The begining of the end, or just the end of the begining?

Who is that screamin in my  ear???  Street preacher? Doomsday prophet?  One of the Seven Angels or Four Horseman? Garden Writer?

This time of year it is impossible to escape all the screaming and yelling, only in this case from garden magazine writers and columnists , instead of the usual  cardboard sign carrying crazies, preaching change your ways!..plant more fall color!! The season is waning…is your garden prepared?!!

Well, I can’t speak for my soul, but my  garden seems A-ok. Still, I fall under the spell of their hypnotic chants…ornamental grasses…asters…foliage and textures…. and I feel as though somehow I am NOT ready,  yes, I need to re-assess, re-vamp, plan better for the slow down of Fall

Wait a minute, No I don’t. One quick look at the garden tells me that I actually have quite a bit going on here, and a follow up closer look tells me I actually have more in bloom than I did in July. Check out this list written poorly with no italics or proper botanic names 😉

Traditional Late Bloomers: helianthus x multiflorous, Joe-Pye weed, Sedum (‘Matrona’ ‘Autumn Joy’ ‘Brilliant ‘Vera Jameson’), Trumpet Vines, Rudbeckia, Coneflowers, Caryopteris, Hydrangea (paniculata and grandiflora) Hosta, Hibiscus ( perennial and Rose of Sharon) asters,allium,and buddleia

Long Bloomers that have great staying power: Hydrangea (var. species) catamint ,knockout roses,Christopher Marlowe english rose, magic carpet roses, fairy roses, bee balm,pansies,yarrow,poppies,persicaria (firetail) coreopsis grandiflora ,rose mallow, garden phlox,potentilla, clematis (‘Huldine’ ‘Betty Corning’  ‘Kermesina’ ‘Comtesse de Bouchard’ ‘Dr. Ruppel’  integrifolia and texensis), summersweet (clethra anifolia) shasta daisy, hucheras, perennial verbena’Annie’,blanket flower,

Bushes in berry: snowberry, holly, viburnums (arrowwood and burkwodii) dogwood

Annuals in their prime; bacopa,petunia,nicotiana, sweet peas, helenium, snapdragons, amaranth, sunflowers, hyacinth bean vine, zinnias, cosmos, nasturtiums, stock, pelergoniums and  dhalias

Things re-blooming after being cut back : stella d’oro daylily, armeria, dianthus, feverfew, germander, lavendar, geraniums, spireas,

That’s nothing to sneeze at, and on that subject,  NO I am NOT going to plant solidago (goldenrod), it may not be the cause of the hay-fever (which is it’s look alike- ragweed) but it IS a look alike to what I think of as an ugly weed/plant, and you can’t make me like it!

 So, if the end is near, and we are woefully ill-prepared for the garden making it’s last stand, then someone better tell my Sheffield mums, they haven’t even started to bud yet.