The late summer garden

This peach ginger, which has been in the garden for years, bloomed for the first time this month

Honeysuckle vines, along with beautyberry bushes, appeared in our yard after Katrina

This 'Royal Standard' hosta also bloomed for the first time this summer, though it has been here for years

The "banana canna" has huge leaves and small, flame-like blooms

As regular readers of this blog know, our garden has been in trouble for some time. We have lost our formosa lilies, red salvia, spider lily, and a stand of miniature daylilies. The walking iris did not bloom this year, and most of the gingers failed to make bracts and flowers. We are in the process of treating the soil, in the hope of getting some of our blooms back. In the meantime, Katrina gave us some surprises, and a couple of plants bloomed for the first time. The biggest successes were our 'Mermaid' rose, which--once it lost its sun-craving host tree--gave us spectacular bloom, and the night-blooming cereus.