Late Summer/Fall 2018 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Indian Summer may not be coming in 2018. We have gone from dry to ultra wet with Hurricane Florence to super hot. It's 89 degrees on Oct. 5th.

The Good

A Frost aster and wild ageratums are looking lovely with the lipstick sage. The Frost aster is also wild. I might be wrong about this being a Frost aster. I don't see any 'hairs' and the stems are woody. If anyone has any other ideas as to identification, please let me know. I've been watching it all summer hoping that it was this particular aster. Thank you birds and wind!

Unfortunately, pollinators aren't interested in the Chinese Aster, but it makes a beautiful filler plant and blooms for a longer period than even the butterfly bushes. This divides very easily.

Tea olive or sweet olive- This is blooming prolifically. It's not been very productive until this past week. Normally, it will produce about three cycles of blooms in the warm season. I guess it's been saving it's strength for these outstanding blossoms. The scent is heavenly.

Red Hibiscus in the pond

We've had this plant for ten years. I've never seen three blossoms open on one stem at the same time.

The fern bed is green! We are working on building a garden in this dry shade area. Pictured is a Holly fern, Maiden Hair fern with Fire and Ice

Hostas.

The bad and the ugly

Yellow Knockout roses

This weather has knocked them out and not in a good way. To begin with, they are in a tough area near a large pine and only receive late day sun. They will make it, but this has not been an easy late summer for them. I've cut them back to generate new growth. The vigorous Chinese asters pictured previously are to the right and left of these.

The poor yarrow plant. This too will survive.

I'll leave you with something hopeful. I think these are going to be Black-eyed Susans or something similar. I'll know more when they open. They have come up from seed.

Happy gardening!