Labor Day does not end the season in our flower gardens unless we want it to. One example is the Japanese anemone pictured here. My anemones began to bloom in August and, while largely over now, are still giving me new blossoms today.
A very large and irrepressible perennial, Japanese anemone can take up a huge amount of real estate. If you don't want to spend a lot of time staking and pruning it, it is best put it toward the back or in another spot where you will not expect it to be neat and tidy.
Other summer/fall plants that shine this time of year are hydrangeas. We adopted this Limelight Hydrangea a few years ago. My Wife Wan is in this photo (under protest) to give you a sense of scale.
These Hydrangeas start with a "limelight" cast to them, then turn snowy white, and eventually add some pink tones as well.
Autumn Clematis is also in its prime in September and is still attractive in October. A client in Hyde Park has a "ruin" of an old wood play set that has been completely taken over by Clematis (with a little help from us.) I showed a photo of it a couple of years ago on this blog.
This spring I borrowed a cutting from the Hyde Park plant to start on my front arbor.
The champion of fall bloomers, though, is the Knock-Out Rose. As long as you snip off the spent flowers it will continue to produce -- seemingly forever.
This photo was taken today, and these flowers will continue to look good in mid-November. In a good year some will make it past Thanksgiving. In Chicago that is indeed something for which to be thankful.
