October 2026 Bloom Day

Aromatic asters and Muhly grass

 

It's October the 15th, Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Gardens blog. I'm writing this a day earlier because I'd planned to hike in WV with a friend today, but the weather predictions weren't good, so we postponed our hike. Happy Bloom Day, welcome to my garden!

The rains from tropical storm Isaias last weekend brought almost three and a half inches to our area, and very welcome it was. As usual, the rain brings out wonders in my garden; let's take a look.

The Aromatic asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) I planted in Herb's bed in the spring have opened just in time for this post, as well as the Muhly grass with the big plumes--I believe this variety is called 'Flamingo.' Anyway, it's a beautiful combination. The insects love these autumn flowers!

Aromatic asters and Muhly grass

Herb's bed in October

Herb's bed with red Salvia

The pink Chrysanthemums near the veggie pagoda are starting to open, the red ones are farther behind in opening. I couldn't resist buying a couple more potted mums that were on sale at Lowes. I'll tuck those in somewhere after they finish blooming, for now they decorate the front walk.

Pink mums

Pink mums with grasses

Orange mum along the front walk

I spotted a few of the Crocus speciosus I planted last fall in the back bed, but the ones I planted some weeks ago in other beds haven't popped up yet. They have such lovely delicate flowers, I wish mine would multiply and cover large expanses... maybe someday.

Crocus speciosus

The leaves are showing more autumn color: the Redbud tree in the back yard turned yellow practically overnight, and my Yellowwood tree (Cladrastris kentuckea) is showing nice color.

Back yard with Redbud tree

Yellowwood tree on the west side

The west side looking down from the deck

In the same bed with the Yellowwood there are a few Shasta daisies--I should prune them back hard next spring to see if I can get denser blooms. The hydrangea's flowers turning rusty pink make a nice contrast with the foliage.

Shasta daisies

No ID hydrangea

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia 'Arizona Sunset') still blooming

Though not a flower, I bought this gorgeous ornamental cabbage at Oak Spring Garden's Rokeby Festival a couple of weeks ago with an eye towards turning it into a painting or colored pencil drawing--the colors are so fabulous! Ditto for the large Turk's Turban pumpkin sitting on my work table (our dining table) behind my drawing board. I wonder how I could combine them for one painting? Nah, that might be too much--each one is a worthy subject on its own. 

I need to get started on them right away, specially the pumpkin, it won't hold its color for too long. But I'm torn between working in my garden or painting, both need so much attention!

Ornamental cabbage

Turk's Turban pumpkin

That's about it for today, thanks for dropping by!

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!

October Tints

Muhly grass and flowers in Herb's bed.

 

 Our first frost came two days ago, several weeks earlier than last year. October was already showing its colorful tints in the woods behind our house--the trees started to turn at the beginning of the month, much earlier than last year. The dramatic progression can be seen in these two photos taken less than ten days apart.

The woods in back on Oct. 9

The woods on Oct. 17

The swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolium) usually start to bloom around my birthday at the end of September. This year the pineapple sage I planted next to them began to bloom at the same time. The two together make a nice display of bright colors. One of these days I'll find a perennial red sage that blooms at a time the hummingbirds can make use of it!

 

Swamp sunflowers and pineapple sage.

 

Over the  years, the swamp sunflowers have been spreading all over my garden. I've dug up some of them to replant in other beds, others are volunteers that have sprouted where the seeds were blown by the wind. I love their bright color and the way they complement the other plants in my garden beds!

 

Swamp sunflowers and grasses in Herb's bed on Oct. 9

Similar view on Oct. 19

Sunflowers in back yard.

Now the late asters are starting to open, lending another touch of color. The native aromatic asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) don't seem to spread as easily as the sunflowers, but the Aster laevis, which the deer like to munch a lot, may have spread to areas where the deer can't reach, to yield these very tall flowering stalks by the arbor vitae--I sure didn't plant those! It's possible the Aster laevis has hybridized with our native wild asters to produce these lovely high-rise flowers.

 

Asters with yellowing foliage of Amsonia hubrichtii.

Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

 

I divided the huge clump of asters next to the deck to add to other beds, and although they are growing well, they have not reached the magnificent proportions of the original plant you see here.

West side from the deck on Oct. 11.

West side on Oct. 17.

 The Mount Hood daffodils under the Japanese maple were getting much too overcrowded, so I started digging them up, along with the grape hyacinths around them. It seemed like a good time to expand this bed and consolidate it with the base of the 'Texas White' redbud tree I planted last spring, and join the two large island beds on this side of the yard together.

 

Expanding and reworking two island beds on the west side.

It's going to take a bit more time--it's back-breaking work to dig up the clayey sod and incorporate a load of clay-breaker material and compost. I'm only half-way to my goal at the moment. Naturally, there are other flower beds I'd like to remodel too. As my shrubs and plantings have grown over the years, the spring-flowering bulbs multiply and become overcrowded, while shrubs and perennials outgrow their allotted spaces and begin to crowd out other less vigorous plants. Some plants succumb to the usual garden pests or get eaten by deer, moles, or voles, and need to be replaced. It's a constant chore to keep a garden in balance and growing well.

 

Japanese maples on the east side (Full Moon and Bloodgood)

My Chrysanthemums didn't do well this year, they have very few blossoms. Only the deep purple-red in the front yard looks like much. I need to refresh the plants--buy some new ones or move them to other locations in the garden. Mums don't like to be in the same spot year after year, and need to be re-planted in a different location to prosper.

 

Frosty Chrysanthemums

There's still time before the leaves all come down, we're sure to see more autumn color as the season progresses.

Back yard from the deck at sunset.

Dogwood in front yard on Sept. 22, starting to turn.

Dogwood in front yard on Oct. 4, turning red.

Colorful Fall

My back yard in mid-October.

 

It's looking like we'll have a very colorful fall this year--the night temperatures began to drop in September, and have stayed cool, creating the perfect conditions for the emergence of fall colors. The 'Autumn Blaze' maple tree has turned to its characteristic red, as the swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolium) display their bright yellows. This year a seedling of one of the swamp sunflowers managed to establish itself in my rose bed--it's not the best color combination with my roses, but I've been reluctant to dig it up and move it while it's in bloom. I'll do so as soon as it has finished its display.

 

West yard rose bed.

Front yard, mid-October.

The asters have started their annual show--this genus was recently renamed after genetic studies revealed significant differences so that botanists have subdivided these into several genera--Symphyotrichum is one of them. Symphyotrichum laeve opens earlier, and S. oblongifolium a bit later in the season, just as the sunflowers are starting to fade.

Symphyotrichum laeve with Amsonia hubrichtii behind.

Swamp sunflowers (Heliantus angustifolium) and asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

Purple asters and swamp sunflowers

The Chrysanthemum is another familiar plant genus that has undergone many changes recently--our garden Chrysanthemums had been reclassified as Dendrathryma indicum, but resistance to this change was so great, that the old florist's name, Chrysanthemum indicum has prevailed. By any name, the Chrysanthemum is a garden staple that adds touches of bright color to any flower bed. Mums don't like to stay in one spot for too long, so after a few years, I usually dig mine up and transplant portions to other beds. This way, as the plants multiply, my garden gets populated by a variety of colors.

 

Purple Chrysanthemums

Pink Muhly grasses and mums

Shasta daisies (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum)

 

This year my Shasta daisies finally produced decent blooms--they hadn't bloomed much in the past couple of years. I reworked the entire "Badlands" bed some two years ago to improve the soil, and moved the Shastas forward, adding the native purple aster behind. The six Purple de Oro daylilies in front were added recently. Watering during the July drought helped, but I think it was the copious rains in August that got the daisies to bloom. 

Bearss limes

My Bearss lime tree has been very productive this summer; the fruits that had set during the winter survived their summer migration to the porch and grew enormous. These are two that I harvested last week. The plant set more fruit during the summer, so a new set of limes is now developing for the winter season. I'll be bringing it indoors soon, before the first frost--carefully, so as not to damage the fruit.

My Australian red lime bloomed profusely in June but nary a fruit has appeared. I wish it would set some fruit so we could see and taste them. I'm very curious to learn what they are like.

Cotton boll opens

 

The first of the black cotton bolls cracked open last week, hopefully with many more to come. Other late summer flowers such as the hardy Begonias and Angel Trumpets are still hanging in there, but they will soon be finished for the year. It's time to do more fall planting.

Hardy Begonias

Angel trumpets

I started the fall bulb planting season by digging up some of the poet's narcissus and 'February Gold' bulbs that I had planted during our first fall here. After eight years in the ground, the bulbs had become so overcrowded that they weren't blooming well. I dug them up to discover that they had formed giant clumps of bulbs which had to be broken up and separated. After working in a lot of clay-breaking material into the soil, I replanted the largest of those, and will still have plenty to give away as well as add to the back yard beds.