Fall Favorites: Gaura lindheimeri and Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'

It's officially Fall - I've had my first pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, the sun is once again south of the equator, and it's time for some last minute planting, grass seed, and gorgeous under-rated fall blooms. Here are a couple of my favorites blooming right now:

This aster is easily twice the size of anyone's mums right now, and comes back year after year. It's called Purple Dome for a reason, and is completely covered with these gorgeous purple flowers. This is one of my favorite plants in the yard, partly because when I first got it, it was this tiny little sprout and surprised me with how well it did even in the first season. Can't say enough about this one, wish my yard was bigger so I could plant more!

Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'

I didn't know what Gaura lindheimeri were until I saw them on the sale table at Lowe's. What a pleasant surprise! The foliage looks like rosemary and the flowers look like little butterfly kisses on red stems. Simply gorgeous! Give me more! 

Gaura lindheimeri blooming after 2 weeks after being on the sale table because it was a dried up runt. This specific variety is BELLEZA Dark Pink. 

Mulch and Late Summer Blooms featuring BELLEZA Dark Pink

The little prairie patch near my utility box got a bit of a facelift today. AT&T finally came out to bury the new cable line, so I was able to mulch and clean up the area. My new Gaura lindheimeri BELLEZA™ Dark Pink are going gangbusters and already started flowering and rooting in well. I can't wait to see them in the Spring and blooming all next summer.

  Gaura lindheimeri BELLEZA™ Dark Pink

Here's my mulched utility bed

In other parts of the yard, my dwarf red hot poker plant is taking it's transplant to the rock garden very well, and even put up 2 new blooms. I'm hoping that's a sign that it will survive the winter and come back next year. Glamor shot!

Kniphofia hirsuta 'Fire Dance' - Dwarf Hot Poker Plant

Also in the rock garden, this Sedum 'Dazzleberry' is blooming even though the rest of the plant looks a hot mess! I hope it comes back a little less leggy next year. Also check out these grasshoppers mating, and my aster 'Purple Dome' is getting ready to put on a HUGE fall show with tons of purple blooms ready to pop. Any day now!

New Additions from the Sale Table

It's a great time of the year for planting and for scoring some cheap plants from the sale table when garden centers around the country are trying to get rid of that mid-summer merch. Here are some of the newest additions to my garden courtesy of the bargain bins!

Heuchera 'Carnival Watermelon' - sale table for $5 was $13

Sedum 'Dazzleberry' - sale table for $1

Gaura lindheimeri BELLEZA™ Dark Pink - sale table for $1 (got 2 of them)

Heuchera 'Melting Fire' - sale table for $3

Heuchera 'Palace Purple' - sale table for $3

Salvia nemorosa 'Blue Marvel' - sale table for $1

This expands my Heuchera collection from 1 to 4, adds to my succulent rock garden, gives me a little Salvia variety, and is my first venture into Gaura- I know nothing about them!

I hope they have time to root in - we've had a very wet and humid August and now I hope we're turning the corner into a nice early Fall with cool breezes and early nights. I can't believe it's September already! The summer simply flew by, and as you can tell by my lack of posting I've been busy outside (and in the gym). Of course I've been taking photos nonetheless so I'll try to get caught up a little on my sick day today.