October Country

Muhly grass

We're entering October Country, when the seasonal changes become more dramatic in the garden. I named this post after Ray Bradbury's classic "October Country" a collection of sci-fi short stories with a weird, ominous feel... I read it some fifty years ago, but I still remember some of them despite the years! When I first met my husband, a sci-fi fan, he introduced me to his library of favorite books, wanting me to learn about a genre that I'd never seriously considered before.

In my garden, the changes in foliage begin showing up in late summer with the dogwood turning bronze, then gradually red, then the maple 'Autumn Blaze' starts to turn red. Clear cloudless skies dominate while the summer flowers in pots and beds are still hanging on. My front porch baskets look particularly full this year towards the end of the season-- probably the best in years-- just before the first frost cuts them down, such a shame! But to everything there is a season.

Along the front walk, with dogwood tree.

Maple 'Autumn Blaze'

Front porch hanging basket

My thermometer marked 37 degrees yesterday morning, signaling that it's time to start bringing in my tender tropical  plants in pots. This is the time for me to get a lot of work done in the garden, fertilizing, mulching, weeding, planting new bulbs, etc. I wish I could afford to hire an extra hand to help, I hardly have time to enjoy fall flowers as the asters and mums begin their display. 

The plumes of the Muhly grass begin to unfurl their airy pink flowers, looking lovely in the late afternoon light. The perennial red Salvia is blooming profusely, and the last of the migrating hummingbirds came by a few days ago to sip its nectar. That may be the last hummingbird we'll see this year.

The path in Herb's bed.

The veggie pagoda from the deck

I finally took down the Blue Lake green beans that had grown to the top of the veggie enclosure, to make room for some lettuce and spinach. Next, I'll be harvesting some of the Jerusalem artichokes, or sunchokes, as some call them.

I love the little wild aster plant growing along the path. I was amazed to see how many bees and wasps were foraging on the flowers! I managed to capture just a fraction on the action in this shot with a little skipper butterfly and a bumblebee.

Skipper butterfly and bumblebee on wild asters.

The Nasturtiums are blooming their heads off in the basket on the back deck, and the other plants back there still look fairly decent considering the late season.

Nasturtiums

Plant stand on the back deck in October

My variegated black cotton plant never developed much variegation, but my friend's did, and she loaned me hers so I could do a sketch of it in my new botanical sketchbook. Here's a shot of the almost finished sketch.

Variegated Black Cotton watercolor sketch on Bockingford paper.

Another sketch, in colored pencils, of a Miniwarts pumpkin.

Miniwarts pumpkin in colored pencils on Bristol 300 Vellum finish paper, 14" x 11"

Yesterday our Plein Aire painting group went out to paint at the farm of one of our friends, and this is my sketch from it. This farm is in Rappahannock County, the next county from mine, and the mountain behind is in Shenandoah National Park, where the Bear Wallow Overlook on Skyline Drive is. I'll have to stop and take a look the next time I'm up there, to see if I can spot Donna's farm below.

Persimmon Springs Farm, plein aire watercolor, 14" x 10"

I have another colorful pumpkin I bought for painting, but haven't had a chance to start on that one yet. I hope to have some time next week for it. Next week on the 15th will be October Bloom Day--tune in for Bloom Day.

September 2026 Bloom Day

Hardy begonias in front yard

 

I'm a day late with this post--went hiking at Dolly Sods with a friend yesterday, it was such a lovely day! Today I'm trying to catch up with September's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden Blog. Welcome to  my Zone 6 b Virginia garden, let's take a look at what's blooming.

This year the deer left me a few flowers of the hardy Begonias in front. Growing among the Blue Rug Junipers and a sprinkling of wild asters with that minty little weed I like, they make a nice display under the cherry tree. I believe that minty-smelling weed (a Calamint?) may have kept the deer from eating more of the Begonias, but who knows?

 

Coleus flowers

 

The one Coleus I planted in a pot this spring has been blooming for quite a while--the hummingbirds seem to favor these tiny flowers a lot, so instead of cutting them off, I've let them continue to grow. As a result,the flower spikes have become incredibly long! The other Coleus variety planted around the pot hasn't bloomed at all.

The hummers are still about, enjoying the tropical Salvias along my front walk: the red Faye Chapel, Brazilian Blue and Black and Blue, but I posted those before, and the hanging baskets on the porch too. My white Heliotrope finally started to bloom, it was about time!

 

White Heliotrope

 

The east woodland garden still has some of the blue and white Lobelias flowers but they're starting to look a bit tired at the end of the season. The Japanese Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' is starting to open--how I wish I could grow them without a deer barrier!

 

 

East Woodland garden Lobelias

Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

In the back yard, the Blue Lake beans are towering above everything in the veggie pagoda--I've harvested so many beans, I've been freezing them, there's no way we can eat them all before they spoil.

 

The back yard with the veggie pagoda.

 

The Little Bluestem grass in Herb's bed is turning an autumn shade, although the Muhly grass has yet to put out its airy flowering spikes. The hardy the red Salvia and a few other plants still retain some flowers, but they're past their prime now.

 

Herb's bed in September

Herb's bed from the back

The Colchicums I planted a couple of years ago in the back bed popped up after a brief shower, a nice surprise, since it's still much too warm. But they don't seem to be thriving--only two or three flowers from the five bulbs of each that I planted. No signs of the "Waterlily' Colchicum yet.

 

Colchicum Bornmuellerii

 

Colchicum album

 Deer keep eating my asters, but one lovely purple flower was open. 

 

Bees enjoying a lone purple aster

 

My tropical plants on the back deck are making a nice display too--specially the yellow Hibiscus. The Nasturtiums in the hanging basket started to bloom rather late, but they're still going.

 

Tropical Begonias and Hibiscus on back deck

 

Yellow Hibiscus

Nasturtiums in hanging basket

These yellow Chrysanthemums I've had for years always bloom early, starting in August. The other florist's mums are in bud, but not quite ready to bloom. The Sedum 'Autumn Joy'I've had for years, though my plants seem to be getting progressively weaker each year. Perhaps it's time to dig those old ones up and buy new ones?

 

Yellow Chrisanthemums

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

 

With the dry weather continuing, these are about all the flowers for September. I'm still hoping we'll get some good rains before the month is over and have a nice display of Swamp sunflowers and aromatic asters for October. Thanks for stopping by!

November 2024 Bloom Day

 

French marigolds.

French marigolds

We'd had a few nights with temperatures below freezing, but until this past Wednesday Nov. 13, we hadn't experienced a hard frost here in my Zone 6B garden in Virginia. The temperature dipped to around 20 that night. Before that, some of my annuals were still displaying blooms: French marigolds in the veggie pagoda, some potted Nasturtiums, Irish moss, a Calendula that sprouted as a volunteer, and a few beat-up Chrysanthemums (I took these photos a few days ago, before the hard frost).

There are still a few flowers left for November's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog. It being mid-fall, colorful leaves and berries can sometimes take the place of flowers. Let's take a stroll and see what is blooming in my garden.

 

Caleandula 'Neon' volunteer still blooming in the veggie pagoda.

Pink mum

Nasturtiums on the porch

Irish moss still blooming.

The deciduous trees in the east garden have dropped most of their leaves, but there are still a few hanging on. I discovered a small bird's nest on the upper branches of one of the Japanese maples there, and wondered which bird had built it--a chickadee, or perhaps a titmouse? I see them flitting about the back yard at this time of the year a lot more than at other times. I guess they're more noticeable because most of the migratory birds have already left.

The east garden mid-November.

Bird's nest on Japanese maple branch.

The holly 'Nellie Stevens' has set more berries than ever this year for a wonderful display. 

Holly 'Nellie Stevens'

Dried flower heads of hydrangea 'Incrediball'

 

I like to leave the dried flower heads of the Hydrangea 'Incrediball' through the winter season and cut them back in the spring--they present a lovely point of interest during the winter season.

Our unseasonable warm weather prompted the white lilac to produce a few blooms once again and the lavender was sporting a few of its spikes. But the big chill is coming, and I'm trying to prepare for it.

 

White lilac blooms

 

Lavender 'Hidcote'

As the weather turns colder, the great annual migration of tropical plants into the house is now complete. Winter interest will necessarily focus more on those. My Thanksgiving cactus is starting to show buds; I hope it may still have some flowers left for December's Bloom Day. A friend gave me this beautiful dark-leaved Capsicum with bright orange fruit.

After an entire month with no rain whatsoever, we finally got about a quarter of an inch from the past weekend's storm. It wasn't enough to eliminate the danger of fire--there have been a few forest fires near us, but mercifully, not a whole of of acreage has burned. We can only hope for more rain soon.

 

Decorative Capsicum indoors.

I leave you with a photo of what will likely be the last rose of the season...

Shrub Rose 'Petal Pushers'

Happy November Bloom Day!