Yes, it is a beautiful time in the garden. This is the first year that I had so much color at the end of the season. It is also a bittersweet time. I am never ready for it to end. I hope to move to a warmer climate when I retire. I spent a lot of time in the yard today, getting ready to move some plants around to make room for new editions. I'll miss this time outside in just a few more weeks.

Ditas, thanks for the detailed descriptions! The colors are just very unusual for me this year. I am sure your plants are going through the same confusion phase right now, with all the unusual weather that we are having!!!

While my Limelight is turning pink, my Quick Fire is just turning into a deep red, and it should have done that 2 months ago!!! My Annabelles are a nice lime green now, and the Snow Mountain tree is just getting slightly green too. The few Pinky Winky blooms that I have (thanks to the awful bambi who chewed on poor PW early in summer) are just turning deep pink at the base. The bi-color conical blooms are quite elegant and lovely.

All of this happens while my Endless Summer, Limelight and Pinky Winky are putting out new buds all over!!! They are so confused by this cool and wet weather that they think that it's spring all over!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that means that I will be getting some lovely blooms in October before the weather turns too cold. How strange...

P.S. Even the Salvia Caradonna that I have are acting like it's spring now - I cut them down way back last month and now they are coming up like it's spring again!!! How weird!?

Just enjoy the confusion, Ostrich ... I am !!! There's a down side though, in my long, Butterfly garden bed, the weeds are having fun as well, along with the tinier flying annoyers!!! LOL

I just hope Winter takes a little time coming, my 18 Lavender shrublettes are having a ball with this cooler sunny days (just imagine the wafts of lovely scent!) and the roses are behaving like there's no tomorrow, despite the lopper treatment I gave them in May! LOL ... Oh & my huge bed of Chelone!!!

Have fun w/ all the colors!!!

question for you: is your quickfire a "bug magnet"??? ~ i have that written in my notebook, and have avoided being tempted ~ i don't remember the source of the quote ~ what say you?

thank you, phyl

Hi Phyl - All my paniculatas are magnets to all sorts of garden flying critters ... except for the floribundas (mop type) as they have very little fertile florets if they have at all eg: Little Lamb & Limelight. I believe that the reason QF gets such a rep is because she is first to blossom (wake-up call so to speak).

They are all so busy collecting their goodies & don't bother humans. I have many bee magnet plants, including an old pear tree (a true magnet) ... haven't yet been stung (knock on my key board! LOL) Hornets bother me a bit as they are sly & fast but have never touched me nor my grandkids playing close to my paniculatas ... they are quite busy as well, to bother with the likes of us!!!

After all the fertile florets, mature, drop all their fuzzies & nectar collected, bugs diminish & eventually disappear or move to other nectar producers around. Bugs have their favorites too, hornets & wasps seem to favor the paniculatas' blossoms!

I hope it doesn't discourage you & miss out on such a garden beauty ... BTW those hornets & wasps do take off for the evening & don't come on rainy days!

This is the first year I haven,t dead headed my hydrangeas and I am loving watching the color changes. How about some of you posting pictures of some? My camera is refusing to except a charge or I would.

Hi madeyna - In my case, it's my computer ... photo file holds 2,500+ garden photos & is moving so s~l~o~w~~ now-a-days ... just had to have my mem card printed (holds 300+ shots)for my pictorial garden journal. We've been moving them to CDs but my Picasa albums will be affected if I removed from the library file ... will have to move albums to CD ... I'm not that savyy, have to wait for my son! I posted QF recently in another thread ... all I had to share for color change ... she is much deeper rosy-brick these days!

Here is a link that might be useful: much deeper rosy-brick than these

Thanks for posting the links . I thought I was really disappointed with my pinky winkys color change then today I realized its because the red lavarock bed that its planted in is just to much pinkbricky color. I moved pinky winky as soon as I realixed the problem now I,m in love again. Now to find something for the area that moving the pinky winky just opened up.