Monday, October 13, 2008

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. Posted by Picasa

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

This is Orion

And this beauty is Blue Bell. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

Wild Blue Yonder had some beautiful late bloolms

She was very photogenic :)

As was Sea Pearl Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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

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

......and Whirligig Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa
See you soon for Bloom Day!

19 comments:

Kylee Baumle said...[Reply]

Kerri, everything looks so lush and healthy! It's so dry here and the chewing insects are having a hey day with blooms.

I had to laugh at your comment about the Japanese Anemones - "when they get big enough" - goodness, I'll be glad when just one plant gets bigger! You've got a lot, in my opinion!

Everything is just gorgeous!

verobirdie said...[Reply]

Kerri, I agree with Kylee, your plants look so healthy! And this walk through your garden was a nice way to start my day. I love your dahlias.
I can't believe your are hit by frost already, your flowers seem ready for many more weeks :-(

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...[Reply]

Hard frosts already? What a heartbreak when your garden is still chockful of colour and gogeous flowers.

Here the weather has been very good too, a whole week of glorious sunshine and balmy days. Simply wonderful.

BTW there's lots of kittycat pics at Bliss and some fun waiting for you too.

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...[Reply]

All your flowers look so great and the Dahlias are stunning. It's a great pity that the frost kills them :-( / LOL Tyra

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...[Reply]

That was a very enjoyable stroll through your lovely pre frost autumn garden. The amount of gorgous flowers is staggering. I love the Dahlias too so I am not growing any at the moment. I have always a battle with humidity the Dahlias get powdery mildew. I have never seen Gladioli change their colour the second year. I hope you have many more sunny and warm autumn days. T.

Susan Tidwell said...[Reply]

I think these are pictures of heaven and you are the garden angel there. So beautiful as always.

F Cameron said...[Reply]

Keri, your gardens, as always are so beautiful! The dahlias are fantastic. I'm glad to hear that you love the anemones. Those have been on my list for a year or more, but I've not gotten to those yet since my garden is only 3 years old. I think you've got the makings of some gorgeous flower arrangements. Do you do "market gardening" since you have so much space? Cameron

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

Who named that pink confection of a dahlia 'Onion'? Someone who works for Outback?

The big flower show may be ending Kerri, but the proof of that you were surrounded by their beauty is right here on your blog, whenever you want to see them. I'd feel more sorry for you about the hard frosts but read that Kate has already had 1/2 foot of snow!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Anonymous said...[Reply]

so beautiful! I'm a gardening newbie & your photos r inspiring :)

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Your Japanese anemone are especially lovely. The pink garden has a pretty combination of blooms.
As always, I keep looking at your photos, trying to figure out how you squeeze so many beautiful blooms into your garden beds throughout the whole season. From spring to fall, your gardens are overflowing with flowers. You never see to have an off period.

kylieps said...[Reply]

Hi Mum,
Dance, Ballerina, Dance! That's so funny. They have some at the conservatory garden and they do look like little dancers. Sorry your garden got frosted- you could always come down for a visit. No frost here yet and the leaves are just barely starting to turn.
xo
Kylie

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Oh, Kerri, you made my day with all of those photos. Happy Bloom Day. Will you dig up your Dahlias, or can you leave them in the ground. I have to dig mine, or sometimes I can mulch them heavily and they return.~~Dee

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

We've only had a couple of light frosts so far. I think the lake breeze that has brought so much rain has kept us just a little warmer. It's sad the the garden season is coming to an end but the fall leaves are cheering me up some, now that the rain has stopped.

My glads winter over here. It's too bad they won't there too. Everything was certainly still looking good when you took these shots!

Susie said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,
Everything is amazingly beautiful (as always) I especially love the photos with the barn, and also the fence garden.
I love how you always have a kitty or two to show us. Jasmine looks so cute perched on the stairs.
It's beautiful here. No frost yet, but a bit cooler at night and in the morning. Still waiting for some badly needed rain!
love and ((hugs))

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

i am sorry about the frost........love the layers in blue bell and such a delicate blush hue.........I ahve always loved cosmos......i love to see sunlight on them..they become as transparent as butter paper in that light.....

beautiful, soulful garden.........they say fall belongs to leaves....your garden can prove all of them wrong :)

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

Kerry your flowers are absolutley gorgeous and you have such a talent for knowing what to plant together. Every time I visit your blog I get so inspired I want to run out and start digging.
We have had some heavy frosts too and sadly many of my flowers have bit the dust too. I try to save seeds and overwinter my geraniums and will try fuschias this winter too.
Thanks again for sharing your lovely gardens. I do love visiting you.
God Bless

Machelle said...[Reply]

Oh My Goodness! How I would love waking up to this wonderful view every morning. You have a beautiful place.

Christy Woolum said...[Reply]

The frost has been funny at our house. We have had a hard frost also, but it seemed to skip certain plants. I still have cosmos blooming away, but the sunflowers next to them turned black. Go figure!

Barbara said...[Reply]

Looking at all your lush and beautiful borders with all the various plants and flowers, I can hardly believe that this should now already be finished or damaged by frost. You have had an absolute wonderful and stunning autumn garden. Let's keep the memory of all these colors for the grey and cold winterdays to come.
Barbara