The First Signs of Autumn

Along with seeing posters for Bumbershoot around town, you know that Autumn is on the way when the Black-eyed Susans start to bloom.

I was never a fan of these until I had my own garden. They are unfussy, drought tolerant and tough-as-nails without being too aggressive.They’ll hold their color though the first of November and look amazing with the asters that will open in another month, long after most of our summer-blooming plants are nothing more than dead leaves and seed heads.

I am crazy for spring bulbs, love the rare warm nights sitting out smelling the lilies, but if I had to name one single time that our garden is at it’s most lovely, I’d be as likely to say sometime during a foggy morning in October with the clumps of Rudbeckia like small suns on the ground.