We’re in Malvern, Pennsylvania, today, visiting with Carla Z. Mudry. She’s reflecting on the tail end of summer in her garden.

The summer has flown by! It has been a crazy summer, full of battering thunderstorms that have caused flooding, and in between those storms, heat, humidity, and sometimes drought conditions. Yet the garden survives and thrives. I have a layer garden, and right now it’s a jungle, so it will require some trimming up and tidying soon. Meanwhile, I’m distracted by the flowers of August, like the dinner plate hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos hybrids, Zones 5–9), cannas (Canna hybrids, Zones 7–10 or as tender bulbs), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 4–9), and roses returning. The butterflies are loving the New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis, Zones 5–8) and seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides, Zone 5 – 9). I needed to remind myself this week of the simple joys of the garden. There is nothing quite like it. Happy gardening!

Everything here in Carla’s garden looks lush and green. Carla says the weather has been rough, but I see no sign of it here!

A garden-art dragonfly hovers over sage (Salvia officinalis, Zones 5–8).

Reblooming roses fill the late summer garden with beauty and fragrance.

The flowers of panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata, Zones 3–8) are white when they first open, then they gradually age to a rich red. They’re beautiful at every stage.

Different cultivars of panicle hydrangea blooms mature at different rates and are more or less prone to turning red, so some will hold longer in the white stage than others.

Luxuriating in the sheltered heat of the greenhouse, these huge pepper plants are loaded down with fruit.

Containers highlight some special plants in the shade garden.

False sunflower (Helopsis helianthoides, Zones 3–9) usually has yellow flowers, but this looks like the newer selection ‘Bleeding Hearts’, which has wonderful orange-bronze blooms and darker foliage.

We’ll be back to enjoy more highlights from Carla’s garden tomorrow.

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