Anemones - It's unfortunate you don't have luck with them. Don't give up - sometimes it takes a few tries before they settle in. Anemones are really long bloomers from late August well into October and would go a long way for fall color. Goldenrod (Solidago) - I have 'Fireworks' and wow - what a great perennial for fall. It's long lasting, sturdy and full of blooms. Orange crocosmia/Montbretia - I bought this plant on a lark one year and am really glad I did. It blooms later but lasts much longer than Lucifer. I have the specific variety name somewhere, but if you did a search, you'd find it. Still blooming quite strongly. Heliopsis helianthoides 'Loraine Sunshine' - A great large perennial for fall. It doesn't go into full bloom until early September, but when it does, watch out. It can get up to 7 feet tall, but I find it unmanageable at that height. So I cut mine back by half in summer and let it peak at 5-1/2 tall. I have mine behind my pond and it really fills in the blank landscape after the lilies are done blooming. Asters - You should try different varieties. I've got New England asters and some others whose names elude me right now. Alma P. got too out of control for me. Boltonia - It's a nice larger perennial for fall - although mine needed to be staked. Looks like a really big Baby's Breath. Annuals - Try some with more color. Some annuals are hardier than others and will keep going until frost stops them. Orange marigolds do quite well until a few hard frosts. And the orange color ties right into fall. My nasturtiums are going full blast right now, too. Some people like to plant ornamental cabbage. I tried some one year and they lasted well into early winter. I had to pull them out before they died! Grasses are good for fall and many don't bloom until now. As you mentioned, dahlias are great and well worth the effort, as are cannas. Elephant ears tolerate cold weather until frost (but need to be pulled for me), roses will also bloom until frost. Joe Pye Weed is another perennial that comes to mind. It's just about to bloom. Sedums are peaking now. Hardy cranesbills (if kept tidied) will bloom into October. Don't forget 3 season shrubs. It's sometimes hard to find perennial fall bloomers that standout, so you have to also rely on foliage. Many shrubs or perennials have fall color or interest that will keep your garden looking nice into winter. A couple shrubs I have are oak leaf hydrangea, viburnum and caryopteris. "Jack Frost" brunnera is still going strong with its silvery foliage. And my hosta foliage is still looking ok. You have lots of options, don't despair. Good Luck!

Well, I am bummed. Every one of my fall blooming asters (lots of them) bloomed ten days ago and were completely done within a week. One week! I have never seen such a short bloom period for them. I never even got photos. I have dozens of Boltonia asteroides 'Snowbank', most being volunteers. They HAVE to be deadheaded or cut back if you don't want a million seedlings in our zone. I am usually cutting them back in mid-October, and I have already done this year's.

OK, the snow is gone and we should all be able to start getting into our gardens. The details for this bulb swap are posted at the top of this email -- I'm not going to post them again -- but the deadline date will now be the end of April. I have had mostly sign-ups via email, which is fine, but if you want to participate and haven't yet emailed me for my address, now is the time! I'm looking forward to starting this tradition in the Canadian Gardening Exchange forum, I think a Spring and Fall Bulb Swap would be a really nice way to exchange some extra bulbs that you've divided and a really nice way to try some new ones! Happy Spring!

Matt- that's a terrific picture of Flamenco Dancer and it's better than anything else I have of my plant. Mine is at least 3 years old and in a non-optimal part shade spot under the fringe of a large oak tree. It has survived OK for me, though not cane hardy, so I think you'll be fine in zone 6b. Mine doesn't really climb well however, after all that winter kill, though it still wants to be a lanky climber-type bloom on the end of long canes. Under these not very supportive conditions, my Flamenco Dancer puts out a bloom or two maybe every 6 weeks. Like with many roses, a zone warmer can make a lot of difference so I think Matt will have better results if he has surviving cane. When climbers have to regrow from the base they're rarely as robust as they would be in warmer zones. Ingrid, my experience doesn't much translate to yours, so don't judge your rebloom from my report. For me, this is one of those roses where I notice the stamens, though that might be because I don't get there till it has fully opened out. The stripes are the kind of soft pink that would blend well with the other roses you grow, Ingrid. Mine can have a sort of semi-double look in hot weather, but Matt's photo shows the optimum kind of bloom that it's striving for when happy. Here's a side view looking a little more double: Here's what I think of as a more typical bloom All in all, I'd say this is a very nice rose that should climb in a mannerly way for Ingrid, and survive fine for Matt and me. The foliage even in July is pretty clean, and I can't tell about fragrance since most roses don't stand out in fragrance to me. Cynthia