GBBD: October Bloom Day

Autumn.  Next to spring, my favorite time of year.  Typically, the cooler temperatures are a welcome relief from a long, hot summer, the air feels crisp rather than oppressively humid, and the green of the garden is replaced with golden hues.  Autumn arrived late this year, no matter what the calendar said, as temperatures in the 80's and even 90's remained until nearly the end of September.  When fall finally came, what I most appreciated, however, was the rain--after months of near-drought, we have finally had some significant rainfall the past few weeks.  My poor tired and thirsty plants have been gratefully soaking it all up.  What little time I've spent in the garden the last two months was spent dragging hoses around to keep everything alive, but as we all know, it's just not the same as a nice, gentle rainshower.

In fact, on this October Bloom Day, it is raining once again, so I may have to do with some photos I've taken the past week instead.

Most of my usual fall bloomers have already faded away.  'October Skies' asters were in full bloom by the end of September and now are just a memory.  The same with the Goldenrod and Turtleheads.  In many ways my fall garden has been a disappointment.  The most puzzling is that none of my New England Asters bloomed.  My butterfly garden has been full of these every other fall, to the point that I thought I should rip some of them out.  But this year the only asters to bloom in this area were Frost Asters, also known as Hairy Asters, which are more of a weedy native.  I have no idea what happened to the New Englands unless it was too dry for them.  This small area I call my Butterfly Garden is filled with mostly natives, and I must admit I usually forget to water it during dry periods.  Perhaps it's time to re-do this whole area.

Other disappointments this fall included no-show cosmos and the zinnias.  The zinnias did bloom and eventually they grew to their usual height, but the blooms were much smaller than usual.  I planted the same variety of seeds that I have for several years, so that can't be the reason.  I'm thinking the dry conditions may have affected them, too.

The pollinators still enjoyed the blooms, even if they were smaller than usual, fortunately.

Even if there aren't many blooms in my garden right now, there are other signs of fall. The Amsonia hubrichtii is just beginning to turn to the golden hue it acquires late in the season.

The Beautyberry next to it is full of berries right now.

So is the 'Cardinal Candy' Viburnum.  I've never noticed many birds flocking to this shrub, but I'll have to watch more closely later in the season.

One of my favorite "berries" are those of the Blackberry Lily.  It took me years to get one or two plants established in my garden, but now they have self-seeded and form a border in front of the Lily Bed.  I think I like their seedheads better than their blooms.

Fall color has been slow to arrive in our area; perhaps it has been fooled by the warm weather we've had--yesterday was another 85 degree day!  I've noticed only a few leaves changing, and I don't expect the intense colors of some falls because of how dry it has been all summer. The big maple in our front yard that usually has the most vibrant color has begun to change a little.  I took this photo a week ago, and you'll notice the color changes start at the top of the tree.  Slowly, the transformation will work its way down, and in a couple of weeks, the whole tree should be a blaze of orange.

The garden is really winding down, and there isn't much in the way of new blooms.  About the only new blooms I have are the Japanese Anemones.  This pink one--name forgotten--looks a bit tattered, and the white ones didn't grow as tall as usual this year--again probably because of the dry conditions.  But they are a welcome addition to the garden, just the same.

One plant that looks better than ever is the 'Senorita Rosalita' Cleome.  Ever since I started planting it directly in the ground instead of in a pot, it has been much happier.  The Knockout roses just peeking it out in the left of the photo have also put out a fresh flush of blooms.

The only other new blooms this month are a few fall annuals I've planted. Most of my containers are looking pretty sad right now, especially the petunias, but I don't get too carried away re-planting fall combos.  Fall can be such a short season here in Illinois, so it's not worth the time or money to create new containers.  But, of course, I have to have a few mums!

One container I did re-do somewhat with the addition of some smaller mums and some mini-pumpkins was this one by the old oak tree.  This is a new "container" this year:  this spring my husband noticed this old, broken wheelbarrow that my neighbor had set out for trash pick-up.  He thought I might want it for a planter, which of course I did!  There was even a little horse manure left in the bottom (my neighbor has horses), which I mixed up with the soil.  The funny thing about this, though, is that I planted quite a few Wave petunias, thinking they would look good draping over the sides.  But a few weeks after planting, they all died.  I thought my neglect in watering them had killed them, so I bought a few more petunias--now on clearance--and replanted.  But they all died, too!   Everything else--the 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia, Gomphrena, and 'Victoria Blue' Salvias--did just fine, even with some neglect.  I have no idea why the petunias don't like this wheelbarrow, but I'm making a note to myself not to plant them in this next year.

Fall means lots of chores in the garden before winter sets in, and I've been spending much more time outside the past few weeks, in between rain showers, than I have in a couple of months.  The big project ahead is pretty obvious from the picture.  I have tried to cut back on my bulb-planting the past few years, but I got a little carried away.  When my bulb orders came in, I realized I had ordered over 500 bulbs!  Not sure what I was thinking--well, yes, I do--I was enticed by all those pretty photos on the bulb company websites:)  I just hope I get them all in the ground before the snow flies!

The best part of my fall garden, however, really doesn't have much to do with flowers or foliage, other than indirectly.  On Friday the 13th, my husband, Mr. I-Don't-Garden, came in from mowing and said I really needed to come out to the garden.  There, to my astonishment, was a swarm of Monarch butterflies.  It was difficult to count them all as they floated from flower to flower, especially to the zinnias, but I think there must have been at least two dozen.  I've never seen so many Monarchs at one time!  It was truly a magical, almost spiritual experience, and I found myself repeating over and over "This is amazing!"

This had to be the highlight of my fall garden.  So even though most blooms are fading away and plants are getting ready for their winter's sleep, there is still something to delight in the garden.


Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is hosted the 15th of every month by author and garden fairy expert Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

September GBBD: Almost Autumn

I haven't had much time to work in the garden lately, and it shows.  Summer is winding down, but not without some blasts of hot air and humidity before it leaves.  Faded and dried up blooms hang on plants waiting for someone to start tidying up for fall. Weedy wildflowers that I intended to pull are still blooming, probably setting seed for hundreds of progeny next spring.

The coneflowers look especially bad, unless you're into shades of brown, but the goldfinches are still enjoying them, so that's my excuse for not cutting them back.

Flowers aren't the only plants turning brown; we're surrounded on three sides by fields of corn which have been slowly turning to a shade of tan.  Soon it will be harvest season.

The vegetable garden is also pretty well done, except for a few tomatoes and eggplants.  The tomatoes didn't do very well this year--perhaps all the rain we had in early spring--but we've had enough to eat fresh.  The one plant that is still doing well are the 'Golden Guardian' marigolds, added to help deter pests.  And speaking of pests, there must be a few left in the ground, because Sophie always finds something to dig out here.  She refused to get out of this photo:)

The Sneezeweed that captivated me a few weeks ago is slowly losing its petals.  But I like the look of these seedheads, don't you?  They will definitely be left for winter interest.

But even as the summer blooms fade away, there are new additions to take their place and keep the garden interesting--and tasty for the pollinators and other visitors.  Native asters in shades of pink and purple are just beginning to open up.

And there is goldenrod everywhere.  I am amazed by the comments I see on Facebook and other places by the number of people who still confuse goldenrod with ragweed.  Besides being the allergy culprit, ragweed is ugly!  Goldenrod, on the other hand, is innocent and lovely, even if the native species like this can be a bit of a thug.

'October Skies' asters are just beginning to bloom, but the butterflies have already found them.

Agastache, aka Hummingbird Mint, shows no sign of letting up any time soon.  I only wish this plant would survive the winter here.

Another sign of fall--the Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy' is covered in small berries.  This is the first year I've ever seen berries on this plant, which was its main selling point when I purchased it several years ago.

There was a time when there wasn't much blooming in my garden in the fall.  Thankfully, over the last few years I've remedied that.  A new addition this year, Salvia azurea has turned out to be one of those late bloomers.  Actually, I am just happy to see these pretty blue blooms, no matter the time of year because I had thought I had lost this plant.  The tag marking it somehow was moved, and until it bloomed, I thought it was something else.  Glad I didn't pull it, thinking it was a weed!

Late-blooming phlox in the shade garden is a volunteer,

 one I'm happy to have however it came to be here.

Turtleheads also add some color to the shade garden expansion.

One of the stalwarts of the late summer garden are the ornamental grasses.  'Morning Light' Miscanthus rises above another grass, a Panicum.

I always have trouble capturing the Panicums on camera, but I thought this was pretty cool.  I'm not sure if this is 'Shenandoah' or 'Northwinds,' but the reddish tints of the seedheads make me think it's 'Shenandoah.'

And, of course, there are many annuals that keep going up until frost.  I don't know why I haven't planted Gomphrena very often, but I like these tall stems that sway in the breeze, especially in front of the Amsonia Hubrichtii, which is already beginning to change to its fall color.

Nicotania is another late-bloomer, but only because I pulled most of the volunteer seedlings early this spring.  A few escaped my weeding and provide some welcome blooms among the fading perennials.

In the containers, 'Silverberry' Supertunia has been one of the best performers out of all my petunias this year.

And finally, I can't end this Bloom Day post without showing off one of the best late summer annuals, the zinnias.  Monarchs have been passing through the garden for the past few weeks, and they always stop to enjoy the zinnias.

One of my favorite zinnias is the 'Zowie Yellow Flame.'  I brag about these every year, but they really are a pollinator favorite besides being simply stunning.  This bumblebee sure was busy gathering every bit of pollen he could!

Bees and butterflies--what more could you ask for?  

Although I haven't been very busy working in the garden, I have spent a lot of time enjoying it, especially all the visitors this time of year.  Butterflies, bees, and the antics of hummingbirds make this one of my favorite times of the year.


To see what else is blooming this September, check out other Bloom Day posts at Carol's of May Dreams Gardens.

June GBBD: And the Garden Goes On...

It's not often that I go a whole month without posting, especially in spring when the garden is bursting into life.  But shortly after the last Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, my mother was hospitalized and then sent to rehab for a couple of weeks, so life has been pretty hectic around here.  Gardening has gotten short shrift, needless to say, with only the most important chores getting done--like finally planting all the new annuals and perennials I had purchased in the previous weeks. I also managed to do some weeding in the vegetable garden so that I could find the newly emerging green beans among the pesky grass popping up everywhere.  But other weeding?  Let's just say there won't be any long shots of my garden in this post.

Bloom Day is all about what is blooming in your garden today, but I hope you'll indulge me in a few scenes from previous weeks, since I didn't get a chance to post them earlier.  The peonies are gone now, but were gorgeous this year; my mother appreciated the bouquet of pink peonies I gathered from my garden as much as any florist's bouquet.

There were enough blooms this year to bring some inside for myself, too.

The Amsonia is no longer blooming either, but made a nice backdrop for the peonies.  Amsonia Hubrichtii here and its counterpart Amsonia tabernaemontana had much bluer blooms than this photo shows.

'May Night' Salvia is still blooming, however, and will continue to bloom throughout the summer--if I ever get around to deadheading it, that is.

Other blooms that have since faded include the Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy.'  This plant has been slow to establish here, or maybe I'm just impatient, but it's finally taking off and reaching some height.  In fact, I can see it needs some pruning--one more job to add to the growing to-do list.

The alliums haven't been purple for a couple of weeks, but I still like the accent these tall plants make even as they're fading.  And yes, that is more Salvia--it apparently likes my arbor bed and has re-seeded all over.

And now for what is actually blooming today--Nigella hidden away in the back corners of the Arbor Bed.  These re-seed themselves each year, and when the seedlings first emerge I'm never quite sure whether they're cosmos, larkspur, or nigella.  The mystery is solved.

Spirea 'Neon Flash' is covered in blooms.  These two shrubs have grown so full the past few years, they're due for a serious pruning before they overtake other nearby shrubs.

The Knockout roses are not doing well this year, but 'Radsunny' has some blooms.

I am envious of Southern gardeners whose 'Black and Blue' salvia come back every year.  In my zone 5b garden, it's definitely an annual, but worth purchasing every year.

Not only do I love the electric blue blooms, but they are hummingbird magnets and look good in a pot as well as in the ground.

Lamium adds some petite purple blooms to the various shades of green in the shade garden.

It's almost lily season now, and the first to bloom are always the ever-reliable 'Stella D'Oros.'  They definitely need dividing again--didn't I say that last year?  And the year before?  'Walker's Low' Nepeta to the left has been blooming for some time.

There will be a plethora of red poppies again this year, but I'm most excited about this dark burgundy called 'Laura's Dark Grape.'  I purchased this seed, but I will have to remember to save these seeds and separate them from the reds later in the season to have more of these next year.  The hoverflies love them, too.

I'm also excited to see my first ever 'Annabelle' blooms.  I planted a couple scrawny, half-dead starts last year when we divided an overgrown plant at the nursing home where I volunteer.  They must be pretty tough hydrangeas.

The past couple of weeks have been a time of transition, with spring flowers gone and summer flowers not quite ready to bloom.  But very soon there will be an explosion of color as lily buds begin to open.  The first Asiatic lily to bloom (above) is one I don't remember buying or planting, but I certainly can't ignore these bold orangey-red blooms.

And what would summer be without my favorite, purple coneflowers?  A few early blooms have appeared in the past week, but soon I will have a plethora of coneflowers everywhere.  I can't wait!

What is blooming in your garden today?  Check out Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts this monthly get-together--join in and see what's blooming all over the world!