Autumn's Surprise Posy

I was walking around my Pond Gardens yesterday and happened to see that my dianthus 'Sweetness' are blooming again, despite the fact that they are an early summer-blooming perennial:

A few tiny blooms can be seen on the dianthus edging the four L-shaped gardens beds around my pond. (They're easier to see close-up. Note: the left bench blew over in one of the windy storms we had a few days ago.) The phlox 'Bright Eyes' are about done too, although I'm happy that they still have a few flowers on them, since they've been blooming since late June!

Here's what the dianthus looked like at their peak in early June, with 'Prairie Breeze' Buck roses (I grew the 200 or so dianthus from seed in 2012 and they are still going strong, despite my clay soil):

June 2014. What a lovely time of year!

A closeup of June's magnificence.

Anyway, I was quite delighted to find even a fraction of their earlier blooms repeating this late in the year, and the fragrance is still every bit as delicious as it was before. So I picked a selection from the mixed variety and brought them inside for a miniature posy bouquet (it's only about 3" tall in the vase). The spicy-sweet scent is just the thing I need at this time of year.

Another view from a different side, showing all the different
beautiful colors and shapes of the flowers in the mix.

This is time to enjoy the late flowers in our gardens. You never know what might surprise you by blooming when you least expect it.

Thanks for reading! -Beth