Autumn Flowers

We won't reach the autumn equinox until September 22 but the fall flowers are here already.

I threw some sunflower seeds in the vegetable garden when some marigolds didn't make it.  The sunflowers are now almost eight feet tall.

A few years ago, Gary's sister gave me some cup plants, so named because the leaves catch rain water as if they were cups.  They have taken off to the point of being a nuisance but I still like the flowers in the fall.

When drought took some of the ground cover on the terrace strip, I bought some moss roses.  These took over the strip and have done so well I think I might plant more next summer.

The goldenrod is blooming, too.  One of my neighbors thinks she is allergic to goldenrod, but it is actually ragweed which blooms at the same time.  Its pollen is spread by the wind whereas goldenrod is fertilized by bees.  I tell her she can't be allergic to it unless a bee flies up her nose, but I don't think she believes me.

We go through the same thing in the spring when she is convinced she is allergic to lilacs when the true culprit is maple pollen.

Finally, the phlox and multi-floral rose are in bloom, for the second time this season.

With the odd seasons we've had, warm in March, drought in June, now rainy in August, we've had a few of these double bloomings.  

The fall colors are a last gasp of summer.  Will they last into October?