Before the Frost

Two hard frosts at the beginning of last week put an end to many of the flowers that were still blooming in the garden, sad to say.

The hardest loss for me was the beautiful Park Princess Dahlia which was blooming profusely, with many buds still waiting to open.

I took lots of photos of it in the weeks before the frost struck.

Blooming behind it is Eveline....

She's one of three Dahlias that I didn't get planted until early August, so I was happy to see at least a few blooms on all three.

The other two were planted in the Driveway Garden in the front yard.

This is Orion

And this beauty is Blue Bell.

Another plant I've been very happy with is this Argyranthemum (Marguerite Daisy) in the Pink Garden.

I overwintered it last year, and it has grown into a nice big plant. I think I'll try striking a few cuttings for next year and see how that works.

The Pink Garden still looked lovely just before the frost.

Here it is from the other side, with the Obedient Plant taking center stage.

Pretty as a picture!

There's a wild Goldenrod hiding in this patch. I let it flaunt it's lovely yellow plume for just a little while, but now that it's done I'll pull it out.

The bees love those pink blossoms! Click to enlarge if you'd like a closer look at the bee.

On the north side of the house the Gloriosa Daisies made a colorful splash, and are actually still looking pretty good. The cosmos also provided long-lasting color until the frost finished it off.

It'll sew itself next year.

It's such a carefree flower...

....and easy to move around.

I've absolutely loved the Japanese Anemones, and will be happy when they multiply so that I can move some to other locations.

Dance ballerina, dance!

This is the thought that comes to mind when I see their delicate stems and blossoms swaying gently in a breeze.

Only one of the white plants grew big enough to bloom. I moved some of them to this spot in the spring because they were being crowded out by Shasta Daisies. The move slowed them right down because it was during a dry period.

Wild Blue Yonder had some beautiful late bloolms

She was very photogenic :)

As was Sea Pearl

And the lovely Queen Elizabeth

Some of the Gloriosas are still undamaged by the frost, and the pink you see beyond it is Cerise Queen Yarrow, which withstands frost as well.

There's Miss Jasmine enjoying the late afternoon sunshine again.

A few of the Gloriosas in this clump are doubles. I never know what I'm going to get....they're full of happy surprises.

Petunias stand up to frost well too.

The Browallia bloomed right up until the frost. It's another plant that gives a long bloom time.

I did remember that I wanted to post a comparison photo of the Lemon Gem Marigold and the regular Marigolds. As you can see, the leaves are fine, and rather lacy, and the flower is small and single. For a better look at the flowers see my last Bloom Day post.

I love the colors and shapes of Nasturtiums...both leaves and flowers.

Sedum Neon...lovely while it lasted, and a real bee magnet.

Rudbeckia triloba is a relative to the Gloriosas...both are also known as Black-eyed Susans.

There are still a few blooms on the pretty pink Aster.

Down in the fence garden a few zinnias bloomed among more Gloriosas...

.....including the petite Lilliput Zinnias....

......and Whirligig

Around the corner of the same garden the bright rose pink Petunias made a colorful show, and there are lots of crab apples on the tree.

The Butterfly Bush had a nice mixture of new and old blooms.

Our Gladioli in the vegetable garden didn't germinate well this year. Of those that finally came, only 2 bloomed.

These were corms saved from last year. We'll buy some new ones for next year. We found last year that a large percentage of the saved bulbs produced white flowers.....a bit disappointing after the beautiful colors of the previous year.

Finally, here's a shot of Park Princess taken on October 5th, before the hard frosts. I covered it and the surrounding flowers with a sheet, but that wasn't enough to keep her flowers from being damaged.

Here's is the sad 'after' shot.

The Alyssum, Lamium and Marguerite held up well however.

It's a good thing we have the gorgeous fall foliage to ease us into winter. It makes the transition a little more bearable. Our weather has been gloriously sunny and warm for the past 5 days. I'd be very happy with at least 6 more months of this, but knowing that's not to be I'll just enjoy it while it lasts.

See you soon for Bloom Day!