Thursday, October 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October '09

Blooms are sparse once again in our frosted October garden and
unfortunately, my hopes for a long, warm fall have not been realized. Wet, windy and cold days have followed one upon another, and the occasional sunshine has had very little warmth in it. Dreary to say the least, and snow is in the forecast for the next 4 days. Much too soon! It's a hard pill to swallow, but all is not lost, so let's have a look at what's left in the garden.....

Plenty of orange and brown....

But there are other colors in the Pink Garden. The large Spirea shrub is turning its lovely shade of dark red. There are a few snapdragons still blooming, and plenty of alyssum. The dainty Gaura continues to bloom, and the Dwarf Campanula (blue bell) has been blooming all summer. Only one blue flower is visible at the left front, but there are more out of the picture (Click for a bigger view). At the far end the large clump of....

....Obedient Plant or False Dragonhead (Physostegia Virginiana) is blooming bravely in spite of the fact that we've had 2 or 3 killing frosts this week. Posted by Picasa

Snapdragons are hardy little souls and will last a while yet, as will Alyssum. There's Heuchera "Key Lime Pie" tucked in amongst them.

The lilac pink flowered Lamium lives on, surrounded by the frost darkened foliage and dead blooms of Dahlias, as well as the lovely dark red Spirea. Posted by Picasa

There's more Alyssum in the Rose/Clematis Garden and a few other flowers still surviving....Pansies, a few Petunias and pink Verbenas.

"Homestead Purple" Verbena will withstand some pretty cold temperatures before it finally succumbs. And Gloriosa Daisies are tough too.

Hannah enjoys the pale sunshine on the now empty window box shelf between the "Queen Elizabeth" Rose and Clematis Carnaby. The rose blooms are looking sad, but Carnaby's few flowers are still pretty .

Hannah follows me around the corner to the container which brightens the old stone steps. It must be carried into the garage each night now. Posted by Picasa

Only a handful of Fairytale pumpkins and less than a dozen small gourds grew in our squash patch this summer. And 2 butternut squash. I suppose the ground was too cool and wet for most of the seeds to germinate. It was a sad year for the vegetable garden, but we did enjoy some fresh veggies.

The yellow Chrysanthemum brightens a corner of the Spring Garden.


In the New Rock Garden pansies are a little worse for wear, but still hanging on. There are a few snapdragons surviving here too.

A few self-sown Sunflowers are still colorful beside the bird feeder tray.

In the Lily Garden the Nicotiana are looking ragged, but still showing a little color. Gloriosas and snapdragons are holding their own. Posted by Picasa

Calendulas can survive a bit of cold. We'll see what's left of them after the expected snow showers. Morning Glories and Zinnias are well and truly zapped.

Cleome still shows a bit of color, and the Phlox over in the Driveway Garden are still offering a few blooms.

The Rock Garden annuals are mostly zapped....Posted by Picasa

But there are still Gloriosas, and the Verbena bonariensis has a little life left in it. The green plants on the left are Cerinthe Major (from seed shared by Kim of A Study in Contrasts) which unfortunately didn't have time to bloom. Kim, I'll try again next year and get them planted earlier!

Salvia farinacea is still looking lovely. Posted by Picasa

I planted Anemone de caen/Dutch Windflowers in a pot and this is probably the last pretty bloom.

These pink Tuberous Begonias are now on the covered side porch. The tubers will be stored in peet moss until late March and then started again indoors in trays. The Ivy will overwinter in the cellar under lights.

The side porch also now houses a lot of the Ivy Geraniums. They'll be moved upstairs to bedroom windows when the temperatures drop even more. Posted by Picasa

The two Abutilons have been brought inside as well. They do well as house plants. Posted by Picasa

Abutilon "Gold Dust" has such beautiful variegated leaves.

The Angelwing Begonia has lovely blooms at the moment.

I've brought in several Wax Begonias to overwinter as well. Molly likes to sit on the plant shelf and watch the birds at the feeders outside.



I move the Chrysanthemum around to add some color to different spots. Posted by Picasa

Sometimes by the back door....

Sometimes on the front porch.
Cleo was keeping me company this afternoon....braving the cold. It was a long underwear, winter jacket day. Brrr! Perhaps there's an Indian summer somewhere in our future before Old Man Winter really sets in. I keep hoping....
Posted by Picasa

Happy Bloom day everyone!
Be sure to visit Carol of
May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other gardens near and far. Posted by Picasa

27 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...[Reply]

Kerri girl that was a lovely tour of your garden at this stage .. and YES! we have had some hard frosts finally with COLD windy days brrr !
I love seeing your cats Are Hannah and Molly related with those orange coats ? Cleo is such a gorgeous girl : )
You have reminded me I should plant calendula next year .. they are hardy and so pretty for a long time .. and after all they are ORANGE : )
Those Fairytake pumpkins are just too cute to believe too ! LOL
Joy : )

Philosophical Karen said...[Reply]

Those are some beautiful autumn photos, Kerri. Thanks once again for a lovely tour of your garden.

littlewing said...[Reply]

Your container blooms are really beaiutiful! The Windflower is an amazing color and I just love Abutilon. I would say that you have a perfect amount of color sprinkled around the garden for this time of year in NY:)

Lisa at Greenbow said...[Reply]

Your outdoor cats keep the garden feeling lively with their presence. I have never had luck holding over the tuberous begonias. I have brought in my abutilon this winter to give it a try after seeing yours blooming during winter last year. So here goes a try at it... Happy GBBD.

Roses and Lilacs said...[Reply]

We have had a couple nasty cold weeks. Constant rain and a few snow flurries with overnight temps dropping as low as 25. My perennials aren't much damaged but the annuals are mostly gone.

Like you, I hope an Indian summer will give us some nice days before winter sets in.
Marnie

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...[Reply]

You still seem to have quite a bit blooming even after the frosts. You did get some nice pumpkins, I had a nice long vine with no pumpkins. I thought this would be the year for them, oh well.
Abutilons are something that I'd like to try, yours are really pretty colors.
Hope you get your Indian summer :)

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

Hi Kerri, there is still so much in flower to catch the warm autumn days. Lots of work to shift all the plants out of frosts harm. Hannah is a lovely cat and curious. The pumpkins are a pretty decoration but later make tasty soups, roasted or mashed! The summer caught in the pumpkins.
Autumn is very special with the tree in blazing colours replacing the flowers. Happy autumn days, Kerri.

Alice said...[Reply]

Such a shame about the early frosts, snowfalls and other bad weather spoiling your usually beautiful autumn display. But it's great that you still find so much colour tucked in here and there. As for that Alyssum - my word we 'Sweet Alice' are hardly little beggars, aren't we?...lol.

Your begonias, abutilons, and other sheltered plants are still a glorious sight....let's hope they last a while longer.

I love all the little statues around your garden. Oh, they were your kitties, were they?....lol.

I wish for some lovely sunny days for you before winter sets in properly. You know it will only be a few weeks and we'll probably be asking you to send some of that cold, wet weather. So perhaps you can enjoy it on our behalf. Queensland could certainly do with some of your rain and cold weather right now.

I hope the 'dear would-be-if-he-could-be dairyman and his 'teenage bride' have a lovely weekend.

sweetbay said...[Reply]

I'm sorry to hear you've had such a cold dreary fall. You still have a lot of color to light up the russets and browns! I love the combination of Alyssum, pink snapdragons, and Heuchera "Key Lime Pie". The windflower is such a wonderful blue and those are gorgeous shots of the Geranium and Abutilons. I love the pictures of Hannah and Molly too.

Barbee' said...[Reply]

Enjoyed every pic! I can just imagine working then looking up to rest a bit, and looking across the road to that beautiful, vast autumn view.

em said...[Reply]

hi kerri, lovely photos! i love your old stone steps with the pumpkins on them! hasn't the weather been dreadful! we even had some snow on thursday! they canceled homecoming at the local h.s. i fear we are in for a tough winter!

Wendy said...[Reply]

Wow, you have a beautiful garden, house, view, everything in upstate NY! I really like your selection of plants, and your kitties look like they really enjoy life!

Barbara said...[Reply]

There is a stunning amount of flowers still blooming in your garden paradise, dear Kerri. Luckily you have some of them that you can take inside as a flower bouquet or the abutilons as an indoor plant. Why do you overwinter ivy inside? Is it a special sort of ivy which is not hardy? I leave my ivy in pots outside during winter and they survive.
We are having quite frosty days too at the moment but I still hope to finish my gardenwork on days to come with sunshine and warmer temperatures. The same I am wishing to you too!
Warm regards,
Barbara

Merle said...[Reply]

Dear Kerri ~~ As always your garden still has lots of color and interesting things. Thanks for sharing. Just a quick note to tell you I have left you an award at my blog. I hope you enjoy it. Love, Merle.

Ellie said...[Reply]

Dear Kerri,
I love reading your blog.
You live so far away (across that big pond) but the plant in our gardens are pretty much the samen.
We've had two nights of frost last week and my garden more or less collapsed. Everything is brown, black and dull, except for the Salvia farinacea and a Geranium.
Your garden still looks lovely, despite the nasty weather you had!

Greetings from the Netherlands!
Ellie

claudia said...[Reply]

Hello! Your garden is gorgeous! Congratulations! I do not get enough of pictures. In one such dream garden and I very, very long time:)

EAL said...[Reply]

I have been disappointed in October as well, but at least your garden still has plenty of color. It would be nice to be able to sit out and enjoy it more!

Kylee Baumle said...[Reply]

Wow, Kerri! Sooooo many beautiful images here! I feel almost like I was there. I enjoyed the previous post, too. :-)

Merle said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri ~~ I am glad that you are
pleased with the award. The lovely photos of your garden are always so
inspiring for us all.
I am glad you liked the ;fish; story
and the deer was lucky to be rescued
and set free. It is nice that you and your husband enjoy the jokes and
I know how lucky I am to have a friend who insists on helping in my garden. Take care, my friend.
Love, Merle.

F Cameron said...[Reply]

I enjoy your photos so much. What wonderful views, cats and flowers!

Cameron
PS Sorry that I'm so late to visit... been busy getting hubby's mom moved into assisted memory care; doing for Charm and doing a lot of gardening.

Terri said...[Reply]

The only thing blooming here, besides the mums, of course, are my Montauk Daisies. I need to do some serious thinking over the winter of what to plant next spring!

Unknown said...[Reply]

I came from Britt's blog..and i must say your garden looks absolutely fabulous, tks for sharing :P

Judith Polakoff said...[Reply]

Hi, Kerri! So many beautiful flowers that I have never even heard of! I wish I could hire you to plant in our yard, or at least to give us advice. We mostly make do with whatever wildflowers decide to pop up here and there. I especially love the Dutch Anemone you have, it is so gorgeous. Glad to see you had some fun this summer with your family at the pond. And, of course, it's always a joy to see your beautiful cats roaming the yard. I guess we did have the Indian Summer you were hoping for, perhaps ending today with all this rain (although it's still fairly warm outside). Enjoy your Halloween and all the ghostly visitors. :-) And thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Hi Kerry, so sorry to be so late, but I wanted to visit you when there was time to take it all in. You do still have lots going on. I love the pumpkins mums and kitty too. You may have had a bunch of snow already, but these photos will remind you of those sturdy flowers that bloom so well for you. :-)
Frances

kanishk said...[Reply]

Those are some beautiful autumn photos, Kerri. Thanks once again for a lovely tour of your garden. Work from home India

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

your singular flower shots are always so precious, Kerri...why dont you make a collage of them some day.....the dutch windflower is like a billowing gown ready to unfurl....oh it's beautiful.....you may have noticed, I am partial to "blues" ..i love pinks too (i know you absolutely adore them :)) but blues make my heart sing (no puns intended) :)

i really hope Old Man Winter takes his time before settling in.....I am not very keen on the idea of traveling in snow to be with my husband :(

Giddy said...[Reply]

Your beautiful garden is lovely no matter what the time of year! I still have so much clean up work to do and don't know if I'll get it all done before the snow flies, however, I know I am more motivated in the spring when I'm tired of being inside during the long winter!