Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day -- October 2012

The garden is most definitely winding down out there as far as flowers go. I have quite a few seedpods still ripening -- Butterfly weed, Blackberry lily, Agastache 'Golden Jubilee', and an unknown native Aster -- all of which I plan to harvest and sow more of over the winter. Of course, now that the rain is back, they are rather soggy, so maybe I should gather what seeds I can now.

I did brave the rain on Sunday to get out there and take some pictures of my plants that are still blooming, but some of these were taken last week when it was still dry. Others were taken just this morning, during a break in the rain when the sun actually came out again and there were patches of  blue sky.

Penstemon 'Tubular Bells' beside the stream

I actually forgot this was there, planted from seed. There were so many other earlier bloomers covering it up, and when I cut them back, the Penstemon saw its opportunity and took it.

Also 'Tubular Bells' but a slightly different set of colors



Joe-Pye Weed 'Little Joe' and little bee

Kniphofia 'Creamsicle' -- a tiny, delicate flower in the gravel garden. I planted three different torch lilies this year, and this was the only one to bloom

Rosemary

Begonia grandis



Hydrangea 'Pistachio' still in its container, blooming profusely.

Impatiens omeiana, also flowering in its pot. I bought it for its foliage, had no idea it produced such lovely little flowers.

Enormous Fuchsia magellanica has been flowering for months. It never needed cutting back after our easy winter, and hasn't skipped a beat for flowers during our long, dry summer. I'm sure the hummers are grateful.

I've had some minor success rooting cuttings this year, so I may give this Fuchsia a try in the early spring.
'Sheffield Pink' Chrysanthemum


This seed-sown Dahlia has now returned two years in a row

NOID Dahlia, but I love the colors. I'm going to give this one a much more prominent spot in next year's garden.

Japanese Anemone 'Pamina' looks a bit beaten down by the rain
Pennisetum 'Karley Rose' also heavily laden with rain, has been drooping all summer actually

It's the wrong time of year for our native Dicentra formosa to be blooming, but this one self-sowed this year in an odd spot, and it's been determined to grow big and strong so it could bloom before the year is out.

That's about it for October, here in my Pacific Northwest Garden south of Seattle, in what is probably zone 7b, but might be 8 (who knows any more?). Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is hosted by Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens, and lots of other great posts are waiting for you at the link.