Mammoth Sunflower

For September’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day it is only appropriate that we lead off with the late Sunflower that resulted from seed that my granddaughter shipped down from Boston.  She said the squirrels ate the ones she had planted and so could I please plant the seeds in the envelope to see if they would grow.  We did and they did.  The lovely sunflowers grew wonderfully and ended up in a Van Gogh-like vase on the inside of the house.

As the picking garden winds down from its full summer glory the zinnias are decaying and the marigolds getting smaller.  Still brilliant however is the singular Tithonia that self-seeded from last year.

Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)

The sense of fall approaching is helped by the appearance of the Colchicum in the lawn.  Only one species has come back from the previous year but it seems quite vigorous.

Colchicum ‘Byzantinum’

Several of the plants giving pleasure right now are holdovers from previous postings.  They just keep coming and coming and coming.

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Hypericum perforatum

Alstroemeria ‘Casablanca’

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’

Rose ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’

All the Tricyrtis are extended bloomers with exquisite flowers, for example…

Tricyrtis ‘Autumn Glow’

In the Alpine bed the Erodium chrysantha bloomed in the spring and is now blooming in the fall as well.

Erodium chrysanthum

And close by in one of the large troughs, a new Erodium that I grew from a NARGS seed exchange planted in 2013 is now producing flowers.

Erodium carvifolium

In the Green house there is a very pretty little rain lily (Habranthus brachyandrus) that is producing flowers from for the first time.

Habranthus brachyandrus

Habranthus brachyandrus

This one came from seeds distributed by the Pacific Bulb Society back in December 2012.

Lastly let me close with one of the prettiest fall flowers – very reliable and very vigorous (meaning it spreads).

Anemone × hybrida ‘Whirlwind’

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day is all about recording what is blooming in your garden.  Do you have flowers to share?