It’s that time again.🍂 .🍂 .🍂 If you have been following for a while you know that Fall is not my favorite. (Spring 💐) Getting closer to the long, dark, cold winter does take a bit of getting used too. Mr. G loves all things fall so his euphoria is rubbing off. He even has me totally excited for snow days!

For many of my gardening years I lived in a sea of variations of pink, white, purple and the palest yellow! I tried many reds, yellows & oranges but they didn’t last very long.

PEACHY THINGS

Peach was my gateway color — when I planted my first Mother of Pearl Rose. Mother of Pearl can go from pink to peach. In my garden she is more peach. So, I now have 9 of them. Then in 2019 I found a “sport” on a Petite Pink rose that became Petite Peach! What a wonderful ride that has been! 

ADDING MORE FALL

For the last few years I have been on a journey to add more fall into my life in the form of fall colored blooms. I have been successful with having dahlias that blend summer and fall and now I’m moving to Rudbeckias. A bad experience with a rudbeckia pass-along plant given to me 25+ years ago has me very skittish. Regardless of my efforts, that plant keeps popping up and trying to take over!

Have you seen all the rudbeckias out now. There are  some beauties out there! Many are annuals in my zone and maybe that’s for the best! 😉 I started the Sahara blend using the winter sowing method and they are just now beginning to bloom. They are gorgeous but I believe I have them planted where they aren’t getting enough sun – so they are blooming later than expected. (They were planted safely tucked out of main sight in case they proved to be too garish!😄) I love them. Next year I will bring them out into the light of day!

While researching rudbeckias on You Tube I came across the Hello Garden account and a particular video on rudbeckias. While Kate was showing some of the beautiful rudbeckias she was planting she used the terms SOFT FALL and GENTLE FALL and talked about easing into the fall with your color palette. PERFECT. I keep thinking of those words and have decided it is my new fall mantra! I want Soft Fall colors in my garden and I want a soft, gentle fall attitude. 

Thank you Kate for a new perspective and all the great garden information on the Hello Garden site. You can link to Hello Garden here. She’s also on IG here.

MORE TO COME

I know my journey into fall colors is not over. My friend Dee of RedDirtRamblings has me getting very excited about Marigolds. Marigolds! I have never been excited about marigolds before. Well except when I heard the story about how roses became the national floral emblem and the fact that marigolds were a part of that story. Read here.

Back to marigolds… Dee’s right, there are some super pretty ones out there. Mercy, is there no end! Of course there isn’t! 🎉🎉 While the oranges and reds will probably never work their way into the main borders & beds around here, I can find places where they can work their particular kind of magic!

Do you have a favorite rudbeckia or marigold I need to know about???

Other plants in my garden that are giving me a  SOFT, GENTLE FALL vibe …

Hydrangeas as they fade to deeper rose and rust colors

Dahlias … so many beautiful colors of dahlias that go from summer to fall beautifully. 

Winterthur Viburnum berries

Grasses

And Zinnias!

ON THE OTHER HAND

Three weeks ago I had hand surgery (right hand 😏) that has certainly curtailed any “real” gardening. On the other hand, it has not even slowed down my planning for next year, my seed, dahlia tuber, and plant research or endless list making! And, I’m finding out how important that little microphone by the text box on my iPhone truly is! Voice to text! A winner – if you proof read!! 😳

Since I couldn’t be out among the flowers as much, I filled my window with vases of cut blooms. We loved it so much that I continue to refill the vases!

This project has certainly given me the opportunity to observe how each of these perform in a vase! Something I have been wanting to do! So far big winners are Plum Perfect, Petite Peach, Quietness and Bolero. 

Here is Bolero proving what a winner she is. I do love this rose. So glad I added two of them this year. So fragrant too.

Hand is healing very well, big bandage is long gone and now I just have to protect and do the hand exercises. No “real” gardening for a few more weeks. I’ll ease back in!

ROSE CHAT PODCAST

This week on the podcast I chatted with Gaye Hammond about US Rose Trials. Boy did she bring some interesting facts and behind the scene stories!  

U.S. ROSE TRIALS PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
Gaye Hammond, Master Rosarian

Gaye has been an integral part of several U.S. Rose Trials and has much to share with us regarding rose trials of the past, the present, and will take a peek into the future. Gaye will guide us into how they are conducted and the valuable role they play in bringing beautiful and healthy roses to our gardens. Get ready to learn and laugh as Gaye educates and entertains us!

You can LISTEN HERE.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

Yes, fall is coming fast and aren’t we fortunate that God’s creation gives us much beauty in every season. Let’s take our time and enjoy it slowly.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂