Later Summer Perennials

Just like the early back-to-school sales and early displays of winter coats, the late summer's offerings of flowers are here already. Although, I am sure that they are early this year.

Scabiosa caucasica (I have pale blue and these white ones) are in bloom this weekend:

These scabiosa have sprawling plants that sometimes are hard to distinguish from grassy weeds. They also do self-seed a bit. I don't really mind though, as these are in the back of the raised bed, which is by no means a formal flower garden.

I lost my established lupine plants over the past winter, but there were a few seedlings, some of which are making some late-season blooms. I have preserved all of the yellow lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus "Gallery Yellow") seedlings, transplanting them all about, and so hope to have lots of these pretty yellow spires in the garden next year.


A very reliable perennial in this area is Aconitum napellus, or monkshood. It can produce flowers in various shades of purple/blue/white, and all parts of the plant are deadly poisonous. It's a great replacement for the tall blue delphiniums, now that those flowers have gone to seed or been blown to pieces by summer storms.
Aconitum napellus:

In the forest around town, the wild blueberries are in peak season right now. There is nothing better than a generous handful of those berries on your bowl of cereal in the morning!