Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: October

– Posted in: Miscellaneous
11 comments

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

Image of purply-pink yarrowImage of pink phloxImage of common or high mallowI 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

Image of yellow globeflowerImage of pink rosebudImage of deep purple larkspurMuch 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

Image of purply-pink colchicum blossom emerging from grey-green foliageImage of purply-pink double colchicum with white variegated ornamental grassLast 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.Image of purply-pink chrysanthemums leaning over a stone wall
Stop by at May Dreams Garden for all the other Bloom Day reports.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

In its own way, frost may be one of the most beautiful things to happen in your garden all year . . . Don’t miss it. Like all true beauty, it is fleeting. It will grace your garden for but a short while this morning. . . . For this moment, embrace frost as the beautiful gift that it is.

~Philip Harnden in A Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons

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Kathy Purdy October 16, 2007, 11:57 am

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.

Fran Sorin October 16, 2007, 11:46 am

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

Robin (Bumblebee) October 16, 2007, 7:21 am

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)

Annie in Austin October 15, 2007, 11:03 pm

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

Stuart October 15, 2007, 6:20 pm

I love your “Cut-and-Come-Again” flowers Kathy. It makes deadheading all the more worthwhile doesn’t it.

Great pics.

Carol October 15, 2007, 5:08 pm

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

Pam/Digging October 15, 2007, 1:32 pm

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.