Garden Photo of the Day

Celebrating End-of-Summer Beauty with Maxine

Final notes of the garden symphony

hostas and yellow flowers along a garden path

Today we’re in Rotterdam, New York, visiting with Maxine Brisport.

Each year I gaze in wonderment of the beauty that graces my upstate New York garden—from the brilliant yellow of the gold forsythia shrub that tells me that spring has arrived, to the beauty of the white-and-pink anemone signaling that fall is looming. Now I am preparing myself to bid goodbye to another year of glorious blooms, with the satisfaction that I nurtured each plant as it battled one of the hottest summers, while feeding the bees and butterflies.

Although the brilliant blooms are fading, the joy of knowing that they will return next year creates an endless smile.

close up snow-on-the-mountainSnow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata, annual) is a widespread North American native. The small white flowers are not very noticeable, but the white-edged bracts that surround them make quite a beautiful show.

various plants around a small garden patioThe late summer garden is beautiful, with so much diversity of color and texture from a wide range of perennials.

close up of blue hibiscus flowerThat’s a gorgeous shade of blue. This type of hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus, Zones 5–9) is a shrub that blooms heavily from mid to late summer.

close up of white and dark pink dahlia beginning to openA dahlia (Dahlia variabilis, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb) blooms just opening. Dahlias always seem to reach peak flower right at the end of summer.

close up of white rose beginning to bloomCould this unfurling rosebud be any more perfect? Often the cooler temperatures of early fall allow roses to show off their very best.

densely planted garden with yellow and pink flowersI love the diversity of this garden. Tall Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium sp., Zones 4–9) blooms in the back, with clouds of black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 3–9) flowering away in front. A bold orange canna (Canna hybrid, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb) provides a contrast in texture in the center.

close up of various plantsA closer look highlights the contrasting textures and colors of foliage and flowers.

hostas and yellow flowers along a garden pathAn inviting path is flanked by hostas and black-eyed Susans.

birds in a bird bath with yellow flowers behindA couple of feathered friends enjoy a bath.

close up of pink and yellow flowers in the gardenThis Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Zones 3–9) is living up to its name with masses of pink flowers that pollinators love and will transform into brown seed heads that will look good all winter.

We’ll be back tomorrow to see more of Maxine’s beautiful garden.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

View Comments

Comments

  1. User avater
    bdowen 09/21/2023

    What a beautiful, colorful garden. So much to enjoy, probably so much work to maintain it. I'm looking forward to the next views.

  2. btucker9675 09/21/2023

    Oh that blue hibiscus and that perfect white rose! What an utterly charming garden you've made - thanks for sharing!

  3. User avater
    simplesue 09/21/2023

    Oh I love the blue hibiscus aka Rose of Sharon, I have one like that too with more lavender in the blue!
    Your darling umbrella table and chairs in the garden is such a nice setting with all the flowers!

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 09/21/2023

    Wow, that blue hibiscus is stunning.

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related Articles

The Latest