Dear Abby, My garden ignores its bedtime

November is the time to put the garden to bed, but mine just wants to stay up and party!

Balloon Flowers

Deadheading really pays off, they will bloom as the foliage turns to a beautiful fall color.

'Sheffield pink' Mum with 'Gold Mop'

I need to divide the mum and cut back the chamaecyparis.

I don't know the name!

I love this mum, but I can’t get more because I don’t know what kind it is. It doesn’t spread much, but I will divide it this spring!

Honorine Jobart

The first year it’s a diminutive little thing, but within a few years it grows to four feet. It’s a perfect, glowing white all October until a hard frost.

Chamaecyparis and Sedum

I wove some sedum buds through the shrub. Sedum work well in partial shade - the plant is more lax and there are fewer flowers, but the flowers last MUCH longer.

'October Skies' Aster

There are two Symphyotrichum oblongifolium that make fall sing. This one is ‘October Skies’ and the other is ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ They are both beautiful, but ‘October Skies’ photographs a bit better.

An Exotic Aster

Most of my asters are native, but I bought this Tartarian Aster because it can grow to be seven feet tall. I love its silvery color against the dark leaves of the oak leafed hydrangea.

Dahlias!

I grew these “cottage style” (in the border amongst other plants with minimal staking). They didn’t start to take off until September and now they are still blooming like crazy. I will definitely dig up these tubers.

Yellowwood Tree

This tree is always beautiful. It doesn’t flower every year, but the beautiful sweet smell is worth the wait. The fall color is magical. In the winter, its smooth bark and vase shape are still striking.