Indian Summer – a time to enjoy many blooming flowers

Indian Summer in New England by Werner Kunz

I love Indian Summer. I wondered about the history of the term. I found this explanation for it.   Whatever the reason for it, I love the warmth before freezing weather and every year I wish Indian Summer would last a long time. I love it because so many flowers take this time to bloom. Not just chrysanthemums and asters that are in bloom and can take some frost; but many fall flowers have their last “hurrah” by sending forth flowers before winter sets in.

I know that the kiss of the frost makes for a great apple taste. But I hate when that first frost strikes because it cuts short the buds of many flowers that would otherwise open.

It is amazing the number and kinds of flowers in bloom in my garden right now.

Dahlia by Gertrud K.

In my garden the dahlias are filled with buds. My dahlias are a striking dark red. But right now there are more buds on the plants than open flowers. Will I awaken tomorrow morning to find that the first frost killed those buds and the flowers?

With the trumpets by Zaqqy J.

I have my Brugmansias outdoors and know they have to be taken in for the winter. They are filled with buds that want to open. In the past I ran outdoors when the weather people said there would be a frost at night and threw blankets over the Brugmansia because I knew that often following the frost there would be warming weather. And that is precisely what is predicted where I live. After a frost tomorrow night, the long range forecast is for warming weather.

My roses are giving out flowers. They love this kind of weather preceding a frost. But the roses will be nipped in the bud.

My verbena is still in flower, both the tall verbena bonariensis and the lower trailing verbena- verbena ‘Homestead purple’.

My yellow buddleija davidii ‘Honeycomb’ Butterfly bush seems to be the last of the butterfly bushes in bloom. Will I have to say good-bye to these flowers?

They say it will be a mild frost. I pray that this first frost does little damage to my flowers when I awake tomorrow morning. But the wind whipping the trees is  a warning sign. I can only wait and see.

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