What’s blooming in your garden right now? My Dahlias, Black-eyed Susans, and Sedum Autumn Joy are the stars of the show these days. Come take a late summer garden tour with me to see what’s happening in my PNW garden.
I’m holding onto summer just as long as I can. As much as I love a good pumpkin spiced latte or a cozy plaid throw, I love my flower garden even more. It’s hard to think that this view will be a thing of the past in just another month or so.
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Dahlias
The dahlias are thriving this time of year and will be one of the last flowers standing in October. I usually cut them down after the first frost, or after a strong heavy rain, whichever comes first.
Many of you have asked if I pull my dahlias and store them during the winter. I did dig them out of the ground one year, but it was a lot of work. Because the winters in the PNW are so mild, I’ve decided to keep them right where they are. I do add a 3-inch layer of mulch or mowed-up leaves on top of the plant for protection through the winter. In April, I will dig up the dahlia tubers and split them for the season.
Late Summer Sunflowers
Seriously, who doesn’t love a sunflower? They are the queen of all late summer flowers. I’ve always dreamt of growing a field of these beauties. Unfortunately, I failed badly this season. I planted 30 sunflowers seeds and had only one come up. I don’t have a clue as to what I could have done wrong. Any thoughts? So I went and did the next best thing…I went to the local nursery and bought two seed starts for 50% off! This is one of them.
Flower Containers
My containers are still looking good. I am in love with this whiskey barrel we found several months ago at a local flea market. I love using thrift store finds as flower containers for the garden!
October is when I transplant all the geraniums that are now planted in containers and window boxes, to individual 4X4″ pots. They will overwinter my geraniums in the greenhouse. Then in the spring, I will start new plants from cuttings. This process saves me hundreds of $$$ a year!
Dividing Your Perennials
The black-eyed Susans are the late summer flower that gives my garden the pop of color it needs in August and September. I divide my plants every fall so they don’t get too overgrown. I have a list of neighbors and friends in line waiting to get the extra plants I split. That’s what someone did for me. They gave me one plant, and the rest is history!
Sedum Autumn Joy
This is a plant that I have fallen more in love with year after year. It has succulent leaves that remind me of a jade plant. Clusters of tiny pink flowers appear from September to October, gradually turning to a deep rust color. These are great plants to divide in the spring.
Cosmos
Cosmos are one of my favorite summer flowers. You really can’t go wrong with these beauties. They come in a variety of colors and add such a pop to the garden. These gorgeous flowers are one of the first to bloom and the last to stick around. The more you cut, the more they bloom. Love that!
Pumpkins
My first pumpkin! I just hope there will be more to come!
Ordering Spring Bulbs and Seeds for Fall Sowing
I’ll be placing my spring bulb order next week. In the past, I’ve ordered my tulip and daffodil bulbs from Floret Flowers, but sadly, they won’t be offering them this year. The good news is they did provide recommendations of other companies that sell bulbs. However, Floret Flowers will be offering limited quantities of ranunculus, anemones, and some hardy annual seeds for fall sowing.
Thanks so much for being here on my late summer garden tour in the PNW. I appreciate you following along. It’s always so fun for me to share my garden with you.
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More Posts You May Enjoy…
- Creating a Cottage Garden
- Transitioning the Garden From Summer to Fall
- Summer Garden Magazine Photo Shoot – Behind the Scenes
- My Cottage Garden Summer View
Featured By…
- Embracing Home and Family – The Everyday Farmhouse
- Love Your Creativity – Life and Linda
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I just found you from Life and Linda. I follow several blogs and was so excited to find one from the PNW. I too live in this beautiful part of the world. Such wonderful gardens you have. Thank you for sharing. I will now be following you.
It’s so nice to meet you Linda! It is fun to find fellow PNWers! I’m sure you are enjoying the gorgeous weather. It seems better in September than the last few months of summer! Thanks for stopping by!
Kim, what an amazing garden. So much color and beauty. This time of year, a lot of our blooms dry up. I am happy to feature your gorgeous gardens today at Love Your Creativity. Happy Labor Day.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your feature Linda! I just love the gardening season, and trying to hold on as long as I possibly can! Thank you for visiting!
Hi there! I am featuring this beautiful post on https://theeverydayfarmhouse.com/embracing-home-and-family-link-party-6/
Not quite as amazing as a magazine feature, but hey! Congratulations on that ! I hope you can join us again this week!
Oh my gosh Jennifer. It feels just as wonderful, thank you! I will go check out your new blog post now! Thank you!
Oh goodness, those bright blooms make me so happy. I grew up in the PNW and now live in Texas, so I miss the PNW summers (especially the cool evenings, which are non-existent here!) and vibrant flowers. Your photos are beautiful!
Thank you Elena. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, where the nights stay hot. We do live in a paradise here. Hopefully you can visit a lot!
Your flowers are just beautiful. I felf serene just looking at your pictures. In Maine, dahlias need to be dug up; I stored mine in the cellar and NONE of them came back this year. Poo! I get my fall bulbs from Breck’s. It amazes me that someone with black thumbs can grow flowers just like the pictures in the catalog!
Isn’t it fun!? I’m wondering why your dahlias didn’t come back. I have had several tubers that were eaten by slugs once they were just starting to sprout.
Your garden is always a delight to visit. Thank for taking us on tour. Happy September!
Thank you for being so sweet. I appreciate it.
Oh I just love your garden! It is so inspirational, my garden wants to be just like it when it grows up! Ha! But really, you do a wonderful job with it! Thank you for linking up with us at Embracing Home and Family!
Thank you for the wonderful compliment Jennifer!
The birds eat the sunflower seeds! I make sure my bird feeders stay full – seems to help? Your yard is beautiful. Where did you find your plan for the garden shed. I just started looking for ideas while I save the $ to do it. Like you say – I will actually SAVE money by building one. 😀
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the tip on the birds! We did not use plans for the greenhouse. We had an amazing contractor that built it all on his own after we shared some inspiration pictures from Pinterest. He is truly talented. I’m so glad you are thinking about building one. I love mine!
Your garden is heavenly! Balm to the soul…
You are so kind. Thank you!
The gardens look amazing right now!
Thanks Stacy! Yours are looking pretty beautiful as well!
Your garden is absolutely gorgeous! Cosmos are a favorite of mine, but I love all flowers.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Thank you so much Michelle! I love all flowers too. It’s so hard to pick just one favorite.