St Peters RC Church Hamilton

You want an end of summer pick me up?

That is easy to fix, there is an abundance

Which readily lick the garden into shape in September.

The asters are at their timely best,

With over four hundred varieties to pass the appreciation test.

Daisy like echinacea has to be in the count,

They amount to a structure making a notable garden feature.

A garden with helenium is a late summer winner.

Rudbeckias and salvias too, let the colour come through.

And if your garden is grown entirely for pleasure,

The overall winner for late summer

Has, without a shadow of doubt, to be the dazzling dahlia,

The cottage garden favourite in a multiplicity of shapes,

Of colours, of structure, appearing, offering great variety and welcome longevity.

Foliage of green, bronze or even chocolate,

Offsets blooms in fiery orange, ample apricot, honey and canary yellow,

Pearly gold, sultry red, vibrant pink and magenta,

Creamy white, lovely lilac and perfect purple.

Some blooms even being hand painted in striped style, both in doubles and singles.

The singles offer an invitation to pollination whilst boasting good garden

performance.

What a brilliant September into October flower hour by hour.

Mostly hardy except for the coldest, snowiest winter drop in temperature,

The dahlia will always fit the bill for economy.

For when surviving the colder months, the dahlia may surprisingly

Burst into growth in a sunny spring, an added treasure.

Yes, there is so much to offer pleasure in late summer,

And that is without mention of the canna or verbena or agapanthus,

All adding up to easy colour for any garden designer.

And what could be more delightful than an array of colour?

Lord, Your September garden awash with the brightest of colours is truly splendid! Thank You so much for this treasure of late summer. Amen.