October 2012 Blooms

Bloom Day was Monday, I took pictures Wednesday, and am finally posting Sunday.  Oh, well.  Here's what's blooming on the Crest in mid-October.

(Wednesday was a beautiful, bright, sunny day, so the photos are a bit flat and washed out.)

Mums:  some in the ground, some I planted in a pot several years ago:

Asters.  The New York asters and smooth asters are done, but these Tatarian asters are in full bloom.  Most are flopping, but I found some photogenic straight specimens.

In the still-going category, Lespedeza is still putting on a show in the front, and the sedum have gotten rather dark:

 

And in the "what season is it?" bucket, the zinnia along the front walk still think it's summer, while the pink penstemon and strawberries have gone back to springtime.

 

In the strawberries' defense, they are 'everbearing'.  They just too a long summer hiatus.

Not too bad for October.

October 2011 Blooms

 Here's some of what's blooming in mid-October:

Mom's mums

Morning Glory

Lespedeza thunbergii 'Gibraltar'

I planted the bush clover (Lespedeza) last fall on a whim.  It really took off this year, growing about 4ft high.  It is a little spindly, but I think it will fill out over the next few years.  I love all the little magenta flowers it has produced this year.

June Blooms, part 2

Finally showing off what was blooming in my yard on June Bloom Day, the 15th of the month.

In the upper garden: stokesia, butterfly weed, baptisia seed pods, rudbeckia

Upper Garden

Rudbeckia in the upper garden

There are different Rudbeckia along the front walk. Last year I wintersowed a whole bunch of different types and planted them in various spots on the garden. I have no idea what's where anymore.

Rudbeckia along the front walk

Also in the front are some very tipsy glads:

Gladiolus

Over in the side garden, a yellow flower I wintersowed last year. I think its a heliopsis, though it might be a helianthus. I really have no idea.

Heliopsis?

Around back, I have last fall's mums in a pot. They are blooming already.

Mums!?!?!?

In the garage garden, the "Easter" lilies are brightening up the corner, while farther down 'Franz Schubert' is the first of the garden phlox to bloom. This was a plant I 'rescued' off the clearance table a few years ago, and it has limped along ever since. I am happy to see it bloom.

"Easter" lilies in the garage garden

Phlox 'Franz Schubert'

Completing the circuit, some coreopsis on the terraces:

Zagreb coreopsis on the terraces

Whew! Finally done.

Mid-November Blooms

Once again, I've missed Bloom Day. I forgot to take pictures on Sunday (the 14th), then was working until after dark (silly time change!) on Monday. Rain yesterday, so I finally got the photos today.

That means I don't get to show off my pretty nasturtium that bloomed over the weekend. Trust me, it was a nice summer surprise in mid-Autumn.

As for the rest, it's almost a repeat of October. Let's see, what did I show off last month?

Mums: my mother's white mums are done now, with just one bright flower hanging on. The Pink mums in the garage garden are still going strong, though:


Gaillardia: last month I showed off the burgundy ones in the garage garden. Those are still blooming, along with some yellow ones in the terrace garden:


Summer phlox: Yes, surprisingly, there are still some flowers hanging on. Two more repeat-bloomers are lavender in the front and rosemary on the side. What mixed-up blooms I've had this fall!




Dahlia: This thing shines in the fall. I really wish I had more than one. I'm just so bad at overwintering them. I had five in storage over winter. Two were still viable in spring, one of those made a tasty feast for some critter, and this yellow one has done all the work:


Goldenrod: nearing the end of its bloom period, but still a pretty yellow in the back corner.

Rudbeckia: I've been showing off the ones in the upper garden, and they are still going strong. But this months surprise is the one along the front walk. These called it quits a few months ago, but one enjoyed the cooler weather enough to give me one more flower:


Edibles: The blackberries are still coming, a few at a time. A special treat for when I take a break from fall clean-up:



Sedum: are just a bunch of seed-heads now, but they are almost as pretty dried as in flower. Now the Nandina berries are adding color to that side of the yard:


I have a love-hate relationship with Nandina berries. I love the bright color that persists all winter. They look especially great with a dusting of snow. But in early spring I have to go cut them all down, otherwise I'll have hundreds (thousands? it seems) of Nandina babies by summer. I always miss some berries, and some fall before I cut them down, so I still usually have several dozen babies to pull. I keep looking to replace these shrubs with something less vigorously reproductive, but I haven't found winter color to compare with what I have. Suggestions are always welcome.

Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see who else has shown off their blooms this month.

Mid-August Blooms

When I returned home from the river last evening, I immediately grabbed my camera and headed back outside. Time to see what's blooming in mid-August. Too late for an official Bloom Day post, but necessary for my personal record, since I missed the fifteenth.

The first thing I noticed was that I was being eaten alive. The rains over the last few weeks produced a lot of standing water. With the dry start to summer, I'd gotten out of the habit of checking for such things. Time to remedy that!

As I swatted my way around the yard, I found very little to make me smile. The coneflowers are looking peaked:


Black eyed susans continue to brighten the semi-shade in the upper garden:

But the ones in full sun out front have had enough.

The pinkish mums that came with the house are starting to bloom. Their lack of color disappoints me every year. Why do I still have these in my herb garden?


At lease my dahila, blown over in the big thunderstorm two weeks ago, is putting out new growth and new flowers:


Seed pods are adding interest in the upper garden:

On the left are ripening Asclepias tuberosa pods. The ones in the center have split open, letting the tufted seeds take to the wind. On the right the Baptisia pods continue to add purple color to the garden.

Also in the upper garden, my chelone has buds. It struggles all year with lack of water. I always wonder if it will have enough strength to bloom.


And out front, the white rose has come back for another round of blooms:


Around the north side, one of my hosta is flowering. I usually ignore hosta flowers, but these are quite large and such a pure white I actually enjoy them:


So maybe I did find a few things to smile about.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens, whose monthly GBBD is the only reason my photo log is remotely up-to-date!