Pretty much the same as last week. However, my morning glories have finally woken up! Lots of blooms this morning. Finally.

--Carolyn

One thing I didn't mention last week - my rose mallow hibiscus is in full bloom. I also have a hibiscus coccinea I wintersowed last year that is starting to come into bloom - it's pinker than I thought it would be (thought it would be more red). Rudbeckia burpeei, a double I wintersowed from trade seeds, is putting on a good show right now, too. Heavenly Blue MG's are smashing in the morning around my mailbox pole, flanked by purple Seastar asters.

Drippy, don't you just adore those Seastar asters?! You are referring to the annual ones, right? I WSed them this year, and while I've had other annual asters in the past, these are definitely the most beautiful so far. Gorgeous deep colors, even the whites! These will be a staple in my garden from now on!

I don't have a whole lot - I know, I know, I said that LAST week, lol! (And probably the week before that!) I could have sworn that after Belle posted this thread last year, I made a point to have more late-summer/fall bloomers, but I'm not seeing anything, lol! But I think lots of stuff is not doing well because of the season we've had. My rudbeckia was the pits, my perennial asters look horrible and I'm not expecting much bloom, my mums seem to have died out, and even my annuals, like my cosmos, are not putting on their usual late summer display. But on to what I DO have:

roses (Apricot Nectar is to die for!)
phlox
lobelia siphilitica
hydrangea Pia (a deep purple this year instead of it's usual pink)
blue plumbago
sedums
delphinium
some agastache hanging on
helianthus microcephalus (new for me - very nice!)
a dahlia here and there (another poor performer this year)
gaillardia

I do believe that's everything. My roses are so great this year, they're making up for the other party poopers.

Annuals: marigolds, nasturtiums, petunias, heliotrope, geraniums, cosmos (pink/red/white mix), morning glory Star of Yelta, asarina - all doing poorly. Have yet to see a bloom on my hyacinth bean. And the verbena I WSed in January finally put out one paltry, gorgeous bloom.

Salvia Victoria, cosmos Bright Lights, portulaca - all doing great and looking good!

:)
Dee

Lets see (please excuse spelling errors)

RESEEDING ANNUALS:
Salvia uliginosa
Verbena bonariensis
Cosmos
Perilla

VINES:
Clematis 'Arabella' & durandii & 'Rooguchi'

SHRUBS:
Lespedeza-couple cultivars just starting
Clerodendrum trichotomum
Crepe Myrtle Lagerstroemia 'Tonto'
Caryopteris 'Worcester Gold'
Buddleia 'Lochinch', 'Ellens Blue'
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer'
Hydrangea paniculata Grandiflora, 'Pink Diamond'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
Daphne 'Summer Ice'
Callicarpa 'Early Amethyst'
Heptacodium miconoides
Hibiscus 'Aphrodite', 'Blue Bird'
Leptodermis oblonga
Potentilla 'Abbotswood White', 'Pink Beauty'
Rosa 'Knockout', 'Fairy, 'Red Fairy', 'Carefree Delight'

PERENNIALS:
Sedums
Coneflowers
Lobelia siphilitica, 'Fan Deep Rose', 'Crown Royal'
Hibiscus 'Kopper King', 'Lady Baltimore'
Eupatorium 'Joicus Variegated' & coelestinum
Phlox maculata 'Natascha' (rebloom)
Persicaria 'Firetail', 'Taurus', 'Golden Arrow'
Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate'
Geranium 'Rozanne' & wlassovianum
Phlox paniculata 'David', 'Nora Leigh'
Agastache rupestris, 'Tutti Frutti', 'Blue Fortune' & cana
Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', 'Heaven's Gate', 'Sweet Dreams'
Gaura-various cultivars
Russian Sage
Chelone 'Hot lips' & obliqua
Aster frikartii 'Monch'
Nepeta 'Walkers Low', subsessilis 'Sweet Dreams' & amethystina ssp laciniata
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (plumbago)-true blue!
Anemone 'Pamina', 'Robustissima', 'September Charm'
Cimicifuga 'Brunette'
Helianthis 'Lemon Queen'
Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Atropurpurea'
Patrinia scabiosifolia
Hemerocallis 'Rosy Returns','Spiritual Corridor','Happy Returns'
Begonia evansiana-just starting
Veronica 'Ulster's Blue Dwarf','Icicle', 'Pink Damask'
Knautia macedonica 'Mars Midget'
Anthemis 'EC Buxton'
Balloon flower
Clematis heracleifolia 'China Blue'
Angelica gigas
Kirengoshoma palmata
Astrantia 'Sunningdale Variegated'
Salvia verticillata ÂPurple RainÂ

+ Chelonopsis yagiharana -new plant for me-just started blooming 2 days ago:

Pretty much the same as last week, but wow, the cooler weather has woken up 22 different kinds of morning glories.
All of a sudden they are full of buds and blooms. Same with the cosmos. My, what I thought was mostly dead, malva zebrina is in full bloom again, along with the toadflax, birdseye gilia and godetia.
Oh, yes, those dumped to the holding plot, WS flats have sprouted, and of course not sure what is what. There are some MG in their though.

Monique,
Love your photos! What is chelonopsis? Is it a perennial? It looks so fresh and green! As everyone has been saying, lots of dried up, brown looking gardens around town right now.

Only thing really looking spectacular for me right now is ancidithera (sp?) Common name, peacock orchids. The spikey foilage looks good in the garden all summer and the flowers are so lovely and delicate when all the others are almost gone! I do have some hardy hibiscus coming along, the moschetos is past already and the sweet autumn clematis is coming into its own. That vine is such a tuff, tuff thing and the flowers look so lacy and ladylike and the aroma is quite nice!

Littleonefb: What is gilia? Can you describe it?

Mums, Crape Myrtles, Rose-of-Sharon(s), Roses, Daylilies, Tall-bearded Iris, Hydrangeas, Marigolds, Petunias, Impatiens

Some pink dahlias from last year, I must have mulched really well, lol. Some, mostly purple shades of cosmos started from seed this year. Gorgeous red crocosmia which we just got. A ton of white strongly scented lillies, 2 Rose-of-Sharons(white & purple). Some purple asters from last year, they bloomed wonderfully this year. 3-hibiscus plants (red, pink, and white) they are almost done though. A cardninal flower in the pond, and a lilly flower (peachy color). Yellow and pink yarrow, some white mums, white sage, purple sage. All of my hostas are in full bloom, there are tons of purple flowers around my yard from them. I've got White honeysuckle that smells just yummy. Also my butterfly bush is enormous, and still flowering. I've even got a spirea still blooming. I'm sure there are some other things I have left out, but for the most part there is still a ton of stuff still blooming, and doing great. I'm very happy with the gardens this year.

Dee, I do love those Seastar asters - I think I have a pink one about to bloom, although it could be white - guess I'll have to wait a few days and see! All my annual asters look good this year - love the Matsumotos I got in a trade; the Persers and Cregos are just ok, and the Lilliput Blue Moons (in the photo labeled "Box of Goodies" have kind of grown on me. I'm posting my Photobucket link below; the first 34 pictures are new; the rest are earlier this season.

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden pictures

Hi Debra, Chelonopsis is a perennial and it overwintered fine for me. I like late bloomers b/c usually the foliage stays clean and healthy all season unlike some of the early bloomers whose foliage is now ratty or brown.

Debra Boston, birdseye gilia is classified as a wild flower.
It has tiny, really tiny lavender flowers with a dark eye, and if you put your nose into the blooms they smell like chocolate. 1st year growing it and put them in pots. expected large flowers and was surprised to find these tiny little things. I do like it, and hubby likes to sit outside with a pot in his lap and smell the chocolate. (guess that's what a chocoholic will do.) the seeds are really teeny little things and have only gotten a few. There's another gilia called blue thimble gilia that is different, a blue ball like cluster of lavender blue flowers that is really pretty too. Have those in my garden and they started to rebloom again. Those I have lots of seeds from. You can google the name birdseye gilia, blue thimble gilia and be able to get pics of them

Hi. I think my garden is looking a bit weak this year. There are quite a few things that have SOME bloom, but are not at their stunning peak now (like nepeta walker's low, heliopsis, some campanulas, some geraniums, etc), so I'm not going to list them all.

But for things that really look their best now:
Boltonia
Chelone
Foxgloves
Geranium Rozanne
Phlox
Purple Coneflower (had to really deadhead and deadleaf to make it look fresh)
Caryopsis (blue mist)
Sedums
Spirea round 2
Vitex
Buddleia
Rosy Returns Hemerocallis
Lobelia Ruby Slippers
Obedient Plant

Annuals: Cosmos, Morning Glories!!! Nasturtiums, etc

Tropicals: Brugmansia, Elephant Ears! Cannas, Banana tree, Lemon tree looks great.

I am particularly loving my tropical garden, which is in the patio near my house. It is so lush and fresh looking at this time of year, whereas I feel my perennial beds are fine, but looking sort of weary in the fall.

Drippy - I just looked at all 128 photos in your "bucket". You are one Heckova gardener. I love how you are unafraid to try all sorts of things -- even "poached eggs". I've had a packet of them (from England) for years, but haven't bothered to try them. Your photos are all great. I just thought you'd be pleased to find out that I know the name of the plant at photo #47. It is Malva Neglecta. I have it in my own garden and love it. It does self-seed with abandon, but easy to eradicate and wonderful to hand out to friends, as the plant will grow and flower for even non-gardeners, thereby hooking them onto gardening! If you cut them, they grow more hardy and last a few days in a vase. Your gardens are lovely! Keep up the good work. Thanks for posting all those photos.

As of this morning, Colchicum autumnale (autumn crocus) in addition to most everything from last week. The rain must've perked them up!

Martie