Diana,

Your pictures blew me away!!! What a beautiful garden you have created. I love the blue chair amidst all that greenery and your roses are to die for. I live on the East Coast and by this time of year my roses have their fair share of black spot and the unfortunate leaf loss associated with it, but yours are glorious. I hope my young garden looks like yours when it grows up.

This is my 3rd year of gardening and I am really becoming addicted. My husband and I tackled the landscaping in our front yard out of necessity after a very extensive and costly home renovation left us broke back in 2004. Lo and behold we found we both really enjoy it and we're pretty good at it, too! Who would have thunk it?

Now I am working on the backyard. My latest project there was adding a Tardiva Tree Form Hydrangea to the corner of a newly planted bed filled with Bonica roses, fairy roses, some ornamental grasses, purple coneflower, Caradonna salvia, Montauk daisies, Autumn Joy sedum and moonbeam coreopsis. I plan on adding some astilbe under the new Hydrangea tree which I will transplant from another part of the yard which is currently getting too much sun.

I have promised my husband that I am done for the season (he's tired of digging holes for me), so my Fall plans are limited to spreading hay around the beds to protect tender plants from our cold winters and finally enclosing my compost pile in something homemade (not quite sure what yet).

Happy Fall in the garden and thanks for starting this thread.

W.G.

Diana ,your gardens are absolutely Gorgeous.I love all your flower,and that chair you painted is beautiful.Is that the paint they have out now for plastics.Of course the name for it escapes me.LOL What color is that anyway?? I also love that birdhouse on your porch and the color of your door.Thanks for sharing your beauty with me.
Kathi

Diana, you have one beautiful garden, I'd love to be able to take a stroll around it. I've got a couple of plastic chairs that need some freshening up, does that paint for plastic really hold up? Yours looks great.
In one of the pictures, the potentilla ground cover, I'm not familiar with it, I wonder if it's available up my way. Does it have a specific name?
As for my garden, I still have some things blooming which give a touch of color here and there but nows the time I have to start fall cleanup, I've got one speed dead slow LOL soooo, if I get a good start now half of it might be done by November. Thanks for sharing your lovely garden with us.

Annette

Diana - As always, gorgeous pics (tho I only looked at the first page, so I'm sure I missed some good stuff).

I usually do my big projects in the spring, and run out of steam at the end of the season. I'm keeping up with harvesting tomatoes while dodging mosquitos (supposedly 10x worse than last year!).

Also, I came home from camping over Labor Day weekend to find that one of my cosmos had gotten taller than me! (I'm about 5'-8") I think I'll need to get a picture of that...

My boltonia is partially blooming, interspersed with my zinnias, which looks pretty cool. The larkspur is still blooming, more of it at a time, and some of my centaurea montana. And the stachys that I found in my lawn (apparently self-seeded from my neighbor) that I stuck in the border is doing well. That was an amusing bit - I was weeding, and suddenly realized that it looked suspiciously like stachys, and started looking around to see if there was any nearby. Lo and behold, there was some on the opposite side of some of my neighbor's daylilies that I'd never noticed! So, I plopped in into an empty sunny spot in the border...

My only fall project is to corral a bunch of leaves in the back corner of the yard, which will do the secondary objective of killing a whole bunch of weeds, lol. But, that is more of an October/November project.

I only have a few pics from Sept. With all the rain and several vacations almost back to back, I've hardly been outside :) I did grab a few the other day, so here's one:

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You can't tell in that pic, but I have baby tea roses growing behind that mass of flowers. They are doing well this year. I had to replace all the ones I planted last year because they died in the drought. I'm looking forward to a wall of antique teas back there in a year or two.

The monarchs are just starting to show up in my garden. We're slated for flooding rains this weekend, so hopefully everything will hold up.

It's dropped down into the eighties here. We can have really hot Septembers, but this year seems to be staying fairly mild.

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Lisa's garden

I don't have any pictures to post just yet, I'm new to this site, still learning. I really enjoy all the discussions here.
My garden is doing alright. We had a bad storm with alot of hail, and some of my roses and the peonies especially took a beating, but I think they'll recover. We have to get a new roof and siding, so I have some anxiety about the gardens. I don't want them to ruin the gardens when they do this.
I have alot of projects coming up. We are working in our back yard now. I have to cut sod to make room for all the plants that are coming. Ihave ordered some hydrangeas, climbing roses,tree peonies,and many other perennials,plus going to the garden centers, I just can't go there and not bring something home.
My dad will be coming up in the Spring to help us build a potting shed in our backyard, which I'm very excited about.
I have a small greenhouse with which I grow some perennials by seed, and we'll also tackle a vegetable garden too.
We're also in the beginnings of building a compost area in back, so I'll always have that available to me.
I had alot of great sucess with some things I got last year at the end of the season. Lavender, it's doing wonderful, phlox,"Nikki" and "David", doing very well. Many Asters and Mums doing beautifully. I have had many suprises as well. Free plants compliments of the bees and birds. Speedwells, catmint,sweet williams, oh, and we spotted our first hummingbird yesterday morning.
I couldn't do all this without my husbands help. We have done alot, but still have alot to do. He just built an arbor for me, and I got it painted last weekend.
Happy gardening everyone.

Diana, Oh thank you for posting your pictures. I haven't enjoyed my garden for several weeks now because of the heat and it was a treat to see all your beautiful blooms and landscaping. We are supposed to get some rain over the next few days from tropical storm Gabrielle which will be a welcome relief. We're down about 15" and the drought and heat combination has really done a number on the garden.

I have a question about your crepe myrtles. It looks like you have them planted rather close to the house so I'm guessing they are the shrub-like minitures? The blooms are lovely and the picture of your Lillian Austin rosebud is breathtaking.

Thanks again for sharing your inspiring garden.
Vikki

Diana, I'm so happy you encluded a picture of your plumbago.
First year for me and it's such a lovely blue.

Sept. means the same as most months. Weed, water, deadhead but also means cut down some things that begin to look dead.
I allow many plants to stand over winter and clean up in Spring.

These pictures show my garden over spring, summer & fall.

Libby

Here is a link that might be useful: Libby's garden

Things have gotten very tall in my September garden. And a few look like escapees from a Dr. Seuss book.

Volunteers are doing better than the intentionally planted things in many cases. This is my hydrangea bed!

This volunteer was transplanted and it is really performing well!

I had no idea celosia could get so tall!
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Or zinnias...
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It's impossible to take a picture of them without butterflies. Did you count the number on that photo? This one is easy to see...
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And about the plans...well, the hose marks my planned extension of this bed. I'm thinking: a place to relocate a crape myrtle that doesn't match its neighbors and room for one of those new rainbow knock-outs, and more day lilies, and wintersowed bounty. You understand, right?

Diana - your gardens look like Eden! Just beautiful...

I love this thread. We had a few cool days last week, but the weather here has been hot and humid. The balsam impatiens are starting to fade and yellow. But the black-eyed susans I started from seed are blooming right near purple and pink asters. I love the combination. I did take some pics, but I have to get them developed. As soon as I do I'll post. Other than that the sunflowers and cosmos are still going strong - they'll carry me to cooler weather. And my hyacinth bean vine (purple flowers) is blooming near a light blue morning glory and grandpa Ott...oh the combination is so gorgeous. I have to get a pic of that...those just started blooming recently.

As far as projects, I've been doing a lot of little ones. I had to regrade near my back door. I lined a concrete walk with pea gravel and brick edging and prepared a bed for next year. I also painted the door a bright blue/turquoise. I've also started building pea gravel paths around the shade garden in back. I stained my deck and painted my porch railing. My boyfriend left me suddenly at the end of July, so I've been staying busy by doing things around the house. It helps a lot. That's the reason I haven't been very active here of late. But the storm has passed and I'm feeling better!

She's bbbaaaaaccccckkkk! :)

The most outstanding feature of my garden at this time is the abundance of tomatoes. We have a tidal wave of them, and this is the first year we've had success. I pulled up my pumpkin vines, since I had all the pumpkins I was going to need. My roses are having a modest fall flush, some done, some still to perform. My hobbit garden peaked and passed. I've pulled up annuals that were withering, reassessed what to plant next year, and rearranged the plants I want to carry forward.

Let me see -- my son dug out a dying grapefruit tree and my husband has been cutting this monster up for firewood. Meanwhile I gave the apricot tree a huge pruning to get rid of brown rot, then I sprayed what was left. I also took out a very young pear tree that had fireblight. I won't replace the pear, but I am going to try to keep the apricot. We love the fruit. I also planted two varieties of table grapes to cover the arbor on the back patio. I have some bulbs coming from Old House Gardens but they haven't arrived yet. They will need to be planted when they do.

Now I have to deadhead the perennials and roses. It may take a couple of weeks. After that I'll probably take a break until it is time to start the winter work, winter being prime pruning season here for roses. No, I'll probably have to do another session of weeding somewhere in there.

Rosefolly

Things are winding down now, I should really clean up the sunflowers, but I can't bring myself to do anything till the frost destroys the colour.
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love the photos,they are beautiful.I still have quite alot blooming for me but have no photos.It is cooling some here in ga. and starting to feel like fall.Love it..
Lindakimmy..could you tell me the name of the plant in your 3rd photo...some kind of amarathus?I have pink candles that the tips favor but not the foliage at all.
wendy 2..what are the blue blooms inthe edging and below the mgs?and what are the MG names..beautiful..I do not grow mg and I want to do the blue ones now for next spring..direct sow or ws them?
good thread angel..
moonphase

Moonphase, I wish I could tell you. That plant has a history: last year I went down to the local nursery ("Bloomin' Crazy"), which has since closed because the owner retired. At the time he was a buddy of mine - almost every time I dropped in he would send me some kind of seedling or small plant along free. Well, that Saturday morning I dropped in and he was getting ready to spray Round Up on the ground around his display tables where plants had sprouted. He asked if I'd like to have the sprouts and - of course! - I said yes. He pulled up bunches of amaranth and salvia and stuffed them in plastic bags and sent them along with me.

I planted them when I got home and they survived...but it was hard because our well dried up and we couldn't water. When we finally got someone to drill the new well in September last year I raced out to save the very few plants that had survived the long drought in my garden. There were three of the amaranths right in the path of the well drilling. So I dug them up and put them in the one bed I had really amended well. They struggled on til winter and then died back.

Well...this spring I found that they had reseeded massively! I have bunches of these - only one of the spotted ones, though. But that will probably change next year! I have absolutely no idea what variety this thing is. But I kinda prefer the history to a name.

we here in the western ny area it has been wonderful this week to gARDEN.However in tending to my front beds I feel I must change them alot....This summer has been so dry and the over hang on the left of my house really covers too much of the area.Since dh says I can't change the roof I must expand my bed more then double.Which is only 10x10ft.I am really having fun redesigning but the back work will start wed.When your sedem dries up you know you just can't keep up.dh hates when I water to close to the foundation,"thats what the over hangs are for keeping the foundation dry".So I plan to figure out what to do with 10x3ft I can no longer plant in.I have containers,but I confess I don't water them as they deserve.any ideas?

All of these gardens are so gorgeous! All that color and beautiful blooms! :-)

We're coming out (hopefully) of a drought -- got 2 inches of rain, but we're down 2 feet for the year. My garden is starting to show some life -- hypericum hidcote, pineapple sage, salvia navajo red, s. ulignosa, s. b&b, moench asters and the spirea neon flash and milkweed are repeating. Give me a week or so to see. I took some photos last week and it at least looks green!

Cameron

Such pretty gardens you all have! My salvia leucantha just started blooming in this corner:

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This is the first year I've had cat whiskers. They really got going a few weeks ago. The purple ones, not the black.

I'm waiting eagerly for next month when the chrysanthemums & asters will bloom.

I've been seeing one hummingbird the past week or so, but haven't had anywhere near the number of butterflies that were around this time last year. Wonder where they are...

Forgot to say...my fall project is to line the splashblock/cat watering hole (in the picture above) with ceramic tile. And clean up that scrufty looking corner! Guess I need to repoint the brick, too.

Nothing like taking a picture to force you to see what needs to be done.

Moonphase..the blue flowers in the edge of the border are ageratum, the shorter ones are dwarf hawaii, the taller are some I got in a trade. MG's are good old heavenly blues, and some unknowns from a trade. I like to have some cool blues late in the summer when everything seems to be blazing yellow and orange.
I'm definitely saving seeds from this MG!
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Your gardens are all gorgeous! Ive been looking all summer for some insperational photos here on cottage gardens...found some!
-Diana, I love your arbor at 'Westerland'! I also have a 'Marmalade Skies', but its punny compared to yours (probably due to my zone). Thanks!
CMK

Oh, what a wonderful treat to come home from vacation and read all about your September gardens and see all your gorgeous pics! It is really difficult to come back from a place as beautiful as Kauai and get into the usual grind of the every day routine stuff. But your words and pics are helping tremendously! And thanks so much for the nice compliments on my gardens. It's so nice to share them with others who appreciate all that goes into creating them. : )

The paint I used on the chair was Krylon Fusion plastic paint and the color is hyacinth blue. So far it does seem to be holding up well. I really love the color. It's the same color I used on the pond in the potager. It says it can be used on metal so I did just that. It hasn't peeled at all, and it is in strong direct sun all day. I've used a few other colors, too. This paint also has a comfortable spray nozzle, so your finger won't tire as quickly as it can from the old style nozzle. HTH!

CMK, that pic of MS is from earlier this year. I have now shovel pruned her. I loved the color but the blooms were too clustered even for this floribunda fanatic. There were so many that most of them never opened fully. It was a good rose, other wise. I hope you have better luck.

Libby, glad you liked the plumbago pic! I hope it comes back for me. It grows like a weed in most of So.Cal but I am colder up here so I'll just have to wait and see. I hope yours does well for you, too! Not that you need any more beauty in your gardens. I'm always so happy to see pics of what you have created over the years. : )

Diana

Diana, Libby, Wendy... thank you, all of you for sharing these exceptional photos of your gardens. This thread has been so inspiring: I'm torn between sitting here and looking at more pictures and going out and turning over some soil!
Renee

Beautiful gardens! Wendy that is one gorgeous garden you have there!