When I returned from Mom’s last Sunday, I discovered my Garden Party rose had bloomed.

This is a rose I had at the townhouse, but it didn’t make the transition. When I discovered it in the garden centre at Rona this year, I tried to talk myself out of buying it several times. On the third or fourth trip back there to get other stuff, I finally caved. And I’m so glad I did. At the townhouse, the rose was in part shade – here it’s in the new front island garden and will get sun all day long. I think it’s going to be a stunner – front and centre in the yard.

Many of my other roses are blooming again too. The arbour climbers (top middle and top right) won’t put on as good as show as they did in early summer, but it’s lovely to see blooms there again.

Chrysler Imperial (top left) and Chicago Peace (bottom left) have had a harder year. Chrysler seems to be super prone to damage from the sawflies, as well as black spot. Once again it lost all it’s leaves mid-summer, and is only starting to come back now. I’m debating on finding a new spot for it.

Chicago has a different problem – it’s too close to the white butterfly bush so gets shaded out. I think I’m going to try moving it over a few feet. But that will have to happen in early spring.

And while the roses may be singing songs of summer, the signs of a coming autumn are showing

Is there anything more fall-feeling than Black Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers? I have these two plants in abundance in the gardens. You’ve seen the many types of coneflowers I have, but there’s variety in the susans too.

There’s the native version at left (also knows as Prairie Coneflower), and the common Susan at right.

But I’ve got this beautiful two-tone one too…

I have it in the woodland garden here, and I had it in the catio yard, but Lemmy’s stomping about there meant it didn’t make a very good showing. I’m going to collect some seeds this year to start some new plants and spread it around the garden a little more because it’s a beauty.

I also picked up a new one this year (sadly I can’t remember the name). It looks much like common one, but…

You can see by the picture on the left, the blooms are MUCH bigger than the standard. I have it along the front walkway and it’s just stunning.

Other signs of fall include the Sneezeweed (native Helenium)

It’s got such cute, button-shaped flowers. I’ve got two big patches of it out back, and will probably move some around in spring so I have it out front as well.

I’ve got this hybrid version in the catio yard. It’s one I’ve tried to grow a couple times – always picking it up on clearance and planting in the fall. But it never made it through winter. I’m hoping that planting it in early summer, like I did this year, that it will make it through this time.

This beautiful burgundy mum was a clearance plant I bought our first year here…

But I moved it from the back yard to a better spot in the front garden this fall and it seems much happier. None of the other mums are blooming yet, but it won’t be long.

And it’s not all fall gold and garnet in the garden…

The pink tickseeds (Coreopsis) that I thought didn’t make it through winter surprised me and they are all blooming nicely now. They will bloom right to the frost, just like the yellow and red versions I have.

My pink Physostegia (Obedient Plant) has started to bloom. I have a white one on the edge of Edible Alley, and it blooms early-mid spring. This one is in the catio yard, and I wasn’t sure I’d get much from it, as it’s another one Lemmy has stomped on. But a few of the bloom spikes seem to have survived his antics.

Not many of my Cosmos seedlings survived, but the Xanthos (yellow) is doing just fine. The pink one is from a cosmos that reseeded itself in the front garden. It’s not as robust as previous years, but I’ll still get a few flowers from it.

The Bachelor Buttons I started late, as well as the zinnias…

Are starting to bloom. The plan is to replant this in areas of the garden that are looking a little bare.

And last…

It looks like one of my Dahlias is FINALLY happy!!!