A Bit of "Colour" Around the Old Place Yet

Mid-October around Pink Gardens, and there are still some flowers blooming if you look for 'em. 

At the top is a very small purple aster-type flower. I'm not exactly sure of its name. It was given to me last year by a woman at the grocery store I helped in the parking lot when her bags broke. After we got all of the stuff put in her trunk, she asked me if I didn't mind, if I could help her one more time with a large plant that over at the curb. While I got it and brought it to her car, she ran and bought me this little purple-flowering plant, and it turned out to be a perennial. Next to it is the dark purple Perilla, a native perennial coleus relative. They look nice together.

In the middle is the newest dahlia to bloom, the fourth variety. This one seems to be a peach color gradually changing into a bright yellow in the center. We've all seen how my dahlias change over time, so I'm excited to see this new one mature, I have buds coming on two more dahlias that haven't bloomed yet, so let's all hope we don't get that first frost for a while!

At the bottom is a white Joe Pye Weed bush. Most of these that I've seen have been purple and were blooming profusely in bright sun in August. This variety was given to us this year by one of June's friends. She gave us three nicely mature bushes and told us it was shade-loving. I did as she said, and have been rewarded by these small bright white flowers, absolutely perfect for the shade garden. Checking this white variety online, it seems to be called Chocolate, 'though I have no idea why!