Hi GPODers!

We’re back in the gardens of Tingshu Hu in Dunstable, Massachusetts. In case you missed it, yesterday we got a late summer look at her back gardens. Today, we’re seeing what was growing in her front gardens during this same transitional time. Without further ado…

A monarch butterfly feeds on a zinnia. I planted many zinnias and dahlias this year to attract monarch butterflies (together with some milkweeds). We observed much fewer monarches in our garden this year.

A blue Salvia (Salvia farinacea ‘Deep Ocean’, annual) sits between two holly plants, looking at a zinnia under a maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’, Zones 4–9) across the path.

Sallyfun™ Deep Ocean salvia has a long blooming season. Its blue color goes well with pink zinnia and white alyssum. Alyssum comes back every year by self seeding. The upright grass-like plant is Juncus inflexus ‘Blue Arrows’ (Zones 5–9). To keep it tidy and upright, I cut it back to 4 inches when it started to form seed buds.

Low growing plants along a path to the koi fish pond.

On water front, lovely pink flowers of Argyranthemum ‘Sassy rose’ (Argyranthemum frutescens ‘Sassy Rose’, Zones 10–11 or as an annual) in contrast with white alyssum.

A foggy morning on Sept 15. Outside the fence are a crape myrtle plant (Lagerstroemia indica, Zones 7–9), canna ‘Striata’ (Canna ‘Striata’, Zones 7–10), and variegated maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’, Zones 5–9).

The metal fence was installed last summer, after rabbits expanded their menu to include some of the plants outside the front yard they never touched before.

The maiden grasses add height and texture to the garden. At the lower right corner, a floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum, annual) nuzzles comfortably by the side of a blue fescue.

A view from the front door of the house.

A Queen of Night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Zones 9–10) flower hanging from the trunk of a Yoshino Cherry tree (Prunus × yedoensis, Zones 5–8), surrounded by other shade loving plants, begonias, coleus, hostas, and a young Sun King aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’, Zones 3–8) on the back.

Thank you so much for this incredible late summer tour of your garden, Tingshu! It could only be matched by a calming stroll through your plants in person.

How did your garden look as summer came to an end? How about now as fall is just setting in? We’d love to see some photos! Follow the directions below to submit, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad

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.

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