Fall Equinox 2026

Colchicum 'Waterlily'

 

The Fall Equinox came last week with over an inch of rain, and my Colchicum 'Waterlily' sprouted three lovely flowers. The previous year it didn't bloom at all--I dug it up and re-planted it just a foot or so from where it had been--it was being crowded out by other plants-- it seems a lot happier now.

 

 

As the summer flowers in other beds fade, the classic fall flowers begin their show, and berries decorate my bushes. Along my front yard the Salvias in pots are still hanging on, feeding the hummingbirds that are now migrating, while the leaves of the dogwood tree turn to autumn shades.

 

Along the front walk

 

The Viburnum 'Brandywine' on the east side of the house is displaying its berries in pinks and blues. My Pink Turtlehead in the woodland garden managed to produce one flowering spike; the deer ate all the other buds, despite having a deer repellent on a stake right next to it! I'll have to try to protect it more next year, in hopes it will become a respectable clump. The Anemone 'Honorine Jobert is still looking good.

 

Viburnum 'Branydwine'

Pink Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua)

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

 

In the back yard the swamp sunflowers have opened up, making a nice display. Last Friday I had agreed to lead a workshop drawing flowers for Art in the Park, an annual weekend event at Shenandoah National Park. I had to provide my own flowers, as one is not allowed to cut any plants from the park, so I went out that morning and cut a bunch of my sunflowers and little wild asters that I let grow all over my yard, along with a few of my Agastaches and ornamental grasses. 

 

Swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolium)

Wild asters growing next to my veggie pagoda

The workshop turned out very well, I had about 20 people, four adults had brought children with them, between the ages of 6 and 10--I was impressed by how well-behaved and attentive the kids were. It was wonderful to see them doing art, brought back memories of myself at that age.

Driving south on Skyline Drive on my way in, I almost ran into two wild turkey hens eating something in the middle of the road. I slowed down and carefully drove around them--they didn't even budge, they were so absorbed in whatever was there. Two other cars behind me did the same. I wish I'd had the time to stop and take a photo, it's seldom one sees a wild turkey these days, much less two! But I was running late...

Yesterday I found a neat surprise in my back yard--a circle of lawn mushrooms growing in front of the back bed--these are the edible Agaricus campestris, same variety that are sold at the grocery store as button mushrooms. Naturally, I went out this morning and collected enough for dinner tonight. These will have more flavor than the grocery-bought ones, which have had the flavor bred out of them.

 

Edible lawn mushrooms (Agaricus campestre)

 

Lawn mushroom harvest

In the backyard the Muhly grass is starting to open its airy plumes, and Herb's bed still has some Agastaches, Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and ornamental grasses. The yellow Chrisanthemums are holding their own, while the other mums are getting ready to open.

 

Muhly grass

  

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Yellow Chrysanthemum

 

Pink mum in bud

 

The two Beautyberries 'Early Amethyst' in the back yard have a nice crop of berries--the color is so lovely against the yellowing leaves.

 

Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst')

Recently I've been working on a new piece on a material new to me--Aquabord. This mineral and clay surface is quite different from working on paper, it absorbs water and dries at a very different rate from paper. It's challenging whenever one tries something new, but the idea is to be able to seal it and mount it in a floater frame rather than put it under plexiglas and a mat. Below is the new work in progress.

 

Monarchs on Prairie Blazing Meadow Star, 16" x 20"

 

As the nights get colder, the leaves will soon begin to turn shades of red and gold. I wonder if we'll have a colorful fall this year? 

September 2026 Bloom Day

Hardy begonias in front yard

 

I'm a day late with this post--went hiking at Dolly Sods with a friend yesterday, it was such a lovely day! Today I'm trying to catch up with September's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden Blog. Welcome to  my Zone 6 b Virginia garden, let's take a look at what's blooming.

This year the deer left me a few flowers of the hardy Begonias in front. Growing among the Blue Rug Junipers and a sprinkling of wild asters with that minty little weed I like, they make a nice display under the cherry tree. I believe that minty-smelling weed (a Calamint?) may have kept the deer from eating more of the Begonias, but who knows?

 

Coleus flowers

 

The one Coleus I planted in a pot this spring has been blooming for quite a while--the hummingbirds seem to favor these tiny flowers a lot, so instead of cutting them off, I've let them continue to grow. As a result,the flower spikes have become incredibly long! The other Coleus variety planted around the pot hasn't bloomed at all.

The hummers are still about, enjoying the tropical Salvias along my front walk: the red Faye Chapel, Brazilian Blue and Black and Blue, but I posted those before, and the hanging baskets on the porch too. My white Heliotrope finally started to bloom, it was about time!

 

White Heliotrope

 

The east woodland garden still has some of the blue and white Lobelias flowers but they're starting to look a bit tired at the end of the season. The Japanese Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' is starting to open--how I wish I could grow them without a deer barrier!

 

 

East Woodland garden Lobelias

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

In the back yard, the Blue Lake beans are towering above everything in the veggie pagoda--I've harvested so many beans, I've been freezing them, there's no way we can eat them all before they spoil.

 

The back yard with the veggie pagoda.

 

The Little Bluestem grass in Herb's bed is turning an autumn shade, although the Muhly grass has yet to put out its airy flowering spikes. The hardy the red Salvia and a few other plants still retain some flowers, but they're past their prime now.

 

Herb's bed in September

Herb's bed from the back

The Colchicums I planted a couple of years ago in the back bed popped up after a brief shower, a nice surprise, since it's still much too warm. But they don't seem to be thriving--only two or three flowers from the five bulbs of each that I planted. No signs of the "Waterlily' Colchicum yet.

 

Colchicum Bornmuellerii

 

Colchicum album

 Deer keep eating my asters, but one lovely purple flower was open. 

 

Bees enjoying a lone purple aster

 

My tropical plants on the back deck are making a nice display too--specially the yellow Hibiscus. The Nasturtiums in the hanging basket started to bloom rather late, but they're still going.

 

Tropical Begonias and Hibiscus on back deck

 

Yellow Hibiscus

Nasturtiums in hanging basket

These yellow Chrysanthemums I've had for years always bloom early, starting in August. The other florist's mums are in bud, but not quite ready to bloom. The Sedum 'Autumn Joy'I've had for years, though my plants seem to be getting progressively weaker each year. Perhaps it's time to dig those old ones up and buy new ones?

 

Yellow Chrisanthemums

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

 

With the dry weather continuing, these are about all the flowers for September. I'm still hoping we'll get some good rains before the month is over and have a nice display of Swamp sunflowers and aromatic asters for October. Thanks for stopping by!

September Already

Variegated Black Cotton Flower

 

It's hard to believe it's September already, last week the temperatures were sweltering! My garden had been very dry until last Friday, when we got a couple of showers, so it's a wonder there are any flowers. The tropical Salvias in pots are producing some nice blooms, and the hummingbirds love them.

 

Salvia 'Faye Chapel' and Brazilian Blue Salvias beyond

Hummingbird savoring the Salvias

Array of potted plants along the front walk

After the rain the temperatures have finally become more seasonable and a hint of fall is in the air. The Seven Son Flower tree in the back is still blooming, and the blue and white Lobelias on the east side woodland. This year it appears that my Japanese Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' will have some decent bloom, with one beautiful flower open and lots of buds.

 

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

 'Tis the season for goldenrods to bloom--my narrow-leaved goldenrod and the cascading Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' in the Little Indians bed are not very large, but hopefully will grow over time to cover more area. The ordinary Canada goldenrod sprouts spontaneously in other parts of my garden. The Sedum 'Autumn Joy' flowers are starting to turn pink.

 

Narrow-leaved goldenrod 

Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

The  Prairie Blue Sage in the Badlands is blooming--I wish this one would cover more area too, seems to be very slow growing, but the sky-blue color of the flowers is lovely.

 

Blue Prairie Sage

 

 The garlic chives have held their bloom for a long time and the surrounding flowers in this bed too. The Blue Lake green beans are producing huge amounts this week--they were so tall I had to get Herb to reach some of them for me.

 

Garlic chives in bloom

 

Summer harvest with Blue Lake green beans

The rain stimulated another round of bloom in the California lilac (Ceanothus 'Glorie de Versailles). The white Cleomes on the west side of the house are looking good, I hope they'll re-seed themselves next spring.

 

Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles'

White Cleomes

My porch baskets have recovered from the heat of July and are now looking nice and full.

 

Front porch baskets.

 Soon the Swamp Sunflowers will be opening and the Autumn-flowering crocus popping up, but it's nice to be able to enjoy the last glory of summer flowers!

Last weekend I visited a couple of gardens in Sperryville as part of a garden festival, and was gifted a lovely bouquet of flowers with two amazing Dahlias from one garden. I painted my bouquet mostly from photos I took after I got it home--the flowers last such a short time and I'm a slow painter. Here's a photo of my painting.

 

Summer Bouquet, watercolor painting.

  

August 2026 Bloom Day

Painted Daisies

 

My goodness, it's Bloom Day, the 15th of every month when we gardeners share what's blooming in our gardens, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog. I'd almost forgotten about it, and here I'd already posted most of what is blooming in my garden earlier this week!

There are a few flowers I missed, let's see. First, the Painted Daisy above--at least I think that's what it is. I bought it at Lowe's this spring, and seem to have lost the tag. I planted it out in my front garden, but the deer kept eating it back, so I finally dug it up and put it in a pot on the back deck. The flowers only open during the day when it's sunny, but they're gorgeous!

 

Plant stand on the back deck

 Some of the plants on the plant stand look a bit beat-up, a storm blew off some stems and I haven't cleaned up. The pansies are all dead too, but I haven't had time to re-plant the pots. The Thai basil a friend gave me has the largest and prettiest flowers I've ever seen on a basil. Tiny sweat bees love it!

 

Thai basil

Petunia 'Red Maple' on the back deck

Native Lobelias are a bright spot at this time of the year--the one Cardinal Flower in the front is flowering; the three new plants I set out haven't developed any blooming stems so far. The blue and white Lobelias in the woodland garden continue to proliferate.

 

Lobelia Cardinalis

 

Blue and white Lobelias

 The Seven Son Flower Tree is displaying its small scented flowers.

 

Seven Son Flower Tree

 

The other day I was weeding under the Zelkova tree and moved what I though was a leaf stem caught in the nylon mesh that protects the trunk. A couple of minutes later, the little green stem was back up on the trunk of the tree--a stick insect, it turned out! Such amazing critters, these mimics.

 

Stick insect on a tree trunk

My artichokes were a bust this year--they didn't grow much, so I replaced them with cardoons--supposedly a hardier version of artichokes. This variety is spineless, and I'm curious to see how they'll do, if they'll bloom next year.

  

Cardoon plant

The No ID hydrangeas are unfazed by the dry conditions and keep blooming. Only two of the White Cleomes that I grew from seed a friend gave me survived the harsh summer conditions to bloom now.

  

No ID Hydrangea

White Cleome

 That's all folks! Thanks for visiting!