Saturday, September 15, 2012

September Blooms

Clematis terniflora, 'Sweet Autumn Clematis'
 It's officially the last weekend of summer and it feels like autumn in my garden with a cool wind blowing. I didn't go outside to take photographs for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day because I have an eye infection and the wind is bothersome. But as I haven't blogged for a whole month, I can't let Bloom Day go by without recording my September garden.

The sweet autumn clematis makes a strong statement in my fall garden. It grows on the trellis at the back of the rose-bed and fills the cottage garden with its fragrance.


Roses continue to bloom both in the cottage garden and in the border along the kitchen-garden fence.

Rosa, 'Pink Knockout'

I never did find out the name of this yellow one.

Rosa, Unknown

My favorite is the famous peace rose bush, a tea rose with beautiful cream-pink color and exquisite perfume.

Rosa, Peace

The cottage garden is looking somewhat overgrown. The echinacea, purple cone flowers, have gone to seed, but cleome is still blooming.

Cleome, spider plant, self-seeded all over the garden and continues to bloom.
I leave the seeds of the purple cone flower for the goldfinches, but this year we needed to remove some of the plants because they developed aster yellows disease. Echinacea with aster yellows have secondary flower heads emerging in a cluster from the primary flower head. They're cool-looking actually, but have to go.

Echinacea, Purple cone flower, with aster yellows.

The disease is caused by the aster yellows phytoplasma, a bacterium-like organism that is spread by insects. It is imperative to remove infected plants, so H.H. dutifully dug out all the problem ones and burned them.

I love plants with blue blossoms, and some of my autumn ones are spectacular at this time, especially blue mist shrub. It is a bee magnet.

Caryopteris, Blue mist shrub

Of course, at the end of summer black-eyed Susans come into their own.

Rudbeckia hirta, Black-eyed Susan and Achilllea ptarmica, yarrow 'The Pearl'

I've added a couple of new plants to my garden recently. Along the ugly pasture fence I placed tubs of perennial sunflowers. I need to plant them before winter comes and I need to think about a suitable spot, because I hear they can be aggressive, but the birds and bees love them.

Helianthus microcephalus, Perennial sunflower

I'm not sure how successfully I am disguising that ugly fence ...


I added a small flowerbed to anchor our new house-number sign. The sign was required by local law, and had to be a specific height, so many inches from the road, etc. I didn't like it, but H.H. saw it as another post on which to hang one of his birdhouses. After he put the birdhouse on the back of the sign, we placed a rock at the foot of the post. I chose a rock with a nice dent in it, suitable for planting sedum. I placed plants in pots around the rock.


We have since removed the grass to make a flower bed, planted the sedum and liriope, and mulched. I'll take a photograph of the finished project soon, and you'll see why I am so pleased with it. I'm not showing you the birdhouse because we don't want to publish our house number on this blog. There are four different sedums here; I love them all.

Sedum spectabile, 'Brilliant'

Here are a few more blooms this Bloom Day:

Annuals in the driveway

Remnants of white blossoms on the goose-necked loosestrife
Hummingbird moth on phlox
Dragon-wing begonias, lamium and varigated grasses in the stone garden

The September kitchen garden

Before I close, I must introduce you to my new gardening buddy. A fawn orphan is a frequent visitor. He (or she) comes to the pond to drink, is very inquisitive about my plants, but so far hasn't eaten any. He stays near me as I work, although he bounds away if I get too close.



He's very inquisitive, but doesn't eat the herbs.

He poses for a picture while eating the fallen pears under the pear tree.

Wishing all of you a beautiful, bountiful autumn, and a happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, with thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting my favorite meme.

Love,
Pamela x

Chrysanthemum

~~ I love reading your comments. I hope you leave one so I’ll know you visited!
I look forward to visiting your blog in return.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Pam,

    I hope your eye infection gets better soon - think I might have something in my left actually as I keep getting crusty 'sleep' in the corner...
    Your garden looks lovely, and the clematis looks amazing! Can't wait for mine to get mature and provide thousands of blooms too :)

    Also loving your new friend, although I do worry for your plants... Lovely to have something so wild, so graceful trust you enough to wander around alongside.

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  2. very lucky to have a visitor such as this! especially in your garden! I myself am craving to see some wildlife, and although some may regard this as regrettable, if I had a large enough yard, I'd be willing to share!!

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  3. Your little fawn is so cute, how I'd love so see wildlife like this in my garden. Your clematis is beautiful, as is the yellow rose without a name. I have a thing for yellow roses, though I don't have any in my garden. Hope the eye infection clears up soon.

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  4. I love your little visitor! How sweet! I hope he or she has a long life (and never wants to eat your garden!). ;) How smart of you and HH to put a birdhouse on the house number sign. So many regulations - but you made something practical become beautiful. Smart! Your kitchen garden looks great, and I would love to smell that sweet autumn clematis. I hope your eye gets better soon so you can enjoy your garden comfortably.

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  5. Can't help but love the fawn despite the damage she could do as an adult!

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  6. You are so lucky to have such beautiful visitors to your garden-fawn. I really like that yellow sunflower, so bright and cheerful.

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  7. Hi Pam. Love your September garden and all its visitors. Happy GBBD to you!

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  8. I'll have to remember those Sweet Clemantis or keep a note on them. I like Clemantis but never heard of a fragrant variety. Love the yellow rose. I find it adorable that you have a Bambi that comes and visit your garden.. So cute.

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  9. I would so love to see you place someday. It is like my kind of heaven, all the animals and pretty gardens.

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  10. Your flowers and gardens are lovely! I love the rock with the sedum in it - such a great idea! But the fawn for your gardening companion just takes the cake. Such a cute visitor!

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  11. Your clematis is wonderful and has given me an idea of how I can add height and clematis to my border which is great.

    I love your fawn - hope she doesnt do too much damage!

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  12. The aster yellows disease on the Echinacea how very strange that disease is. You are so very lucky to have a garden friendly Fawn.

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  13. Surprising how the flowering times of your plants are the same as mine in south UK, my echinacea are just finishing, while the rudbeckia continue to shine. I love your new friend, how adorable!

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  14. Lucky you, you have a wonderful garden! So many flowers, nice critters and cute visitors!

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  15. Your flowers are beautiful but your new gardening buddy steals the show. He (or she) is so very cute!

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  16. Your garden looks great. I had a diseased coneflower and thought it was some new exciting cultivar until advised otherwise by an outraged gardener. Of course, I dug it up but you are right---it looks interesting.

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  17. Your garden is lovely, and what a sweet "buddy" you have. I like the perennial sunflowers and the caryopteris especially! Hope your eye infection clears up soon so you'll be able to get outside and enjoy autumn in the garden!

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  18. Such a lovely garden you have and love the visits of the wild animals too. The clematis is fabulous. I'll go for a ride through your blog ro see your earlier articles. Hope for your speedy recovery.
    Flower greetings
    Rose

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  19. That fawn is precious, Pam. What a special visitor to your lovely garden. I like your containers with the beautiful foliage...very nicely done. And your autumn clematis is huge and gorgeous! Happy GBBD!

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  20. Pam I hope your eye is better...I adore that fawn and all the blooms in your precious garden...I can see why the fawn love it there.

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  21. Pam, as always a beautiful post. I just adore your new gardening friend.

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  22. Hi Pam,
    We raised an orphan fawn when we were kids on the ranch. It's mom was killed by a hunter. It was Bambi in real life. It became so tame that we could pet it and feed it by hand. It would even play soccer with us and butted the soccer ball with its head. We loved our deer. I'll tell you a secret...they cannot resist persimmons. I know they are expensive, but buy a few and while sitting in a chair VERY STILL you just may get the little guy to eat out of your hand. If you do, don't try to pet it. The act of reaching over it mimics the feeling of a predator trying to jump on the deer's back. Just enjoy the little one eating from your hand. :0)
    I love your garden this month and everything is so beautiful! Enjoy the memories of your dear deer friend. It will be grown and gone by winter. You are so lucky!!!
    David/:0)

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  23. I worked in a garden last week & the owner had a rose just like your 'rosa unknown'...the most beautiful shade of yellow & if she hadn't been watching me I would have stood a while to just sniff in the sweetest of perfumes.
    In another garden I have a robin who 'works' alongside me, what i would like is a deer....now that's AMAZING! x

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  24. What a wonderful visitor to have in the garden though I hope he/she doesn't start to eat your plants over the winter months. Your gardens look so well especially your kitchen garden.

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  25. Oh Pam, such a picture book house and gardens, so pretty. And now a pet fawn! Perhaps you can teach him to not eat the flowers. Surely you must name him too...

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  26. Aww The little fawn orphan is such a sweetie. You garden looks beautiful. Such a diversity of plants!

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  27. Your garden looks so comfortable and welcoming. No wonder you have so many happy visitors!

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  28. Hi Pamela, this is my first visit to your blog and I'm intrigued! I cannot wait to explore the archives and see more of your lovely gardens. What I've already seen, I really like. I'm your newest follower. I found you through the blogroll of The Sage Butterfly.
    Have a great weekend!
    Blessings, Beth

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  29. Hi Pam, somehow I missed this post in September! Autumn is such a beautiful season and I loved looking at your photos. I think I need to get an autumn blooming clematis, it looks gorgeous!

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