But there are still perennials (the plants that come back every year) that are adding color and drama to the shortening days.

The monarda (bee’s balm), Marshall’s Delight, is in full bloom and holding up well to the rain and wind. Yellow daylilies, dianthus deltoides (maiden pinks), filipendula Kahome, three different clematis, the Dropmore honeysuckle, oriental lilies (that is, they are trying to bloom), centaurea dealbata rosea and let’s not forget the astilbes.

I am holding out for the hydrangea paniculata. This is a shrub that has been successfully holding its own for several years. It has settled into its location after much doubt on its part and has graced us with blooms for the last four years. This is the first year that I successfully staked it. Usually it will be laying on the ground, its gorgeous flowers spread out on the grass.

These small shrubs are marginal here. At this latitude the stems do not develop enough wood to support the flower heads, thus, the plants fall apart from the middle. Not very lovely at all. But this year it got some help and it actually looks like a shrub for the first time. But there may not be enough time for it to bloom. We’ll see. It is about to bloom but the color goes through several changes. First it is chartreuse, then white, then pink and then finally, copper. The copper comes as the bloom dries. These dried blooms make lovely additions to household arrangements.

But really the whole point of continuing to garden is to be outside. This is such a robust time of year. The wind is gusty and the showers are unpredictable but not enough to force me inside. If it turns to a real rain I can seek shelter in the greenhouse until it passes over, not a bad place to be.

The greenhouse smells like peppers. There are six plants that are trying to mature their crop into red bell peppers. It looks like slow going, but the aroma is worth it even if nothing else comes of it.

This is also that wonderful time of year to be purchasing bulbs. There are basic selections available locally. The usual tulip/daffodil/crocus. Every year I add bulbs, making careful arrangements of treasures that I have chosen from catalogs. Every year, come spring, I wonder why I bothered. Either they do not come up at all or else they make an appearance but do not produce a bloom. Odd. The chinodoxia, scilla, fritillaria, pushkinia, muscari, Jack Snipe daffodil and crocus all make a statement. But I always think I need more, something different, something bold. Well, this year I sat down until the thought went away. I bought a few bags of purple crocus and will scatter them under the Miss Kim lilac so that I can see their blooms from the comfort of the house and call it good.

When you plant your bulbs keep in mind that the bulb itself is the food that will see it through its blooming. You really don’t need any bulb fertilizer the first year. Actually I just give them compost mixed with manure in the fall and call it good. They certainly do respond.

The question that is looming for me this year is when to plant my meager collection of bulbs. With this much rain I am concerned that if I plant too soon, the bulbs will rot. And, I know that I am not the only one who has used a pick to dig holes in frozen ground. Then there is my neighbor who didn’t get around to planting in the fall and took advantage of the January thaw to get hers in the ground. They bloomed, which is what matters.

This is also the perfect time of year to have an eye on potential plants for their seed pods. I have Lauren’s grape poppy that I have decided I must never be without. With that in mind I have saved several plants with the hugest seed pods and am keeping an eye on them. There is that tricky moment when they are just barely ripe that I want to cut them and bring them inside to finish drying. But the seeds need to be more mature than they are at the moment. And I do not want them to explode all over the place like they did last year. Yes, I love this particular poppy, but not that much. My intention is to spread the seed around this fall, keep some in case they don’t germinate this spring (I don’t trust this) and spread them around then. Either way I anticipate success.

If you have a particular favorite plant, tie a string around the stem to remind you that you want to save its seed.

Keep weeding, killing slugs, harvesting (the lettuce is still going and the broccoli has tiny side shoots), staking — really the garden season is far from over.