Last Days of Summer

The dog days of summer have passed and it is now dark at 8 PM--Goodbye Summer--Hello Autumn.  I've been able to spend time cleaning up the garden, cutting back the overgrown, and taking note of what seemed to do well and what needs to be moved.  You'd think that after all the years of gardening I'd be able to correctly site new plants but I get it right about half the time or so it seems.  The Ginger has started to bloom.  I thought I had winter kill since the tubers near the surface were mushy this Spring but they recovered nicely.  

Also breaking into full bloom is Autumn Glory Clematis.  This is a vigorous vine that I don't hesitate to trim to hold it back.  It is fragrant and a prolific bloomer.

This is the first year I've had a blue Cardinal Flower (Vedrariensis).  I lost my last red one during the drought this year but the blue seems to be more drought hardy.

Another bloomer is False Dragonhead (Phsostegia).  I think the voles attacked the roots and stunted it's growth this year--could be the drought too but it did survive.

This weeks church flowers and a couple of arrangements they were used in.