October Bloom Day...and up here there are
plenty of things blooming! The fall color on the trees, for instance...looks as pretty as any flower I've ever seen. My commute doesn't seem long at all right now for sure.
My porcelain vine has only a couple berries left after producing a
lot of them, I think that means the birds have officially discovered their location.
The 'Purple Pimento' peppers are looking lonely without their "host plant" being alive..sad but true: frost has already visited....
....dwarf papyrus sure noticed! I gotta move these plants and the fish indoors pronto!
This Bald Cypress has some nice color to its' needles as well...
...but the most
"living color" is still in my annuals that are protected by the eaves and soffit...
...blooming along like rock stars!
Ah yes, but this frosty landscape was the scene a couple weeks ago, and after a brief reprieve it'll be back with a vengence soon enough...
...but my Wafer Ash doesn't look too worried. I'm afraid it
should be though, they've discovered the
Emerald Ash Borer in Wisconsin!
It would be a real bummer if he gets infested too, since his yellow fall color fits in so nicely with the Big Bluestem and asparagus ferns in my fall landscape.
Spurge coloring up nicely...
...and I can't decide if flash (above) or no flash looks better.
This cute volunteer petunia is still going, too...
...complementing the purple mums nearby.
My sedums are all nearly done, which seems early, and I haven't seen hardly any Asian lady beetles in the house, which seems late! I'm not sure if this is a lady bug or
Asian Lady beetle , but if the color is the tie-breaker then she's the Asian beetle. I like the pattern on her shell, though!
Another spurge, blooming away like it's summertime...
...but this nice purple aster has her timing down pat!
Here's what's left of the 'Little Lamb' hydrangea blooms...
...more pretty asters....
...Japanese maple on
fire...
....poor yellow cherry tomatoes are
not. Well, as the late Jerry Reed said, "When you're hot, you're hot...and when you're not, you're
not!" :)
More fabulous annual action! These windowboxes are
very well protected under the eaves, and receive warmth from the southern sun, so they are always the last to go (unless I forget to water them! They got pretty droopy at one point last week,
yikes!)
Heck, they look better now than they have all year...I sure appreciate the extra effort!
Heuchera 'Patricia Louise' still going strong, too....
...even some hostas are still blooming pretty well...
...though this one is definately done! I'm digging the fall color, though.
My Virginia witch hazel is blooming this fall, even better than
last year ...
....like cute little stars!
More fall aster action...
...'Russian Princess' lobelia still has one lone bloom...
...as does this helenium...
....this mum has more than one bloom...
...but not much! That's kind of the theme right now, only a few real "performers", but mostly "putt and sputter". That's okay though, I appreciate every darn bloom! (Besides, it's
my responsibility to feed them...they can't really "forage" on their own that much.)
Snapdragons are still at it...
...and my Christmas cacti are just getting started. This is a pretty tangerine-orange just in time for Halloween!
This pansy bloom looks funny, I think some sort of bug took a bite...
....more snapdragons. You can squeeze the sides of these flowers between your thumb and forefinger to make them open their "mouths"...maybe
they bit the pansy! ;-)
Another pansy, looking kinda rough. Hey, if
I had to spend every night outside right now, i'd look rough too!
And finally, a colorful sunset on the river brings us to the end of another Bloom Day...
...and for plenty of awesome Bloom Day action, check out our esteemed founder Carol at
May Dreams Gardens ! Happy Bloom Day everybody!
Sedum! I have a lot of this Dragon's Blood Sedum , Sedum spurium. For the soil I went with a sandy cactus-type mix that I concocted myself...
...there! Doesn't look like much at the initial planting....
....but as the summer progressed this little planter did, too.
Now comes the real test...
...but Gizmo was all about it! He always wanders as much as possible before I re-capture him, so I let him explore a little bit.
It wasn't that warm really, but after our winter, this felt like 75 degrees! I was out in a t-shirt!
I even found a bug who was awake!
My 'Dragon's Blood' sedum is up and going, and the leaves sorta look like roses...so I kinda had a bloom. :)
Leftover seed heads....
.....and berberis branches await their foliage...
....pink-flowering strawberries are alive and greening, even under the ice!
Slowly the snow recedes.....
.....and the leaf litter reappears....
...as the snow backs away from the tree trunks.
My road is thawing too, becoming a real "off-road experience" as it does....
...paper bark birch peeling off a nice sheet...
I like how the ice melts away from the twigs. It reminds me of that old game "Operation", but I don't think I could remove this without touching the sides!
This thaw is a welcome sight for winter-weary eyes for sure...
...and these buds too!
Even froggy here can manage a smile while surrounded by ice!
Hey! 'Luscious' Snowy Woolrush is growing already! Guess that's why it's snowy woolrush, eh?
Prickly pear cactus re-appears....
....red squirrels pop up too, still using their tunnels!
All of them!
The chipmunks are awake as well. They caught on to the tunnel protocol real fast, and share them with the squirrels.
Still plenty of snow in the yard....
...even over the top of my tall winter boots!
But we're getting a week of 40's and 50's, so the melt is on!
The river is still pretty solid, but I hear groaning and cracking off and on, so it should look very different by weeks' end.
For some real Bloom Day blooms, check out our founder, Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Go spring, go!
The 'Purple Pimento' peppers are looking lonely without their "host plant" being alive..sad but true: frost has already visited....
....dwarf papyrus sure noticed! I gotta move these plants and the fish indoors pronto!
...but the most "living color" is still in my annuals that are protected by the eaves and soffit...
...blooming along like rock stars!
Ah yes, but this frosty landscape was the scene a couple weeks ago, and after a brief reprieve it'll be back with a vengence soon enough...
It would be a real bummer if he gets infested too, since his yellow fall color fits in so nicely with the Big Bluestem and asparagus ferns in my fall landscape.
Spurge coloring up nicely...
...and I can't decide if flash (above) or no flash looks better.
This cute volunteer petunia is still going, too...
My sedums are all nearly done, which seems early, and I haven't seen hardly any Asian lady beetles in the house, which seems late! I'm not sure if this is a lady bug or Asian Lady beetle , but if the color is the tie-breaker then she's the Asian beetle. I like the pattern on her shell, though!
Another spurge, blooming away like it's summertime...
...but this nice purple aster has her timing down pat!
Here's what's left of the 'Little Lamb' hydrangea blooms...
...Japanese maple on fire...
....poor yellow cherry tomatoes are not. Well, as the late Jerry Reed said, "When you're hot, you're hot...and when you're not, you're not!" :)
More fabulous annual action! These windowboxes are very well protected under the eaves, and receive warmth from the southern sun, so they are always the last to go (unless I forget to water them! They got pretty droopy at one point last week, yikes!)
Heck, they look better now than they have all year...I sure appreciate the extra effort!
Heuchera 'Patricia Louise' still going strong, too....
...even some hostas are still blooming pretty well...
...though this one is definately done! I'm digging the fall color, though.
....like cute little stars!
More fall aster action...
...'Russian Princess' lobelia still has one lone bloom...
...as does this helenium...
....this mum has more than one bloom...
...but not much! That's kind of the theme right now, only a few real "performers", but mostly "putt and sputter". That's okay though, I appreciate every darn bloom! (Besides, it's my responsibility to feed them...they can't really "forage" on their own that much.)
Snapdragons are still at it...
...and my Christmas cacti are just getting started. This is a pretty tangerine-orange just in time for Halloween!
This pansy bloom looks funny, I think some sort of bug took a bite...
....more snapdragons. You can squeeze the sides of these flowers between your thumb and forefinger to make them open their "mouths"...maybe they bit the pansy! ;-)
Another pansy, looking kinda rough. Hey, if I had to spend every night outside right now, i'd look rough too!
And finally, a colorful sunset on the river brings us to the end of another Bloom Day...
