Saturday, October 16, 2010

October in Bloom - Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day


I actually thought there would be more things blooming in the middle of October than there are. The hot dry weather has taken its toll on the fall garden, most noticeably on the asters. Remember how I had them blooming in July? Those aren't blooming now, when they should be and even the ones that weren't blooming then aren't blooming now either. I miss their brilliant purple and pink show.

Some of the mums aren't performing up to their usual standards either, but others are outstanding, such as these dark reds:


All the same, there are a few things blooming, including my beloved toad lilies (Tricyrtis sp.). Their foliage is a bit crispy around the edges, no doubt due to the lack of rain. I'm glad I've been watering, trying to keep things from dying. I'd hate to see how the gardens might look if I hadn't.

Tricyrtis sp. was labeled 'Amethystina' but looking at other photos of
that cultivar leads me to believe it was mislabeled. In any case, it's pretty!


The offspring of last year's pink Wave petunias continue to bloom like crazy, unfazed by much of anything.



Other things in bloom are:

Those amazing delphiniums are still blooming! They're one of the first in
the spring and apparently are going to be one of the last in the fall. Gotta
love that!

This Echinops ritro (Globe Thistle) is a surprise. It's been blooming for a
few weeks now.

Dianthus 'First Love' blooms all summer, no matter what.
 
This Coreopsis 'Cosmic Eye' is a new one this year. I picked it up at the
Royal Oak Farmers' Market when I visited my Soil Sister Jan in August.

Annual Xeranthemum in the foreground echo the color of
fellow annual Cosmos 'Rose Bon Bon'. Both were grown from
seed - the Xeranthemum from saved seed from last year's blooms
and the Cosmos from new seed from Renee's Garden Seeds.




Dendranthema  'Bolero'


The Miscanthus sinensis is in full plumey bloom.

Called October Daphne, this Hylotelephium sieboldii (used to be Sedum) is in full
bloom and looking its best. It's pretty all spring and summer, too, even when it
isn't blooming. I love how each stem grows out from the center and
they splay out in a circle.

This wasn't a very good year for my roses, but the best one was this
'Cinco de Mayo', which is still pushing out blooms and has been largely
unaffected by pests or disease.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month.  Visit her site to see more fabulous blooms from other garden bloggers!



13 comments:

Fern @ Life on the Balcony said...

Seems like you sure found a lot of things in bloom! I especially liked the globe thistle. Neat looking flower!

Gail said...

If this is a bad garden, I could not stand the beauty of a good one!

Great shots and beautiful flowers.

Rose said...

It seems to me you do have lots of lovely blooms, Kylee! But my asters also bloomed early, and only one waited until this Bloom Day to flower. I love that sedum--I've never seen it in bloom before; what pretty little pink flowers! And your miscanthus is the perfect tribute to fall.

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

I like that coreopsis! Is it annual or does it return reliably? I planted a couple different ones last year that didn't make it through the winter.

Kylee Baumle said...

Fern ~ The number of things in bloom vs. what could be in bloom is really, really small, Fern. But I'm enjoying what I've got!

Gail ~ Thanks, Gail. There's just a lot that is merely surviving, not thriving. But some years are like that, aren't they?

Rose ~ The asters got all budded up, looked like they were going to bloom, then they just turned dry and brown. I'm sure it was our drought that did that. :-(

Dave ~ It's part of the Big Bang Series of Coreopsis and it says it's hardy to zone 5. It was a new introduction last year. I would think it would do well for you!

David said...

Beautiful garden! Whoa..that Dianthus 'First Love' knocked my socks off. I'm going to go looking for that one.
Happy GBBD from David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston

Darla said...

3 of my 4 First Love have survived the drought...looks like they may be perking back up. You still have some nice color around, love the mums!

Urban Gardens said...

October Daphne really nice...I love fall. And this garden looks like it's doing pretty darn great despite whatever toll that hot weather may have taken on the blooms. Lookin' pretty good!

Kristi said...

So many gorgeous plants. It nice to see mums in other people's gardens. I feel they get such a bad rap. The red ones are especially stunning.

scottweberpdx said...

Glad your garden is hanging in there, in spit of the weather! Gotta love those Echinops, they are just great! That stand of Miscanthus is stunning, love them backlit!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You do have some lovely blooms Kylee. My garden is in survival mode too. Only the plants that I have been watering are the ones that are blooming. Seeing your grass blooming made me pop out the front door to see if mine is blooming yet. Not quite. There are a few buds but unless it rains I doubt they open. What a year. One for the record books for sure. HGBBD.

Kerri said...

You've sure had a hard summer with excessive heat and little rain. Your survivors are much appreciated, I'm sure, and they're beautiful! Love those dark red mums.
I'd love to grow that delphinium..and the trout lilies...must add both to my wish list.
The sedum is beautiful.
I've spent some time today reading of your summer activities, and you've been one busy girl! Lots of fun stuff! Great catching up with you, Kylee.
Happy fall! Hope your much needed rain comes soon.

Unknown said...

Everything's richly beautiful, as always Kylee, but I think I like the 'October Daphne' the best. Mine is also blooming, but it doesn't have the paler shading in the foliage that yours appears to have. Mine's in its first year, though, and we all know how things sometimes change after they've settled in.

blogger templates | Make Money Online