Unseasonably warm autumn
Thanks to our unseasonably warm autumn, many of September’s flowers are still lingering around. We just had our first frost on Saturday morning (13 Oct 30.4F;-0.8C) and the leaves haven’t really turned color yet, and usually by now they are almost all off the trees.
Cut back and came back
I had cut the mallow and yarrow back and they are reblooming. The phlox was deadheaded and sprouted four blossoms from the original stem. This particular phlox is blooming in a stand of ‘Bright Eyes,’ and I presume it is a self-sown seedling. It is taller than the surrounding phlox and a deeper pink, and I think I like it better, so I am going to see if I can encourage it.
Still hanging around
Much to my surprise, the globeflower is still hanging around. This is the very last blossom, kind of bedraggled and drooping, but hanging in there. And what I thought was the last rose of the season in September turned out to be third-to-last. This bud came after that September bud, plus another rose has bloomed and gone by. And the larkspur is still going strong, but it likes cooler weather, so that’s not surprising. Also still blooming:
- Petunias in window boxes and hanging baskets
- Tunic flower
- catmint
- various rudbeckias
- my one and only chrysanthemum
- Johnny-jump-ups
Colchicums
Last October, the ‘Lilac Wonder’ colchicums were at their peak by now. This year, they’re just getting started, the mum is at its peak, and the aster has pretty much gone by. Getting plants to bloom together is never an exact science, is it? There are a few speciosum and double-white colchicums hanging around, too, but they are at the end of their bloom period, not the beginning.
Goldenrod and Asters are done
Most people think of them as fall flowers, but the goldenrod and asters have gone to seed and only have a stray blossom here and there.
Stop by at May Dreams Garden for all the other Bloom Day reports.
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
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I am sorry if I gave people the wrong impression. Selective photography can do that. Unless you look at the trees, which are finally starting to color up, the rest of the garden is muted greens and browns, with the occasional flash of bloom duly documented. The one frost we’ve had put the morning glories, tomatoes, basil et al out of commission, and blackened the tops of the hydrangeas. My one and only mum is the only plant going gangbusters.
Thanks for stopping by, Fran.
Kathy-
Thanks for sharing the photos of what’s in blookm in your garden now. I’m surprised to see that your USDA Zone 5 is still giving such a floral show. Parts of USDA Zone 6, including me, have already had a light frosts and have lost sweet potato and hyacinth bean vines. Enjoy the beauty while it lasts! Fran
Lots of pink in your garden, if you judge from the photos!
I still have a lot blooming too, but once again didn’t manage a proper Bloom Day post.
Oh well…I’m glad the rest of you are so organized.
–Robin (Bumblebee)
Twitter: @Annieinaustin
Your bloom day flowers belong in my pink garden, Kathy – how did that yellow trollius get in there??
Your blooms are beautiful, but how odd to see Larkspur in autumn.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I love your “Cut-and-Come-Again” flowers Kathy. It makes deadheading all the more worthwhile doesn’t it.
Great pics.
It does help rebloom when spent blooms are deadheaded, as you never know what the weather will be like. And with this warmer than usual fall, I’m reading about a lot of gardeners who are pleasantly surprised to still have so much blooming (or hanging on) in October. We’ll see what November brings!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Your asters are done, and ours are just now in bloom. Despite your warm autumn and our cool summer, the plants still keep to their programmed timetables, give or take a week or two.
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