Garden Bloggers' Day: MId-September

Although it is already the middle of September, the weather is quite warm: +20 C in the daytime and +12 C at night. Plants rejoice the warmth, but the cold rain and wind will soon come to us.
I have just arrived after a short vacation on the Baltic Sea and did not expect to see my garden such blooming. Large red-pinky-creamy inflorescence of Hydrangea paniculata were visible from the porch. The rose 'The Fairy' is still blooming next to Spiraea 'Golden flame'.

As always in autumn bulbs of Colchicum sprout their purple bells. It's unique time when this plant is in bloom. Despite on this flower is so pretty, all parts of it are extremely poisonous. 

Hostas decorate the front garden, phlox has surprised me with such a long blooming.

The rose ' F J Grootendorst'  has finally come to her senses and blossomed. 

In the spring I thought it was completely dead, there were a few leaves on its branches. Now you see its dark red flowers that remind Carnation.
Сlematis 'Justa' (on Virginia creeper) and white flowers of Cosmos show white colors in the garden.

Of course, I want to show you, my friends, the harvest of fruit and vegetables. This autumn has given a lot of apples, plums and patissons. Here they are on the branches ...

and here apples, plums and patissons are already collected. I will make jam and canned patissons.

I wish you all joyous September, beautiful and bright flowers in your garden!

This Summer Dahlias

My dahlias began to bloom from the end of August and continue blooming so far. I was waiting for their flowers in mid-August but they bloomed later. Truly to say every autumn I think: 'I won't store Dahlias tubers anymore in the city apartment, as they get dried and die during storing'....
But when I see new Dahlia leaves I forget my doubts. So let's see their blooming this summer.

There are annual dahlias that are easy in growth. One can grow them from seed or buy seedlings in a garden center. This spring I did buy the seedlings because there were no space on the windowsills for more sowing :-) They were not expensive and it was mix of annual dahlias. Here they are:

Now in September, when many other flowers have disappeared, and the roses have almost finished their flowering, the dahlias adorn the garden, adding bright colors. I hope that they will blossom when the first frost or low temperature comes. 
Perhaps I would decide to keep Dahlia tubers. Or not? "To be or not to be is a question," as Shakespeare said. :-)

Invasion of 'Red Admiral' Butterflies

I named this post 'Invasion of Red Admiral butterflies' because they are everywhere in my garden. I don't know why but I've read it happened due to the hot summer this year. Here is what I learned about 'Red Admiral' (Vanessa atalanta):
"The wingspan can reach 76 mm. These butterflies are found from the tundra areas to the subtropics. Females lay one egg each on nettle leaves, which serves as a food for hatched caterpillars. Before turning into a chrysalis, they fold the nettle leaf into a "bag" and entangle it with a silk thread. Unlike many other butterflies, red admirals prefer gum from trees and the juice of rotting fruit to nectar". (wiki)

Butterfly invasion continues for several days. They are everywhere: 
on a Physocarpus opulifolius bush, 
on a drainpipe, 
on a water barrel, 
on a greenhouse, 
on an old towel, 
on a Elaeagnus argentea bush, etc. 
I've taken macros to see a head and a body of Red Admiral. Watching close I guess it looks like an alien.

Here is a vase with Callistephus and Cineraria leaves: