All Summer Long - Colorful Waves of Flowers

I love my perennial garden. The flowers I planted years ago come back in waves of color all summer long - the color of my garden changing week by week, month by month...

In early spring, I'm delighted to see any and all flowers: the earliest are most subdued. The white Hellebores don't make much of a splash.

The low-lying tulip tarda that appear next are a little more noticeable.

I really should plant more tulips and daffodils (and try to get rid of the gout weed that almost hides them).












My favorite early spring flowers are the white anemones, tall enough to blow in the wind.

In May comes the purple of iris season...

... and the yellow euphorbia (also known as Cushion Spurge).

From mid-June to early July, the bright colors of tall summer flowers stand out in our yard: orange tiger lilies, white daisies and yellow coreopsis...

Also the purple clematis...

Then, at the end of July, come the pink and white phlox...

And the Golden-Glow Rudbeckia... (also known as Outhouse Plant).













The Rudbeckia are fading when the bright yellow brown-eyed Susans begin to bloom...

The final wave of color is the pink sedum. It blends so well with the reds of autumn - the changing colors of the leaves. In fact, I often leave their sturdy stocks until spring. I love to see pink flowers "blooming" through the snow all winter long!