Colours of Late Autumn in the Garden

I'd been outside doing some yard work when I realized that it's been a while since I've taken a photo tour of the garden.  We've had a couple of nights with hard frost and some very cool days.  Still there were a few hardy plants with bursts of colour.

I've not yet identified this plant.  It's a rather leggy, climbing vine, with small, uninspiring flowers.  During one dinner eaten outside, a small breeze kept one long branch reaching out toward my son as if it wanted to say hi.   This time of year though, the yellow berries are beautiful.  I don't remember other years having such a brilliant show.

The purple Zebra Mallow starts growing mid summer and once it starts to bloom, it doesn't stop.  I've had common Mallows growing and they are an invasive weed.  While this one self seeds, it isn't quite as overwhelming as Common Mallow.   Since it blooms well into the fall, regardless of  the first frosts, I leave it growing.   It is such a nice show of colour when almost nothing else is blooming.

This is the Rudbekia Goldsturm I planted this summer.   I looked in every garden centre to find some, but it turns out they are out of fashion.  There were Rudbekia of all sorts of other varieties, but only the one garden centre had the variety I was looking for.   While it isn't an off the wall brilliantly coloured hybrid, it's one of my favourite garden plants.   Once established, it blooms long and hard through the late summer and fall.   I hadn't expected this one to bloom this year.  It's pretty late to start and the blooms are struggling.   I am hoping it is established enough to survive the winter.  It's near the deck and will be heavily covered in snow fairly early in the season, I'm sure.

This is the last rose I could find in the garden.   The previous owner planted a number of these miniature roses.   I like roses, mainly the larger ones.. and in pink.. no surprise there.  One does have to admire the strength and vigour of such a beautiful flower, to keep blooming well in to the fall.

Mainly the yard and gardens are full of these.   With the first heavy frost, it started raining down leaves.   The Birches, Pears, Maples and other trees are almost barren now.   The bush lot across the road had a bit of colour yesterday, but today is just shades of browns.  We've gathered most of our leaves to use as compost in the gardens.   It's an easy way to dispose of them and with the addition of green matter earlier in the fall and first few cuts of the spring and the compression of the snow, they break down quickly.   Enjoy the splashes of colour while you can, 'cause before we know it, we'll be blanketed in white.