Today's Flowers: Remains of the garden with hope for the future

I wandered around my garden and deck a few days ago, photographing what was left from the growing season past and considering the promise of the season to come.

Depending on the point of view, mostly emptied husks from the hibiscus (rose of sharon) in my garden above can spell an ending or a beginning. I know in a few months that new plants will pop up in the usual as well as unexpected places, coming back up from roots as well as bird planted seeds in new spots.

The remains of the purple cone flowers (echanasia) above are also signs of old flowers with the promise of new to come.

The black eyed susan (rudbeckia) above was planted late, by a bird I assume, in a pot on my deck whose planned flowers were finished. This flower bloomed months after the rest and I watched eager to see if the flower would open before a hard frost which it did, just barely. Even zapped by the cold almost as soon as it bloomed, it was frozen in this unusual form and months later still has hint of yellow flower and green leaf. All the other rudbeckia had turned black and brown, withering away by late August.

The fairy asters above were also a late volunteer in a deck pot and although the daisy like flowers faded long ago the puffy seed are still white unlike the others in my garden which long ago dropped as brown seeds. Please visit the home of Today's Flowers to find other participants.