Mums, QE rose and pots of recently-planted garlic (and one pot of leeks for harvesting during the winter in the garage):

Rose hips and flowers (- the gray stuff is culinary sage that remains evergreen - evergray - and can be harvested for cooking all winter):

The only things blooming in the backyard now are some 'White Pearl' bugbanes and some of the white corydalis.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a single bloom on my Zephrine Drouhin (sp?) the other day. Sadly, it didn't last long because of strong winds. But I still have a few annuals hanging on with some blooms, with the annual geraniums looking amazingly healthy and vigorous (although no blooms)

Do you leave the pots of garlic out over the winter, or move into the garage?

Dee

We've had quite a mild fall and the garden has been loving it. Even the foliage of so many perennials is still so fresh and more vibrant with the cooler weather now.

That being said.......the fall color has been sparse. Most of my Japanese maples got extra crispy before turning. We had really warm weather and then some very cold nights. Still a beautiful fall though.

The garlic starts in the pots outdoors but DH moves it in the garage for the winter - mainly to clear the driveway for snow-removal. When the pots come out in spring, the garlic is usually 2-4" high. He also plants garlic in any 'bare spot' in the front garden beds in the fall. So, in spring and summer, garlic mingles with all the plants in the front garden :-) (Can you tell that DH loves garlic?!)

Some random pictures that show the culinary sage:

Wow, I always thought sage was not hardy, and as a matter of fact, I adopted a potted sage plant over the summer from someone who was tired of bringing it in and babying it all winter. Now that it's cold out and the plant is in my living room, I'm feeling the pressure to keep it alive, lol. I'll have to see if I can find out what kind it is - it didn't bloom for me, but I wasn't expecting it to. As you can see, I am woefully sage-ignorant, lol.

Gardenbug, sorry you had such a yucky day. It was quite nice here for most of the day - sunny and about 50 degrees, but got cloudy and colder later in the afternoon. Snow is forecast for several days this week but keeping my fingers crossed that it's not substantial.

Thyme, I started raking and shredding my leaves today as well. Finally had a bit of free time to get started. This will take me at least a month to finish! Unfortunately, I didn't find any surprises (i.e. things in bloom).

You guys reminded me that I have to plant my garlic! I knew I should have left it on the counter where I would see it and remember!

Dee

I also love using culinary sage as an ornamental too. Dual purpose! The flowers are some of prettiest I've seen on hardy sages...
CMK

CMK - my mom was convinced she couldn't grow clematis here so when I moved in I planted them on all four sides of the house after finding one she'd evidently planted & forgotten thriving & loaded with flowers in what she referred to as "the big flowerbed" south of where the house is situated.

I wouldn't say they all thrived but at least half of them have--growing (with no intervention from me) in part shade on the northwest side of the house in sandy loam that's slightly acidic. I don't mulch or otherwise pamper any of the plants growing here.

'dee - yes, that's the sage on the right side in that picture. The sage is just the ordinary Salvia officinalis that you can pick up dirt-cheap just about anywhere that sells plants. They're very hardy and turn into lovely garden plants. The flowers get ratty-looking as they start to fade so need deadheading: just grab a handful of stems and whack them off at the base - no delicate treatment required!

thyme - yeah, it's been not a stellar fall here for color either. Too warm (especially at night) and too wet after a tough summer. The rain was much needed; after several years of dry falls and almost snowless winters we're finally heading into colder weather with some decent moisture in the ground. Snowless winters are nice in that I don't get stuck in the house so much - but they are very hard on the garden so I'm hoping the damp fall this year may be a sign of a snowier winter to come too....

The dry winters (and summer dry spells) have taken a huge toll on that beautiful Vyvyan Pennell clematis unfortunately. After the wisterias it is/was probably the showiest/most memorable bloomer in the garden here. A The President clematis was also a big star a few feet behind where Vyvyan is. Both are barely hanging on for the last two years! They are in the rain shadow of the roof hangover of the front porch so need supplemental moisture. A snowy winter adds a nice amount of mosture to the soil to start things off - but the soil has been bone dry after the last couple of winters! DH retired a couple of years ago and took over responsibility for watering the stuff on or near the driveway. I think he concentrates on the pots and forgets about the plants in the porch bed and/or does not water them enough. I intend to take over watering the porch bed next year to see if I can revive them before the clematises expire completely!

A history of a beautiful clematis:

Vyvyan near her prime in 2006:

After a hard winter she stopped climbing but still flowered well - 2008:

Tidied up the old stems in early spring 2010 in hopes of reviving her enough to start climbing again - I called this 'the goose' phase:

By June/July it looked like the rejuvenation had worked - she had climbed to the top of the lattice and was producing the summer flush of single flowers:

And then disaster struck! There was an explosion in the snail population. Even though I dusted almost daily with diatomaceous earth, the cursed snails took out all those lovely new stems! :-( And then she's has to cope with a succession of dry winters and long stretches of summer dry spells...

Vyv is still hanging on, producing a few flowers in June but it's so pathetic in comparison to previous years that I haven't taken any pictures since 2010! I hope improved watering in 2014 might help - as long as the snail don't respond with a growth spurt too. We miss the beautiful Vyv, so it's worth another attempt to revive her.

My experience of growing culinary sage is it is very easy, and always comes back, but gets kind of rasty and large over time. They are easy from seed, so they are easy to replace. I have grown them in clay and in silty loam, and they like the silty loam more, but so do most things.

I like to see what you have, woody since it is nice to see the possibilities in places where it rains more. I guess the snails are the downside to that. I have a few, but not enough to destroy anything. Thanks for the pretty pictures.