tackling a few chores once the weather cools and we are officially able to move plants around. I have a few ideas and that is a great sign that I'm back on track. As I mentioned, every season holds some kind of interest and if you are looking for flowering plants for late summer into autumn, I hope you have some ideas. Hardy fuchsias, salvia, penstemon, geranium, abutilon, epilobium, calluna, asters, rudbeckia and others are all great places to start.

That's a wrap for this time at Chickadee Gardens, thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you! And to those of you who came to our little plant sale, THANK YOU! We appreciate your support. Happy gardening.