Amazingly, we have an iris in bloom in early October! We are now spending the cool mornings and warm afternoons cutting back perennials and generally winterizing the garden. I spent last weekend cutting 25 peonies to the ground, checking the rhizomes to be sure they weren’t diseased, putting in the stakes now so I know where they will come up in the spring, and feeding them slow acting low nitrogen fertilizer.
The hydrangeas are putting on their fall show. This one was deep blue earlier. Now it has faded to green. Many of our white ones have turned pink and red. They make great dried arrangements, too!
These Queen of Elegance roses are on their third burst of bloom this season. Next month I will be cutting almost 100 roses down to the level of my hips. And in the spring, down to the level of my knees so that they will be spectacular next season.
Here’s a view of the cut flower bed with roses and dahlias. You can see the peonies in front with the stakes–before I cut them to the ground.
If you recall, this spot by our covered porch had tons of tulips in the spring. Now in the fall, you can see red gallardia (blanket flower), pink agastache and rust colored rudbekia.
Here’s a great combination– Dahlia and coreopsis!
The giant rudbekia (Black Eyed Susans) stand out in the beds by our vegetable garden.
The dahlia display in our cut garden bed provides lots of flowers for inside the house at this time of year.