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The Autumn Joy sedum are the hands down favorite for bloom day this month!  I’ve bemoaned their unwieldy size all summer long, but now I sing their praise!Across from the rock garden, in a bed that is still under development, a row of perky French marigolds, Bonanza Yellow, has filled out nicely.  They have completely overtaken the zonal geraniums and lavender planted between them.  This is the best showing of marigolds I’ve ever had; I credit my use of Sluggo for keeping them safe and “unmunched” by slugs!In the same bed as the marigolds, a hybrid tea rose, Sedona, has bloomed for the first time.  I am beyond thrilled, since the care I gave this new plant all summer has been piteous!  It’s even going to bless unworthy me with another bloom soon!Up on the side porch, which the marigold bed borders on one side, the morning glories are doing their level best to muscle out the competition!  Here is the view I enjoy with my morning tea and toast.Sitting on the breakfast table is a Gerbera daisy which was a gift to me from a child in a library program I run.   I let it get too dry a few times during July, so I am grateful it is putting on such a nice show now! The morning glories have spread to the small patio at the base of the porch, and are encroaching upon the begonias and rhododendron at its corner as well.

The lantana refuses to be bullied by the monster glories sharing its pot:

Back in the rock garden, here is a pink rose about which I know very little.  It was in the garden when we moved here nine years ago and has bloomed nicely every summer since.  All it requires is regular dead-heading and occasional pruning.  Nearby, purple salvia Evolution is lovely in the early morning light.  It took all summer, but this flower has finally come into its own.  How lovely would it look behind the border of yellow marigolds?  Something to think about for next year!Here’s the same view, a bit later in the day, without the low morning glow.This chrysanthemum wintered over in its pot.  Mums do not reliably come back in subsequent years in our zone 5 climate, so I am glad to be getting a second year out of this and a few others that haven’t yet opened.  I keep moving this pot from one place to another, wherever I want an extra splash of color!Over in the “vegetable” garden, the four o’clocks bloom like crazy in the chill of the morning.  It’s a common misconception that their bloom cycle is dependent on light; really, they react more to temperature changes through the day.  I can see these from my kitchen window as I make my kids’ breakfast in the morning, just before sunrise, and they’re generally open again as I’m doing the dinner dishes in the evening.  The zinnias go on and on, much to the delight of the butterflies.  I’ve seen monarchs, painted ladies, and black swallowtails in recent days.Here, with a cucumber vine intermingled, is my lone cosmo for the year.  It has thrived here next to the sage and thyme!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the front of the house, the rose of Sharon is finally in full bloom.  I was worried I had killed this shrub after I moved it last fall, but it seems to have survived well.  What a relief it is to see it flower, more than a month later than all the others in the neighborhood!

Lastly, here are some potted impatiens, cheerily greeting our front door guests.

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s blooming in my garden this month.  I’m eager to check all of your blogs too, to see what you’ve got going on in yours!  Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this Bloom Day.