African Garden + wood aster

Harbingers of Autumn: End of the Month Views at the End of Summer

Tomorrow is the start of meteorological autumn. I've been thinking about autumn a lot lately, what with the temperatures 10 degrees above normal and virtually no rain for three weeks. I long for the cool, crisp days of autumn. One frequently encounters the phrase "harbinger of spring," but what about those plants that are the harbingers of the other transitional season?

The garden looks worn and tired...


Once again, let's start at the street.

view from the curb

Rose 'Carefree Beauty' and Dianthus 'Cranberry Ice'

The rose is finally starting to look good again without the constant onslaught of Japanese beetles.

Phlox and coneflowers keep the nanoprairie going until the ex-Asters explode

Caryopteris and Echinacea

the saddest part of the late August garden

halfway along the path

and turning around at the other end of the path

the blue/purple back there is Lobelia syphilitica

Clematis 'Betty Corning' has never stopped blooming.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides plays nicely with Heuchera Citronelle, which is reblooming

Phlox 'Red Super' and Lobelia 'Sparkle DeVine'

I should have waited to take this shot, the tree on the left is gone now

Heptacodium miconiodes is in bloom

until you look closer, and see the harbingers of autumn:
the fall-blooming Anemones,

Anemone x hybrida 'Andrea Atkinson'

the toadlilies,

Tricyrtis 'Tojen'

the ex-Asters,

ex-aster Eurybia divaricata

the Colchicums,

Colchicum 'The Giant'

the Sedums,

Hylotelephium 'Becka'
Hylotelephium 'Matrona'

the Caryopterises,

Caryopteris 'Jason' (Sunshine Blue®)

and the goldenrods.

Solidago 'Fireworks'

Have you seen any harbingers of autumn in your garden?

Thanks again to Helen of The Patient Gardener's Weblog, for the suggestion of posting garden views at the end of each month.

* * *Want to see some beautiful spiderwebs? Check out my post at Wildlife Garden today.