It’s October, and it doesn’t feel like fall. We’re still having late summer temperatures, so everything continues to grow and bloom in spite of the shorter days. I wish Pennisetum purpureum ‘Prince’, growing behind the red Salvia, would overwinter here, but it won’t because it’s only hardy to USDA Zone 8a. Bummer.
However, my darling Rosa ‘The Fairy’ will, and she’s a trooper with constant bloom from spring until frost. What more could you ask for? Scent? Boy, you guys want everything. Her scent is very, very light. As you can see from the photo, her blossoms are now speckled with raspberry caused by weather changes.
I grew Mexican Flame Vine, Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (a/k/a Senecio confusus) this year, but I’m not that impressed. I expected it to cover the back fence during the summer. It did not. Perhaps, it didn’t get enough sun because it was planted next to my mystery, pink rose (a gift from a neighbor and brought by covered wagon to Oklahoma.) Although the blossoms on the Mexican Flame Vine look large in this photo, at an inch and a half across, they are diminutive.
The bumblebees were back in business today, and theGaillardia obliged.
Yellow and red abound in the garden this time of year. The apricot Zinnias are becoming more pink as summer fades away. Can you see the little skipper in the center of the flowers? Skippers covered the flowers today. They have the biggest eyes and remind me of teddy bears because they are so fuzzy.
Finally, I’ll end with a partial garden view so that you can see that the blooms are down in number, but not exhausted. The leaves on the trees haven’t started to turn yet either.
The new, gravel paths completely changed the garden’s appearance. I was going to write about the paths separately, but never got a chance. The gravel came from an Eagle Scout project (not my son’s) where we installed shredded tires in place of gravel on a children’s playground. The gravel was going to be dumped, but we repurposed it for my paths, the ultimate in recycling.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day was started by my friend, Carol. For more bloom day fun, go on over to May Dreams Gardens. You’ll be glad you did.
I finally got into your blog. Love the new look! Your blooms look great, considering it is October. Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens´s last blog post..Hurry Up! No, Wait, Slow Down…
Hi, just found my way in here from Blotanical. I loved to see your comment on your paths, and the re-usage of the gravel. I’ve done something similar and it felt partly weird (you know, ‘what am I doing, sieving gravel??, I’m crazy’), partly like the ultimate recycle action! I’ll be writing about that odd project in the coming winter.
Have a great day,
Camellia
Camellia´s last blog post..A Sharp Profile
Gosh you have a pretty place and seems this year you’ve done tons of work. You were clearing, getting your walkway in, the poison oak–ekk. sorry! Some things are better left untouched;)
You got a rose that came across on a wagon. I loved that little piece of tidbit.
Anna´s last blog post..Look At These Pairs
Don’t get to vist ‘near enough’, but sure enjoy poppin’ in on your life 😉
Great blooms day post Dee. We have two fairy roses at the extension office in Kaufman. One is in full bloom the other three feet away has tiny buds that fall off. I wonder what gives.
I enlarged the long shot for a better look at your blooms and noticed water on left. Are you by a lake or river? It’s such a beautiful spot, and your garden still looks very pretty. I love those apricot profusion zinnias and must try some! And salvias…I’m loving them all..and so are a lot of other gardeners apparently. They’re all so pretty.
What luck to get that wonderful gravel for your paths! It looks great.
Yes, I’ll dig up the dahlias..and hide them from the mice, who think they’re a delicacy. They ate my red dinner plate dahlias last year. We’re too cold here to leave them in the ground.
Thanks so much for the visit and comment!
kerri´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – October ’08
Dee,
Your gardens are lovely in October!! I was sad to hear you were disappointed in the Mexican Flame Vine… as I scrolled down the page and saw the picture I started drooling a little… : ) I love, love, love the flower!! Too bad it is rather small in size. Happy GBBD to you.
Liisa
Liisa´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day
Beautiful autumn colours. The apricot zinnia is a stunner.
Dee – your blooms are beautiful. We’re in the same weather boat as you, though we did get some rain this week, thank goodness. I love your Salvia and your Gaillardia. They are so vibrant. I had a great flame vine performance last year when I planted it, but it got shaded by and less water because of some monstrously overgrown Mexican Mint Marigold and it barely grew out of the ground this year. The marigolds are going away this fall and finding a new home so that the Mexican flame vine can take over my fence again!
Diana´s last blog post..Three’s company around here for a while!
What a great idea to repurpose the used gravel to make your paths … they turned out beautifully! I should take some pictures of various pink roses around Wit’s End and see if you can help me identify the Fairy amongst them. I know I had it and I thought I knew where I planted it. Now I’m not so sure.
Cindy´s last blog post..A Rainy Bloom Day
Your garden looks so charming with the gravel paths and the river? lake? in the background..A little piece of heaven….
We’ve been enjoying the late summer weather here in TN too. The days aren’t as hot and humid as summer and the mornings and evenings feel great. It will come to an end soon enough! The colors in your garden look great. The gaillardia looks really good and I like that salvia. I’ll need to plant more reds next year!
Dave´s last blog post..The Backyard Remodel Tour Part 1
I love the gravel pathways — I am hoping to do that in my garden soon. Meanwhile, though, I love all the pink and orange together in the photos! It’s one of my favorite color combinations.
~Angela 🙂
Angela (Cottage Magpie)´s last blog post..What’s Blooming: October 2008
I wish someone would bless me with a load of gravel for paths. I have a couple that need covering. Maybe this winter I would be so lucky.
Your blooms look pretty good for this time of year. After seeing so much salvia in GBBD posts I am going to have to plant more next year. They are so reliable and of course pretty.
Dee,
Thanks for sharing all those beautiful flower photos with us! I love the “fairy” rose and the Gaillardia! I had a “fairy” rosebush when I lived in NJ and it just grew and grew (even with all my trimming) that bush never quit! The fragrance it light but lovely!
Sherri McDermitt´s last blog post..The Moon is up!
Guess you wanted that colorful flower to be RudDEEbeckia instead of GAILlardia?
I like the reds and yellows and apricots, Dee- they’ll look good as your leaves start to turn, too.
The swapped-out gravel looks great in your garden, and the shredded tires are supposed to be safer for acrobatic children so everyone, including the Scout, is a winner in this project.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
pretty as a picture!
Mary Ann´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day 10/15/2008
These colors say Autumn to me. We, too, thank goodness, are having MILD summer weather, and I love it!!! Thank you for sharing today (and yea for FREE gravel!!!)
Carla´s last blog post..More Than Just a Friend: Happy Birthday Taterbaby!
What wonderful fall colors! Beautiful photos and your gravel path is lovely!
Randy´s last blog post..How About Some Pretty Flowers
Dee,
It is odd that we are still experiencing so much heat and yet the garden’s timing mechanism is saying tone down, it’s autumn. I do like your beautiful Fairy Rose. Can you tell me how you dead head the spent blooms? The gravel does give the garden a very nice look….finishes it. Gaill-ardia, isn’t that a beautiful name and a lovely flower. Add to list, along with the red salvia and gravel!
Dee have a dee-lightful day!
Gail
Gail´s last blog post..October Blue Skies For Bloom Day
How wonderful that you repurposed the gravel! I don’t know how many truck loads of gravel I’ve had brought in. Gets fairly expensive. I just love your yard, Dee. Wish I had that stretch of pretty land! Looks so tranquil out there.
Brenda
Brenda Kula´s last blog post..Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty
I like how ‘The Fairy’s flowers have picked up more color. It makes them more interesting. To me, gravel paths are the height of garden sophistication. They’re so elegant and English, and I love the sound of them under foot.
Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog post..Bloom Day: October 2008
What I think you are calling Rudbeckia I think is actually blanket flower, Gaillardia. Or maybe the flowers with the bumblebee are a new kind of Rudbeckia? It looks like summer there to me. My blanket flowers have gotten frost, gone to seed and are surrounding the ‘Glacier Blue’ euphorbia in my post.
Kathy´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day October 2008
No, Kathy, you’re absolutely right. Every once in awhile I accidentally call Gaillardia Rudbeckia; a little like calling you Carol or Mary Ann instead of Kathy. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.~~Dee
So much fun to see what others are doing. You are all bright red and yellow and my garden is all mostly pale lavender.
Liked your prairie post and will have to remember it. Here in Madison, WI at the UW Arboretum we have the oldest restored tall-grass prairie in the world. Done by Aldo Leopold in the 1930s, so old is a relative term.
Wisconsin is the place where the westernmost edge of the Eastern hardwood forests meet the easternmost of the tall-grass prairie. Got that?!
Linda from Each Little World´s last blog post..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: 10.15.08
Hi Linda, the eastern part of Oklahoma also has that distinction except we are the very tip edge of the forest. Cool info about your part of the prairie too.~~Dee
Your photos are so pretty. I just fell in love with those zinnias. The color is so nice. Those are on my list for next spring.
Marnie
Thanks, Marnie. Here, they bleach to nearly white in the summer just so you know.~~Dee
Happy GBBD, Dee!
Wow that is a lot of yellow and red in your garden this autumn. Very colourful. At Bliss quite a lot of blooms are pink, so it looks very different from your garden.
Love the new gravel paths!
Yolanda Elizabet´s last blog post..Golden October Bliss
A happy one to you too, Yolanda Elizabet! Yes, we are abundant in red and yellow. Thanks about the gravel paths. We’ll see if the reflective heat roasts the garden in summer.~~Dee
I didn’t realize ‘The Fairy’ would turn that lovely color! That’s one of the plants I keep pondering…mostly cause I like the name! We’ve got skippers now too…they seem to show up in the early fall.
Leslie´s last blog post..GBBD October 2008
Hi Leslie, ‘The Fairy’ is only this color at this point of the year. In midsummer, it bleaches nearly to white, and in the spring, it is a light, pale pink.~~Dee
That red Salvia is quite striking and I love the Rudbeckias with their yellow tipped petals. I bought seed for that Profusion ‘Apricot’ so I was quite happy to see how lovely it looked in your garden. Your garden looks like it is doing well still, I bet your weather is quite similar to mine at this time of the year. 🙂
Racquel´s last blog post..October Blooms – GBBD
Racquel, I accidentally wrote Rudbeckia when I meant Gaillardia. Sorry. I wish I could remember the name of the Salvia, but I cannot. I have several kinds in the garden this year, and all are different.~~Dee
Lovely October blooms, Dee. Red and yellow are a wonderful warm palette.
carolyngail´s last blog post..SOUTHERN SINS
Thanks, Carolyn Gail. I’ll be over to see your bloom post soon.~~Dee
Hiya Dee,
Gravel for old rope 🙂
Seems a good deal to me.
It looks like your reds cover a wider range than mine. I am especially peeved that The Fairy doesn’t perform like that in my garden. In fact, it looks decidedly brown.
Joco, I’m sorry she’s already gone to brown in your garden. Every place is a little different isn’t it. Yes, getting gravel for hauling it away is a good thing. It’s nice to own your own dump truck.~~Dee
Still much excitement in your Autumn garden! Thank you for showing off my little Alvin the squirrel..hugs aNNa aka naturegirl!
Thanks, Anna, for stopping by. I didn’t realize Alvin was a squirrel. I thought he was a chipmunk.~~Dee