Unopened Rain Lilies September 19, 2014

This morning I snapped pictures of many of my Candida Rain Lilies before the sun signaled them to open up.  I love when they look  like this.

Fall Garden Scenes September 19, 2014

 Above : Lion's Tail, Salvias, Hyacinth Bean Vine, and Morning Glory Tree.

 Above - Lion's Tail, Ehemanii Canna, zinnias, and Mexican Salvia.

Above -  Frog Fruit, Gruss an Achaan rose, a Tabasco pepper plant that sprang up on its own, Pringle Aster, Perennial Ageratum, zinnias, Almond Verbena, red cannas, and Morning Glory Vine.

Pretty Salvias September 19, 2014

The rain has really helped revive my salvias.  With the exception of the pink autumn sage, all of these salvias are reseeding annuals.  Many years ago I sowed a packet of seeds in the Star Garden, and I have had loads of plants every season since then.  Below, Cleopatra cannas reside happily with white and red salvias.

 Above, this is my pink autumn sage.  Next year I'm going to prune it hard s it will get fuller.

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Fall Festival of Flowers September 19, 2014

Most of the flowers below are late summer / fall blooming flowers.  Perennial ageratum is a fall bloomer.

 Below, dwarf Barbados Cherry only blooms in the fall.

 This is one of my favorite cannas, called Dawn Pink.

 Below, Cactus Flower Zinnia.

 Below, Indigo Spires Salvia will bloom all summer, but in the fall the purple color of the flowers is really vivid.

 Below, Fireworks Gomphrena will bloom all summer and into late fall.

 Below, butterfly ginger is a late summer bloomer.  This variety has been spectacular for me.  It spreads really fast.  Because of that I have it growing all over the place.  It can be easily dug up and transplanted.

 Lantana - and old faithful that blooms its heart out all summer and into the fall.  A butterfly magnet, so for me, it is a must-have.  Cut it back after it blooms, before it starts getting woody.

 Graham Thomas rose likes the cooler weather of fall.  The fall flush for this rose is better than the spring flush in my garden.

 Lion's Tail is a fall bloomer.  This is the first time I have grown it, and I think it is really interesting.

 Below, Pringle Aster is a fall bloomer.  I flops over, unfortunately.  Pretty, but clumsy.  I used to have a lot of purple aster in the Star Garden, but it sort of disappeared.  I find it here and there, but nothing like three years ago when it was a solid purple carpet of flowers.

 This is Caldwell Pink, a found rose that I planted last weekend.

Buttercup Turnera September 19, 2014

 Turnera will get shrubby and grow about three feet tall if placed in the right spot.  My turnera is not optimally placed, and it is sprawling and gangly.  I have it in part sun.  They are sun lovers.  But I had some empty space, and I saw it in a nursery and bought it.  There is a bright yellow variety which I have grown before, but this creamy color with the brown eye is my favorite.  The flowers open up in the morning and close up about noon.  Turnera re-seeds, and I hope to get lots of volunteers next year that I can transplant all around the Star Garden in sunnier spots.

 Above and below, I took pictures of my turnera this morning.  It is a cloudy day, and the flowers have not fully opened.  The petals look so pretty.

Cone Flower September 14, 2014

I've never had much luck growing echinacea.  I think it is because they have a tap root.  Voles love plants with tap roots - they are very delicious.  For this reason, I haven't been able to keep these lovely perennials growing year after year.  But 2014 has been a good year.  They are easy to sow from seed.  I found some young plants (they do not typically bloom the first season) in the Star Garden, and I remembered that I got some free seeds at the March Mart and sowed them in that spot.  I had completely forgotten.  The ones is my garden are the common wild variety, but there are some beautiful varieties for sale in nurseries these days.  I refrain from spending money on them because of my vole problem.

Scarlet Wave Canna September 14, 2014

Cannas are lovely and useful in the garden.  Useful because they provide vertical interest in the garden with little or no care.    Lovely because the buds and flowers are magnificent and dramatic.  Scarlet Wave is planted at the entrance to the Orchard.