Mid-September in Bloom

Autumn grasses in morning light as the days grow shorter and the quiet season creeps in.

Yellow woodland sunflowers bloom among broad common milkweed leaves, with grey goldenrod flowering at the lower left.
Woodland sunflower and grey goldenrod between the broad leaves of common milkweed.

It’s 5:00 a.m. I can no longer toss and turn, so I stumble out of bed and make my way down the hall. Bleary-eyed and half awake, I follow the outlines of familiar shapes until I reach the coffee maker. I feel around on the shelf for my favourite handmade mug, glazed and painted with royal blue leaves, then press the glowing round button. The machine hums and buzzes as I look out the northeast-facing window. It’s pitch black.

There is no sign of morning light, and I can barely make out the lines of the front garden. I don’t know exactly when the season changed, but the darkness has returned to the mornings along with the cooler nights. Even the birds seem quieter.

With the goldenrods and asters in bloom and the tall autumn grasses glistening in the morning light, it might actually be my favourite time of year—at least while the days are still warm. But I’m dreading the quiet season ahead. I don’t do well when I’m forced to slow down and rest, especially when it’s dark by 7:30 p.m.

Beeeeep. The coffee is ready. I wait for the morning sun to arrive. When the bees wake, it’s time to start the day.

In bloom today

White, cream, and silver:

White wood aster blooms against dark green foliage in a shaded garden.
White wood aster in the shade garden.
  • Heath aster
  • White wood aster
  • Flowering spurge
  • Spotted beebalm, cream with hints of pink and purple
Heath aster in flower in the mid-September garden, with small white blooms scattered along fine branching stems against a warm brick background.
Small white flowers of heath aster.
Spotted beebalm shows pale cream bracts washed and speckled with pink and purple above green foliage in the mid-September garden.
The pale cream, pink, and purple colours of spotted beebalm.

Blue, purple, and pink:

A bumble bee feeds from the violet-blue flowers of great blue lobelia in the mid-September garden.
A bumble bee clings to the violet-blue flowers of great blue lobelia.
  • Heart-leaved aster
  • New England aster
  • Joe-Pye weed
  • Great blue lobelia
  • Little bluestem
  • Big bluestem
  • Switchgrass
Tall big bluestem and switchgrass seedheads glowing in low September sunlight beside a wooden fence.
Big bluestem and switchgrass.
Purple New England asters bloom beneath arching stems of pale heath aster in the background.
New England aster with heath aster.
Pink Joe-Pye weed blooms beside the rounded seedheads of western sunflower, catching the warm September light in the late-season garden.
Joe-Pye weed with ripening seedheads of western sunflower.

Yellow, gold, and brown:

Black-eyed Susans bloom through a layered mid-September planting of heart-leaved aster, Virginia mountain mint, hoary vervain and little bluestem.
Black-eyed Susan among heart-leaved aster and little bluestem.
  • Woodland sunflower
  • Grey goldenrod
  • Blue-stemmed goldenrod
  • Cutleaf coneflower
  • Black-eyed Susan
  • False sunflower
  • Jerusalem artichoke
  • Wood poppy
  • Common sneezeweed
  • Lance-leaf coreopsis
  • Indian grass
  • Sideoats grama

—

Small white heath aster flowers catch the low September light against deep green foliage in the late-season garden.
A close-up of heath aster’s white flowers and yellow centres.
A yellow wood poppy flower opens beside its deeply lobed green leaves in the September garden.
Yellow flowers of wood poppy.
Yellow false sunflower blooms catch the September light, their bright petals standing out against the darker green garden behind them.
The bright yellow flowers of false sunflower.
Pale blue heart-leaved asters mingle with yellow black-eyed Susans and tall, fine autumn grasses in the mid-September garden.
Pale blue heart-leaved asters with black-eyed Susans, little bluestem, and big bluestem.
Grey goldenrod blooms in dense golden-yellow clusters among layered green foliage in a mid-September garden.
The mustard yellow of grey goldenrod threads through the mid-September garden.
A black-and-white close-up of a bumblebee feeding on common sneezeweed.
A bumblebee on common sneezeweed.
Black-and-white close-up of an Epeolina bee on a common sneezeweed flower.
An Epeolina bee on common sneezeweed.
Sideoats grama and the seedheads of blue vervain cross through one another in the mid-September garden, catching the softer textures of the season.
Sideoats grama and blue vervain seedheads.
Brown seed capsules of hairy beardtongue stand on slender stems in the mid-September garden.
Hairy beardtongue seedheads in the dry garden.

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