My garden is really…

My garden is really confused at the moment. I was basically absent for the last week, so no water has parched things a bit. The high of 85 today didn't help, esp. when combined with lows in the 50s. The flowers don't know if it's summer or fall, so I have the occasional veronica or rose throwing out blooms again, while other summer flowers wither away and the trees begin dropping their abundance of leaves. But the dahlias continue strong (that's Purple Ruffles, Kat's favorite, below), and the purple ornamental peppers are shifting to red in a rather splendidly autumnal way.

There'll be more oranges and reds in my garden soon -- the azaleas are just starting to turn their leaves, and soon the burning bush (really, burning tree) will be a pillar of flame. But for right now, aside from the pumpkin the squirrels have been nibbling, the yard is still lush with greens, creams, and pinks. The panicled Pinky Winky is a delicate creamy pink, the lace cap Quickfire is a deeper pink, rich against the deep green leaves. I'm not sure what the last dahlia is, but gosh, it's pretty.

I've forgotten the name of this dahlia, but it's my current favorite. It was a bit slow to get going, but that wasn't its fault -- I planted it in too shady a spot. Nonetheless, it's finally reached its full height, and is now taller than I am. (I know, that's not that hard.) I cut the blooms and brought them in to enjoy; the plant is full of buds, so in a few days, it should be heavy with flowers again. Dahlias for indoors, dahlias for out -- dahlias for all!