Bloom Day - September 2025 (Early Edition)

This early Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post could just as well have been labeled "It's All About the Cutting Garden" because that's clearly this month's focus.  There are some flowers elsewhere in the garden but they're not headliners by any means.  By September, after more than four months without rain, the garden is tired.  While it hasn't been one of the miserably hot summers with temperatures above 100F (37.8C), we've had stretches of temperatures in the mid-90sF, which add stress on the drier areas of the garden.  I'm more generous with the water provided to the cutting garden and it shows.

Wide shot of my cutting garden in September

The dahlias have a starring role.  I've posted them in alphabetical order by cultivar name because it's too hard to pick favorites.  There are only two dahlias missing, one of which has produced only a single flower thus far ('Excentric') and another that has yet to produce any buds ('Caproz Pizzazz').

This is 'Blue Bell'.  It's more purple than it appears in this shot.  It's the first time I've grown it and, while pretty, I'm not yet sure it's a keeper.

This is the second year I've grown the ball-shaped 'Brown Sugar'

Sold to me as 'Cafe au Lait', I think this pinker variety is probably 'Cafe au Lait Rose'.  It's the most floriferous of my dahlias this year and it has especially tall stems (none of which have done nose dives so far). 

'Cafe au Lait Rose' has also been a regular haven for bees looking for a place to nap

This is the second year for 'Creme de Cognac' and I planted 2 of my the saved tubers, giving away others.  It's produced fewer flowers since the heat turned up than it did earlier in the season.

This one was misidentified when I planted it in 2022 but the consensus of opinion is that it's 'Catching Fire'.  I divided the original tuber.  The saved tubers have grown well for me in subsequent years and I gave away a few of them this year.

I've grown 'Fairway Spur' for 3 years now.  It got a late start this year but the flowers were worth waiting for.

I purchased the tuber for this collarette dahlia this year as 'Kelsey Annie Joy'.  That variety is described as peach or yellow in color.  Even as the blooms have aged, they're clearly more pink than peach so it was mislabeled.  The closest match I could find based on its appearance is called 'Fashion Monger'.

The flowers of 'Labyrinth' are beautiful but unfortunately the grasshoppers love to chomp on them.  It's also suffering from a bad case of Dahlia Mosaic Virus (DMV) so I'll soon be disposing both the plant and its tuber.

'La Belle Epoque' is new-to-me this year

I grew 'Lady Darlene' last year and it's one of my favorites again this year.  It's a late bloomer and has only just recently produced its first flowers.

The first year I planted 'La Luna' it didn't bloom at all.  I thought I'd tossed the tuber when I cleared my cutting garden in 2023 but apparently I missed it.  It came up in 2024 without any help from me, blooming with vigor.  Last year some of the flowers bore yellow streaks with an ivory background but this year all have been ivory with a pale yellow tinge.

I first planted 'Mikayla Miranda' in 2022 and it immediately became a favorite.  It's a huge plant this year but then I didn't divide the tuber last year when I cleared my raised planters.

'Miss Brandy' is another newbie for me this year.  It also only recently produced its first flowers.

'Molly Raven', another late bloomer, is a new addition to my collection this year.  It has dark, almost black foliage.

The water lily like blooms of 'Summer's End' is another of favorite.  I divided the tubers the last 2 years, planting 2 of them in my cutting garden this week and giving 2 other saved tubers away.  

The zinnias aren't as bountiful but they're putting on a pretty good show this year too.  Their foliage has begun to mildew even though I've cut large numbers of the flowers to give away and improve aeration within my beds.

Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Lime'

'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'

The flowers of 'Benary's Giant Wine' are both plentiful and huge!

I think this is 'Queeny Lemon Peach'.  It's the least vigorous of my zinnias this year.

In contrast, 'Queeny Red Lime' is competing with 'Giant Wine' as this year's most floriferous zinnia

The rest of the garden isn't exactly a desert.  There are some plants worth noting.

I broke my self-imposed rule about not installing new plants during the summer months with Catharanthus 'Blueberry Kisses' and 'White Peppermint' (aka vinca and periwinkle).  They haven't even blinked in response to the high temperatures!

This is Chrysocephalum 'Desert Flame', a plant I'd never heard of prior to this year.  It's also held up well against the heat.

We removed the wood arbor adjacent to our house this year due to the fire risk it posed.  I was afraid that might mean the end of my Clematis terniflora but the vine's found other ways to support itself.

I planted 3 Echinops ritro ruthenicus a few years ago but can't remember if they ever bloomed before.  Two produced flowers this summer.

Grevilleas 'Peaches & Cream' and 'Superb' don't bloom as heavily in summer but both flower year-round

Though the colorful bracts of Leucadendrons aren't true flowers, they look like them.  Leucadendron salignum 'Blush' is on the left and 'Safari Sunset' is on the right.

Mangave 'Pineapple Express' isn't quite in bloom yet but it's getting there

Rudbeckia 'Juliana' is another one of my summer purchases

A few years ago I tried to remove all the rampant asters from one bed but they're back!  On the left is Symphyotrichum frikarti 'Monch'.  On the left is Symphyotrichum chilense.

As usual, I've thrown the rest of my photos in color-sorted collages.

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', noID Dipldenia, Eustoma grandiflorum, and noID Gazania

Left to right, the last Agapanthus 'Elaine', more Digitalis purpurea, and Rotheca ugandense

From the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Pink', Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', noID Pelargonium, Pentas lanceolata, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'

From the upper left: Crassula falcata, 2 noID Dianthus barbatus, noID Gazania, and Pelargonium peltatum

Left to right: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Echinacea 'Sombrero Lemon Yellow', and Gazania 'Gold Flash'

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day officially falls on the coming Monday.  To find more posts highlighting what's blooming in other gardens, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens then.  In the meantime, best wishes for a good weekend!

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party