September Bloom Day: Not Quite Fall
September is a transitional month. Summer fades away as fall creeps in. Let’s see what’s in bloom at the mid-point of this ninth month of the year.
Don’t tell me you’re tired of Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) and Monarch Butterflies. If you do, I’ll ignore you.
The jolly orange giant is still robust. I deadhead the flowers zealously. Occasionally a stem breaks off, but more grow back.
It’s grown unusually tall this year.
The Mexican Sunflower seems to dominate the ‘Gateway’ Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum), not an easy thing to do.
September is the month of the Susans. Here is a view of the house from the street.
There is Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba), which I wrote about recently.
And Black-Eyed Susan or Orange Coneflower (R. fulgida).
It’s not really fall because so many of the asters are not yet in bloom. There are a couple of early risers among Short’s Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii), Aromatic Aster (S. oblongifolius) and New England Aster (S. novae-angliae), but the vast majority of buds are shut tight.
A few Asters are in full bloom, such as Big Leaf Aster (Eurybia macrophyllla) but these are not the stars of the Aster clan.
The Goldenrods (Solidago sp.), however, are fully awake. Looking best right now is Anise-Scented Goldenrod (S. odora), a compact plant that grows in sun or part shade. I’m told this Goldenrod makes a particularly nice tea, but I’ve never tried it.
There seems to be a lot less Blue-Stem Goldenrod around – perhaps it has been partly overshadowed by larger neighbors.
In the back garden there is a lot of Zigzag Goldenrod (S. flexicaulis), an aggressive spreader that likes shade.
The ‘Matrona’ Sedum (S. telephium) is still looking good.
I think it goes really well with Calamint (Calamintha nepeta) and its tiny white flowers.
Both ‘Matrona’ and the Calamint are covered with bees.
The Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is becoming more and more floriferous. I love that blue.
The roses are getting a second wind. ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ is sporting big bouquets of fragrant little white flowers.
This isn’t a very good picture, but here’s our ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ growing up the arbor in the back garden. Most of the flowers are up at the top.
‘Sally Holmes’ is contributing a few small trusses as well.
Let’s close with a picture of a new resident of the shady back garden: Toad Lily (Tricyrtis formosana). I planted just a couple of these, but I’m looking forward to bigger clumps and more flowers next year.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Follow the link to see more gorgeous flowers than you can shake a stick at.
gardeninacity 
I do so like your garden, Jason!
Thank you, Cynthia!
Your garden is beautiful in all seasons! I really like the view of the arbor leading out to the main garden. Happy Bloom Day!
Happy Bloom Day, Beth!
Love all your Susans! I’ve sent for seed of Rudbeckia triloba as I like yours so much!
I think you’ll like it. It’s a very easy plant if you don’t mind the self-sowing.
The garden looks very green & colourful, I think autumn gives a deeper colour to some flowers… Hope your blossoms last a long time…
I agree – the softer light deepens the color.
Fabulous garden with all the different colors! They are such lovely blooms!
Thank you!
The ceratostigma and rudbeckia combo is gorgeous. And, I agree, you can never have too many pics of tithonia and monarchs 🙂 It’s all looking lovely there – the street view of your house is fab.
I love tithonia and monarchs! There couldn’t possibly be too many. While interviewing a monacrch advocate this week, I heard only 10% or less of monarch eggs become adults, maninly because of other insects that eat or parasitize the larvae. She collects the eggs as soon as she finds them on her milkweed and then hand-raises the caterpillars in a mesh box on her screen porch. She has about an 80% success rate.
That’s impressive. I admire her effots, and those of others who do the same.
Those butterfly pictures. So beautiful! I’ve never seen goldenrod in a garden setting – until now. Enjoyed and tweeted.
Thanks! Some species of Goldenrod will do quite well in the garden, though they sometimes self-sow prolifically.
I love aster time! That Short’s aster is very attractive and looks like it is floating in space, set against the dark foliage. You’ve got some great colour combinations in your garden just now.
Aster time is just beginning. By next weekend I hope to have a real aster explosion!
That toad lily is lovely! I am really enjoying the tithonia’s in my garden as well – lots of bee visitors but haven’t seen any butterflies on it yet. I have a lot of goldenrod too, but in my case, it’s the “common” variety that’s considered a weed around here.
I let even the “weedy” goldenrod grow in the wilder parts of my garden.
I would never tire of Tithonia. It is such an exuberant plant and so tall. I like tall in the garden. If I had more sun I would grow lots of it. I might try again next year. A friend of mine has it and it grew unusually tall this year too. It must have been all the dry hot weather. I also like the blue of that plumbago. I have tried growing it here too. Need to try that again I see. Happy GBBD.
I think the Plumbago wants a lot of sun, as does the Tithonia.
I never get tired of seeing Monarchs or your Tithonia! As I mentioned on your Facebook post, I somehow missed the info on how tall this plant would get. I had a few seedlings I started indoors and ran out of space for them, so I planted them in a pot–not the best idea:) Calamint is on my wish list for next year; we saw a large planting of these at the Olbrich in Madison, and they were simply covered in bees!
Tammie grows them in pots, it may be possible if you keep them cut back – and it’s a really big pot!
Still so much! Beautiful!
Thanks!
Your blooms are beautiful. Love the toad lily.
Beautiful monarch and tithonia. The Susans make a fantastic presentation.
The Susans are so wonderful in masses.
Gorgeous photos–all of them! Like you, I think the blue of the plumbago is stunning. Both goldenrods are lovely.
The Plumbago was slow to establish but now it is really starting to spread.
Your not “very good picture” is charming — a peek through the garden arch.
My tithonia is tall like yours and has had Monarchs visit too. hooray!
The plumbago is gorgeous, I spied some struggling under a Japanese maple, vying with liriope in my daughter’s garden the other day. I’m going to grab some for my own garden.
I thought it wasn’t so good because it was hard to distinguish the rose from the tree behind it. Anyway, your daughter should be happy to share a bit of Plumbago with her only mother.
I haven’t seen a single New England aster blooming yet, but now that I’ve said that I’ll most likely start seeing them everywhere.
The NE Aster blooms are picking up speed. I think they’ll peak in a few days.
Lots of beautiful blooms!
I *really* need to try growing Tithonia again. (I direct sowed seeds a while back, but had zero germination. Or maybe I weeded out the seedlings accidentally?)
I’ve got one Solidago odora, but I think it’s in too much shade. Don’t anticipate any bloom this year.
On the other hand, my S. caesia is in too much sun and gets baked to a crisp.
I think I’m going to swap the two plants around this autumn!
S. caesia can take full sun here but I think your sun is hotter than ours.
Beautiful as always! I’m so glad you had some monarchs tis year. I’ve only seen one which is very strange.
Their numbers were down this year. I hope they are able to rebound in 2017.
I will never tire of seeing butterflies on hot-colored flowers. Those Mexican sunflowers are quite something, surpassing Joe Pye. I will admit to a sting of envy over your Darlow’s Enigma – it is lovely!
Thanks – ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ is pretty easy to grow – I ordered it from Heirloom Roses in Oregon.
If only I had room. Oh well, maybe in my next garden…
It looks wonderful from the street Jason, and what fantastic shots of the Tithonia, Monarch and that blue blue sky! I bet passers-by must wonder what all that buzzing is… 😉
Thanks, we had a clear, cloudless sky that day.
Love the different feel of your front from your back gardens. And picture no. 2 is a stunner.
Yes, I like having a sunny garden on one side of the house and a shady one on the other.
The rudbeckias look great, but the tithonia is my favorite by far!
I also don’t consider it fall until the asters bloom. I think we still have another week or two at least.
The asters here have not yet peaked, but they are definitely starting to strut their stuff.
There is something so exciting to me about the flowers of late summer. It means cooler temps are on the way and the breezes will be back. You are right I could never tire of Sunflowers and Monarchs. Your garden is so beautiful in the light of this time of year!
Thank you! Prairie gardens are at their most dazzling in August and September, I think.
Your planting is looking particularly good at the moment Jason, of course it never looks bad
Very nice of you to say!
Wow. how could we be tired of lovely Tithonia? Specially when it sports such a magnificent butterfly as a matching accessory. Good old Sally Holmes, she just goes on and on blooming all summer . I am envious of your gorgeous Cerotostigma, mine is really economical with its flowers.
My ‘Sally Holmes’ gave up its blooming through the heat of summer, but it’s having a second round of blooms now that the weather has cooled. It is a wonderful rose.