I'm re-merchandising my garden. It's a bit of a shambles right now. In late summer, most gardens get a bit floppy and messy. Given our unusual summer weather, my garden is more of a mess than usual. I've got a garden tour coming up in two weeks, so I'm sprucing up.

The boring, labor-intensive part (that I've been neglecting) is the cleanup. I've got some serious dead-heading to do. And there are floppy plants to corral or cut back. This leaves gaps and bare patches. The patio containers look pretty good. Even so, some plants are past their prime and some are just too sad-looking to save.

The answer is to go shopping, looking for both late-blooming perennials and annuals to give the garden a jolt of color and texture. Yesterday I stuffed my little car with vibrant new plants to fill in bare spots and give a boost to existing plants.

My perennial shopping list included mums in several colors, asters, sedum, hardy hibiscus and ornamental grasses. Annual additions included ornamental kale, ornamental peppers and two kinds of black-eyed Susans. The first is an old favorite called 'Summer Sun.' It differs from the black-eyed, golden-petaled wild species by having a chartreuse eye and bright yellow petals. The second variety is a new introduction called 'Cherry Brandy.' Its dark brown eye is encircled by wine red petals. There are many other varieties of black-eyed Susans; many have striking brown markings on the petals. All are striking.

Most of these new plants will find places in my borders. A few will get prominent spots on the patio or flanking my front door. As soon as I finish re-merchandising, my garden will be set for an extended, colorful fall display.

Plants featured in this segment are courtesy of Tagawa Gardens.