One week before the autumnal equinox, large puffy clouds adorn the deep blue sky. It is a beautiful, sunny day, 79°F.
This Stargazer Dahlia is a cactus-flowered dwarf variety. Grown from seed and passed-along a few years ago by a dear neighbor, this lone survivor returns annually without any special attention.
Dahlia ‘Stargazer’
Speaking of survivors, this tomato was a surprise, surprise when I discovered it last week growing underneath a bird feeder. My next-door neighbor grows beautiful and delicious tomatoes and I assume a little bird thoughtfully brought this into my garden.
A Tomato Volunteer
A patch of zinnias is finally adding some cheerful color in a back corner of the property. Mixed seeds always seem to be mostly pink but finally a few yellow, coral and orange are blooming now.
Zinnia
Though most have faded by this point in the season, several Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) continue to display fresh blossoms.
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Tradescantia (Spiderwort) are a very favorite flower but they have become so aggressive I have had to cut back, pull up, and repeat the same removal process over and over throughout the summer. The result is that many Tradescantia are still present and blooming. My former garden has very heavy clay and lots of shade and the tradescantia stayed very well-contained, but here it is too spready. This white blossom is an unusual one, most in this garden are blue or violet.
Tradescantia (Spiderwort)
The gardenia shrubs continue to be welcomingly fragrant. This is one of the Gardenia jasminoides ‘Chuck Hayes’ that grow along the western border of the garden. The newly planted ‘August Beauty’ variety is doing well but it will be some time before it can provide much screening to hide the heating and air conditioner units.
Gardenia jasminoides ‘Chuck Hayes’
Roses are not my forte but this Rosa ‘Iceberg’ belonged to a special friend who passed away a few years ago. Several times I have almost given up on it but it did not give up. So here is this lovely bloom today as a special reminder of a special person. I enjoy that gardens can honor memories and cultivate friendships. Thanks for visiting my garden today.
Rosa ‘Iceberg’
pbmGarden 
I like the almost square ends on the Zinnia, the colour’s good too. I love the way gardens are memories of places and people; it’s so nice that the weather has cooled for us so that we can enjoy our gardens. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as well as your blooms. Christina
Thanks for your comments Christina and oh, I think you pinpointed why I was so drawn to that zinnia–the color but also the shape of those petals! Funny but I hadn’t been conscious of it.
The white rose is lovely. I agree that gardening really does cultivate friendships, and links people in such a positive way! Thanks for sharing your pretty flowers with us.
Thanks Cathy. Really appreciate you taking time to stop by my little garden blog.
Lovely blooms, especially your gardenia, we can only grow it as a house plant here because of the frost. Lovely that you still have your friends Iceberg rose, I remember a very dear friend when all my cowslips are in flower, she gave me the original three. Gardens are full of memories, that’s what makes them such special places.
Thank you Pauline. I agree that gardens are full of memories. Gardeners like to share their plants and so we hold on to bits of the person too with those exchanges.
Lovely late summer flowers. I talked about your sycamore issue in my reply to your comment.
Thanks so much!
Gorgeous – and a lovely thing to come to work and open first thing!
Thank you!
It’s nice that you can grow Dahlia without having to dig it up. Still love that ‘Chuck Hayes’.
That poor little Dahlia is so lonely looking as the sole survivor. I really should try to plant some more next year. My grandmother grew that huge dinner plate kind years ago and I think she did dig them up every year, but the climate really is milder now that what I remember as a child.