What an amazing transformation. By the end of summer, the bare earth, newly released from its cover of winter snow in April, is unrecognizable. The mature garden is verdant and lush. Here’s a snapshot of one section of the September riot, a triumph of prolific summer growth.
To the right is the fountain grass ‘Redhead’ (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Redhead’). It may be my favorite grass. Its fuzzy seedheads have a pretty blush color, and when backlit by the sun, they’re absolutely breath-taking.
Behind ‘Redhead’ is a hyacinth bean vine. This is the first year I have tried this annual. It has yet to flower, but the vine itself is impressive. It is clambering up a ladder, but the vine is so rampant, the ladder is no longer visible through the leaves!
The tall yellow flowers near the center belong to rudbeckia nitida ‘Herbstsonne’, or Autumn Sun rudbeckia. Autumn Sun is an apt name for this tall, brilliant yellow flower.
These airy seedhead sprays belong to the switchgrass Panicum virgatum ‘Thundercloud’. Thundercloud is the tallest of several switchgrass varieties in the garden, but at 6 feet it is dwarfed by the Giant Silver Grass (Miscanthus giganteus) growing behind it, which will reach 11 feet.
Playing supporting roles to their taller neighbours are an assortment of phlox, coreopsis, and a tumbledown hollyhock that seeded itself here. Pictured below is agastache ‘Blue Fortune’.
Tomorrow, we will be leaving the garden to its own devices for a couple of weeks as RailGuy and I head out on vacation. To celebrate RailGuy’s retirement, we are taking the train from Toronto to Vancouver and spending a few days on the west coast. I’ll have pictures to share when we return!
Willow House Chronicles 
Tis hard to leave our gardens when they are so lush and full. But, leave we must to celebrate the important events and accomplishments that take seed and blossom to enrich our lives 🙂 Congratulations on retirement (although I prefer to call the occasion: reinspirement, myself <3)
We recently left our garden, too. We are away helping our daughter and her husband with the birth of our first grandchild. Life is good 🙂
Thanks for the sweet words! My husband actually retired a year and a half ago, but it has taken us this long to organize his trip! He has been a big help with the garden, formerly just my domain. Congratulations to you on your first grandchild! So exciting! We are looking forward to that milestone in November. Life is indeed good.
congratulations on taking the train west – I suppose the ticket is more than the $112 it was in 1977 when we last went all the way west by rail – and I understand they no longer have open vestibules. We’re leaving for the drive to Calgary and maybe to the the Tar Sands – I expect to be suffering from a severe case of waypointers knuckle by the time we’re back in November.
It was a bit more, yes, but still a good rate considering they feed you along the way. Have a good and safe journey. The Tar Sands would be interesting if horrifying to see.
Congrats to RailGuy. What a glorious trip!!! I have wanted to do that since I read the Dick Francis book (maybe it was The Edge) about the train trip across the continent. Your fall garden is just grand. Ha, I planted hyacinth bean for the first time this year, too. Mine has not flowered yet either. Wondering if it will. We shall see. Bon Voyage!
Thanks, Wildflower. I will have to look for that book. I guess there is still a little time for the bean flowers, but it will need to hurry up. I am posting this from the train station in Toronto. Woot!