A Hint of Autumn .. Blooms in my Bay Area Garden

A bee enjoying an Anemone: The large swathe of Japanese Anemones - a melding of 'Pamina' and 'Mont Rose,' burst forth in the bed where roses once grew; too little sunlight now for roses.
Photos © Alice Joyce

Anemone 'Pamina' ... she's quite the lady.

What would I do without Toad Lilies! Especially Tricyrtis lasiocarpa : Yes, it spreads vigorously, but that trouble-free habit is just what's needed now in the spot where it grows along the back fence, beneath the limbs of my neighbor's enormous evergreen.

As I've had to cut back on the time spent on garden maintenance, I appreciate the elegance of this long-stemmed beauty more and more with each passing year.

Scrophularia 'Lemon and Lime' exhibits my favorite hues, brightening a bed that gets less and less light as the daylight hours grow shorter. In the ground Scrophularia languished, but planted now in the moist conditions of a faux terra cotta planter, it flourishes.

The blooms on this member of the mint family are a magnet for bees.

To read more about 'sticky germander' ... the common name,

here's a link to my San Francisco Chronicle Pick of the Week column.