Updating a Tired Summer Garden for Fall

Here is my garden that showed so much promise at the beginning of the summer. Unfortunately the spring loving flowers I planted in the spring didn't perform well into the summer.  I kept watering and fertilizing them but it was to no avail.

I was about to give up on this garden all together but then I found these annual grasses.  Why not fill in the empty spaces with these tall grasses?  So, I did but felt the grasses were not enough.  The garden needed more.

So, next I found this ornamental kale and added it to each end of the flower bed.

True to my nature, I still thought the garden needed more color!

I discovered this beautiful lobelia variety at the grocery store and couldn't resist.  You know how much I love this purple/blue color!

The lobelia looked great but, it still wasn't enough to totally revive the garden.

The garden was looking better and I was really feeling rewarded for my efforts.  I have to admit it took a great deal of effort on my part.  I'm not very strong and trying to fit these large plants in between established plants without hurting the foliage and roots was a chore. I struggled with it most of the afternoon but the garden was finally coming together.  I was happy with how it was looking but, as you may guess, I still felt something was missing.

Finally, I set out one more time to one of my favorite garden centers, Cataldo's in Littleton, MA, and found this Sonora Rudbeckia.  The yellow and black colors of the plant seem to be just what I needed for my fall garden and...it was supposed to attract butterflies!  Perfect!

 It turns out this yellow rudbeckia was the "icing on the cake" for the revival of my garden.  I could finally put away the shovel and enjoy the garden!

 So there you have it, my revived garden.  These photos were actually taken a week to two weeks ago and the garden is flourishing and filling in nicely.  The grasses are starting to get their fall plumes and the lobelia has sprouted more buds.  Even the red begonias that I planted in June are becoming more vibrant with the slightly cooler temperatures of September.  But...as you might expect, I still want to add a few mini pumpkins to the ledge of the fence. The garden needs "something else". I'll have to add that to my "to-do" list!