Hi GPODers!

As promised, we’re back in Joan Galloway’s gloriously colorful autumn garden in the Cariboo region of British Columbia today. If you missed Part 1 yesterday, be sure to check it out to see even more fantastic fall scenes and get some more backstory on Joan’s lovely landscape.

This year was difficult. The winter was warmer than usual and there was much less snow than usual. By February my south-facing garden was bare of snow; then it went down to -30C at night! There were quite a few casualties, even among plants I had previously considered bullet-proof. Spring was cold, wet and windy, and summer heat really didn’t get going until August, so it seemed like everything was struggling. But then it finally turned hot and sunny. Growth exploded; everything came into bloom at once and lasted a long time as September remained unseasonably warm. Fall is a short but spectacular season here; some years frosts come early and the buds on fall-blooming plants are frozen off before they even open. But this year, a glorious fall made up for the cold wet spring. So here are some pictures of my Cariboo fall.

An Amur maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnalaZones 3–8), caged to protect it from the deer, turns brilliant red in fall.

‘Rozanne’ geranium (Geranium ‘Gerwat’Zones 4–8) is usually rated as a Zone 5 plant (and I did lose one that wasn’t well mulched) but it grows into a massive plant that blooms profusely all summer and is covered in bees until heavy frosts take it down in October/November.

Tall ‘Herbstonne’ cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laced ‘Autumn Sun’Zones 3–9) is a dramatic background plant that stands tall even through the strong winds and deluging rains that come with late summer thunderstorms.

Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) grows wild on my property but the native one becomes an invasive thug in the garden, so I’ve been experimenting with cultivars that are shorter and are supposed to stay in polite clumps.

‘Veitch’s Blue’ small globe thistle (Echinops dry ‘Veitch’s Blue’Zones 3–8) produces long-lasting vibrant blue flower heads and is immune to the deer.

The only annuals I grow are in high hanging baskets out of reach of the deer. I grow some veggies in portable Vegepods that include both mesh covers and plastic covers to protect them from unseasonable frosts and hungry deer who will come right up onto my deck at night to sample anything tasty I might leave within reach.

I know that fall has truly arrived when the aurora borealis light up the sky at night.

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible garden with us again, Joan! It’s inspiring to see how well you’ve adapted to these drastically different conditions, and there is endless inspiration in the color you’ve been able to cultivate.

Fall is often the final hurrah of the gardening season, with flowers and foliage giving us one last burst of color before winter dormancy. The best way to hold on this time in the garden is by taking pictures! Before the last leaves fall and the final flowers fade, take some photos of your garden and consider sharing them with Garden Photo of the Day! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

We want to see YOUR garden!

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5–10 photos to (email protected) along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with #FineGardening!

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