Garden Bloggers Bloom Day -- October 2018

Here's a record of what's blooming in my garden this October.

Arbutus unedo 'Compacta' is covered in flowers, and often frequented by hummingbords

Most years it has both flowers and last year's strawberry-shaped fruit at the same time, but not this year

A handful of Calendulas are still hanging on, despite some very cold overnight temperatures, close to freezing

Helianthus and purple Aster

A couple of California poppies have rebloomed since our return of rain

Most of the Echinaceas are dried seedheads, but they have produced a few new blooms

Hardy Geranium 'Wargrave Pink' goes on all summer and into fall

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is mostly finished blooming, I think, sometimes it's hard to tell

This Japanese Anemone whose name I've lost has produced one bloom, it's in a terrible weed-infested spot where it gets neither enough sun nor enough water

The tuberous Begonias are still flowering, although the foliage doesn't look its best.

Dahlias are still flowering heavily too, although the rain we've had has beaten some of them down a bit. I'll have to try to remember to give them more support next year.

Dahlia 'Black Beauty'

'Black Beauty'

Dinner plate Dahlia

Leaning over (I won't show the ones that have planted their faces all the way down in the dirt)

Cyclamen hederifolium

Chocolate Eupatorium

Geranium 'Ann Folkard'

Corydalis lutea

Phygelius

Most of the oakleaf Hydrangea flowers have turned brown, but there are a couple of new white ones

I've lost track of the name of this pink Hydrangea still growing in a pot, I wonder if some day I'll get it in the ground

I was very late getting my Brugmansias out of the garage, and they only started flowering about two weeks ago, just in time to go back in

All the tender plants have made it into the greenhouse to be overwintered once again, and a few are flowering.

Begonia 'Little Brother Montgomery' stands in for all the other leafy Begonias, since all their flowers pretty much look the same

I realized when I moved my Hindu Rope Hoya into the greenhouse that it has been producing flower clusters for a while, since there were quite a few dried ones

Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the fifteenth of the month. Check out her post here.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day -- September 2018

For the most part, my garden is a spring garden. It reaches its fullest potential in the spring, and declines from summer onward. That makes sense since spring is my favorite season. I don't much like the heat and drought of summer, and by fall I'm usually too tired to want to look at my garden. Right about now I'm at the point where I would like to take a break from gardening, but I have dreams already that next year will be better. I have two large beds badly in need of renovation, including one that I've already made a start on since I have so many plants that I acquired over the course of the summer that need to get in the ground. So -- no break for me.

That preamble is all by way of a disclaimer to explain why there are sparse blooms on everything, and you are probably going to see weeds in the following pictures. The garden is tired and so am I.

Begonia boliviensis blooms draped over the foliage of two other Begonias grown for their interesting leaves

The tuberous Begonias are still going, but even they are starting to look like they're nearly at an end. They've been flowering machines all summer long, so I can't complain.

Tuberous Begonia

These poor hanging tuberous Begonias got hit with a little moss-killing dust when the guys came and treated my roof, but they seem to have survived

Dahlia 'Black Beauty' grown from seed, in the newly renovated Ruby Red Death Bed (see my recent post here)

Dahlia 'Black Beauty' closeup

Cactus Dahlia bought on sale recently at McLendon's Hardware store, waiting to be planted

Dinnerplate Dahlia with no name in the cutting garden

Lupine 'My Castle'

Daucus carota 'Dara'

Geranium x oxonianum 'Wargrave Pink' produces a flush of flowers in the spring and then flowers sporadically all summer long, even with limited watering

Calamagrostis brachtricha -- when I planted these clumps a few years ago I split several gallon-size plants, and they are finally starting to beef up

Stipa tenuissima

Geranium 'SAnn Folkard' -- I cut all the long runners back a few weeks and she has rewarded me with a few new flowers

Corydalis lutea

Oh my fried brain -- the name escapes me

Geranium x oxonianum 'Wargrave Pink' and Corydalis lutea

Panicum 'Northwind' waiting to go in the bed that I'm working on redoing right now

Our recent rain has already produced some fresh Echinacea flowers

The first flush of Echinacea flowers ages in place

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Heliopsis

Panicum 'Rotstrahlbusch' is one of the most drought-tolerant plants in my garden -- it gets no summer water

Aloe 'Christmas Carol'

Aloe 'Christmas Carol'

Pregnant Onion bloom

One flower cluster on Leycesteria formosa

All the previous flowers have turned into berry drupes like this one

More Sedum 'Autumn Joy' along the front near the street

Echinacea 'White Swan'

Orange Alstroemeria

That's just about everything I could find. Hope you are having a wonderful September!

Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. You can check out her post here.