Lost in a Late Summer Reverie . . .

 On the Terrace: Dahlia ‘Karma Choc’ and Angelonia angustifolia ‘Angelface Dark Violet’

Out watering containers this morning —listening to the chorus of crickets in the meadow and cedar waxwings in the viburnum— I found myself lost in a late summer reverie. With Dahlias, Summersweet, fragrant Lilies, Garden Phlox and Hydrangea in bloom, ornamental grasses sending up tinted blades and silken tassels, and many other favorites just coming into bud or forming ripe, colorful fruit, August is glorious month in my garden. Sometimes it can be hard to leave here!

 August’s Green Corn Moon, Through Swaying Blades of Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’)

For many gardeners, late summer is a time of winding down, cutting back, and dreaming of next spring. But why turn away from garden pleasures so soon? The second act is just getting started! The Turtle Head (Chelone lyonii), Yellow Waxbells (Kirengeshoma palmata), Fairy Candles (Actaea simplex), Monkshood (Aconitum), Windflower (Anemone hybrids), Bushclover (Lespedeza thunbergii) and Asters are just loaded with buds and the Beautyberry (Callicarpa), Dogwood (Cornus species), Cotoneaster, Juniper, Viburnum and Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) are laden with ripening fruit and colorful, shiny berries.  The big summer party’s just warming up… Won’t you stick around and keep me company? Here are a few of my late-season favorites —currently blooming or covered with berries— to whet your whistle . . .

 In the Wildflower Meadow Border: Ruby Spice Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’)

 Henry Eilers Sweet Coneflower and Flickering Tips of Flame Grass at Meadow’s Edge (Rudbeckia subtomentosa’Henry Eilers’ & Miscanthus sinensis purpurascens)

Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata), is a great plant for late season fragrance, color and attracting pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. Control powdery mildew by choosing mildew-resistant cultivars (‘Jeana’, shown above in bud, ‘David’, increasing soil moisture (add compost and a thick layer of mulch), alkalinity (adding lime to the soil in early spring or autumn), air circulation (divide clumps in late summer or early autumn and thin in early spring), and treating foliage with horticultural oil or homemade anti-fungal remedy (click here). 

 A Lovely, Late-Season Selection, the Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginians), Can Actually Get a Bit Aggressive in a Perennial Border. Although it is a Beautiful, North American Native Flower —Popular with Pollinators as Well— I Recommend Thoughtful, Wild-Garden Positioning. Pretty in the Landscape and Vase, Obedience is Not One of Her Virtues!

 Smaller in Stature, Hummingbird Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’), Sits Pretty Beside the Studio Door, Filling the August Air with Fragrance

 Nearby, the Doublefile Viburnum —Laden with Glistening Red Fruit— Draws Cedar Waxwings and Other Songbirds by the Flock (V. plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Shasta’)

The Honey-Hued Beauty of Goldenrod Lights up Ninebark’s Maroon Foliage an Old Vase: Solidago, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ and Miscanthus sinensis ‘Strictus’. Goldenrod is Often Erroneously Blamed for Allergies. Ragweed (Similar Bloom Time and Color) is the Wind-Pollinated Culprit.

 Ripening Cornus kousa Fruits are Every Bit as Pretty as the Blossoms, and Don’t Even Get Me Started on the Fall Foliage Color!

 Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), is a Tall, Back-of-the-Border Plant. A North American Native, it is a Favorite of Monarch and Swallowtail Butterflies, Bees and Many Other Pollinators. It Also Makes a Beautiful & Stately Cut Flower.

 I’ve Never Been One for Blue Hydrangea —Color Never Looks True to My Eye— But I’m Mad for the Rest. The Late-Summer Blush and Autumn Foliage of the Oakleaf Species Make it One of My All-Time Favorites (Hydrangea quercifolia)

 Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Yarrow-Leaf Tansy (Tanacetum achilleifolium) & Yarrow (Achille millefolium) Offer Late-Season Blooms and Make Great Additions to Bouquets and Dried Arrangements

 Variegated Maiden Grass in the Moonlight

Photography & Text â“’ Michaela Medina Harlow/The Gardener’s Eden. All images, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Please do not take my photographs without asking first. Thank you! 

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