After weeks of hotter than normal temperatures and inconsistent rainfall, my container plantings looked a little worse for wear. Now that meteorological summer has ended, it occurred to me that the time had come to do something about the containers. (Trust me on this one, dead pansies are not attractive.) I had taken the girl with me to the garden center to find a plant for the fairy garden. She insisted that I had to buy this yellow Zahara Zinnia, the black petunia and new, fresh black pansies. She does have any eye for color.
I moved a Diascia from a different container to complete the grouping below.
The main feature of this container is the 'Fireworks' pennisetum, which has come into its full glory with the shorter days and cooler weather. The purple Osteospermum took a blooming hiatus during the worst of the summer.
The girl chose woolly thyme for the fairy garden.
At the beginning of summer, she insisted that it should have purple sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Now that I've gotten it all planted up, I think I want it in a larger container. But that is a project for next spring.