fall flowers

Fall is here, but the flowers have not given up yet.  There are still lots of pretty petals to check out!

Two years ago, I planted a few hibiscus.  Last year, they were full of buds - which all dried up without opening.  I was pretty disappointed, especially when I see what I missed - check this out!  The flowers are about 8 inches across, totally out of proportion to the 3 foot size of the plant.
Hibiscus is very late to come to life in the spring, so don`t pull it out too early thinking it didn`t survive the winter.

These frothy pale purple beauties are fall asters, which grow wild here.  All I need to do is recognize the plants and not pull them out thinking they are weeds.

Queen of the Prairie is a magnet for fall bees.

This brave rose is blooming, even though its leaves have been chewed and sucked dry.

Phlox `David` in the background, `Autum Joy` Sedum in front.

A dried alium has lost its purple flowers, but it`s still a striking sight.

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans) and Purple Coneflower and wild mallow make a great combination.

It's a good year for hydrangeas.  This one started life as a multi-stemmed shrub with flowers as big as your head, so big that they hung to the ground.  this left a big open space in the middle of the plant, and flowers dragging on the ground.  So I cut off all the stems, and the next year let just three grow.  Then I cut out the two weakest ones, staked the remaining one for a year, and voila - it's now a standard holding its flowers high!

The Chinese Lanterns seem bigger than usual this year.  They really shine in a forest of green leaves.

I never get tired of the look - or the fragrance - of sunflowers.

Just one more - sunny Calendula reseed themselves every year. The chickadees gorge on the extra seeds all winter.