Thanks, Arlene, Cinda, Jeannie.

Nice daylily, Arlene.
I only started using daylilies less than ten years ago.
Think had ditch lilies (very pretty, but terrible runners) in mind.
Find the cultivars very useful, but having to divide some this fall; they can get to take up too much space in a mixed perennial garden.
At the same time, think they can make a big contribution to any garden.

Cinda, up to 3 days ago we'd had a week of very hot weather (included heat warnings): now we have the rain we needed (have had zero of the annual fall in last part of August and into September).
Had to do a lot of watering.
We have very nice long falls here (fall and winter are the times we get the largest amount of precipitation; winter - snow melt water for spring).
We certainly may get an occasional early frost here in September/much of October, but only enough to kill delicate annuals like impatiens.
Our perennial garden certainly is thinned out in fall, but it typically looks quite nice until late October.
Ground starts to freeze up in November.

Jeanie, as you say about Boltonia 'Jim Crockett'.
Find it very long-lived in our garden and it is seems to be definitely clump-forming.
Found some of the similar looking Japanese asters to be runners.

Am lucky to have the time for the garden.
Am retired (from main job; largely from minor one - only doing one other perennial garden now).
I'm particularly interested in the maintenance of mixed perennial gardens over time.
Talk about a time-consuming hobby that's hard on your joints!
Still there's a lot to keep on learning.

Today. Things thinning/thinned out.

All the gardens look great - nice and lush, Charlie.

Is that top bright pink mum a hardy mum ? Sure has a great color.

Thanks, Arlene.
Certainly had some periods in August and September when we had to water the flower beds.

Cinda, it's New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'.
Replanted that area two years ago.
Spent several hours, a couple of days ago, tidying and restaking the 'Alma Pōtschke', but it's one of my fall favourites.

Wow, that is one large bed of Alma Potschke! I am not a fan of asters but I do like that one.

Alma P still looking OK, Arlene.
Cutting back as blooms finished, so less and less in the garden.

Today:

Today; our very first bloom (snowdrops) of 2016.
Still some way to go!

Wow, keep forgetting some people still have snow Charlie! Spring is on the way!

Thanks for the encouragement, Arlene.

Things really improved today - almost all the snow's gone.
We usually have to wait for later March, or even April.

Today.

That was fast! Now lots of things will be popping up. Seems to be an early spring for a lot of us. I love seeing your garden!

Thanks Arlene.
Interesting comment about our amazingly early springs.
Let's hope they stay that way!

Charlie, I agree with Arlene. You have a beautiful garden.

Charlie
I followed your thread even before becoming a member. I really like phlox and you display them so well.
Gary

Thanks, Mike.

Thanks, Gary.
I love garden phlox too.
Am still working at how to display them.

Sunny, warm days, at last.
Today.

Still have most of the snowdrops.
Doubles.



Crocuses open in sunny locations.
The golden crocuses are a bit earlier than the giant Dutch (purple, white) ones.



One of the very sunniest spot in the garden.

Today: beginning of the hellebores.

I never used to like them because they hang their heads, but I've started to get some now.

Charlie, so nice to see the snowdrops, crocus, and hellebores! Always the first signs that spring is coming. Your blooms are about 4 weeks behind mine and my blooms were about 3 or 4 weeks behind from other photos I was seeing on ATP. So interesting to see the difference in bloom times across the zones.

Thanks, Arlene.
Me too.
Had a couple for about five years but started to add more over the last few years.
As you likely know, some of the new cultivars have upright, non-nodding flowers.

Thanks, Terri.
Absolutely, about bloom time.
We tend to also say "your day will come" to our gardening friends further north in the Ottawa region.

Actually it seems like one step forward and two steps back here.
Below today.
Morning, snow.
Midday, sun and melting on the deck.
(Afternoon, it's now snowing again.)

After over two weeks of cold weather (included wind, snow and rain), today was warm and sunny.

Lots of crocuses in sunny locations.
Think the cold spell has been harder on the giant Dutch crocuses (purple, white; Crocus vernus) than on the earlier species crocuses and the slightly earlier 'Golden Yellow' (Crocus x luteus).







Still have some of the snowdrops in flower.



And Chionodoxa 'Giant Pink' (in sunny locations) is in bud.