GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY, OCTOBER 2014

Finally the gorgeous fall days have arrived. Sunny skies, dry air and a flurry of fall flowers. I'm joining our host Carol at Maydreams and the rest of the gardening world who share their October garden flowers.

Salvia Leucantha, in two shades. The purple and white and the all purple. Although I like the all purple one the best, the hummingbirds have a clear preference for the original purple and white variety.

This is a large plant which spreads rapidly and when I need to divide I plant outside the walls. Here you can see them coupled with another fall bloomer Mexican mint marigold, Tagetes lucida. Sometimes called false tarragon, mint marigold can be used in place of French tarragon.

Out in the front the golden eye, Viguera dentata,  and native lantana, Texana urticoides, are in full bloom.

Native Texas skullcap, Scutellaria wrightii, 

And blackfoot daisies, Melampodium leucanthum, among the green leaves of ruby crystal grass.

Alyssum seeded along the edges of the potager beds and Gregg's blue mist flower, Conoclinium greggii, below. 

The show in the sunken garden goes to the seed heads of the Ruby crystal grass, Melinus nerviglumis, caught in the morning sunlight.

A cluster of native cosmos offset by the grey-green of sage.

I love gayfeather, Liatris spicata mucronata, but wish it would't flop so.

Our fall in central Texas is about the purples and yellows.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY OCTOBER 2013

There are some plants that are the stars of the fall garden by virtue of their enjoying shorter days and cooler nights. Among these fall bloomers one of my favorites is the Philippine violet, Barleria christata. It has been a faithful return bloomer in my garden for many years. Dying back down to the ground in all but the mildest of winters it seems to harbor no pests staying green all summer long and then blooming throughout October. I was surprised to see a seedling in the sunken garden. Along the edge of the pathway I will be removing in when dormant and sharing with one of my gardening friends. My garden could not support more than one of these bushes.

Mexican marigold mint, Tagetes lucida, our substitute for tarragon is another late bloomer seen here in the potager.

Careful trimming earlier on in the season will give maintain a more rounded shape as it can get quite large.

My Japanese anemones are just beginning to bloom. They are not as prolific this year because of lack of rainfall.

The tree senna, Cassia corymbosa, is the fourth major bloomer in the fall, although a little battered by the rainfall this weekend. It is a fast growing, short-lived tree but always makes more seedlings than you care for. I usually select one to replace the old tree.

Clouds of golden-eye, Viguiera dentata outside my gate. Scatter the seeds after they ripen and they will come.

And pink clouds of ruby crystal grass, Melinis nerviglumis, inside the gate. My love affair with this grass may soon be over!
There are pink flowers in the back gardens too. Gomphrena 'firecracker'

And the sweetest smelling rose, Felica. She has been blooming non-stop for weeks.

Amaranth, here again for another year despite my having pulled out as many seedlings as I could find. This one was growing by the gate and is now 5' tall. I saw a hummingbird there one day which really surprised me. The flowers are so dry and papery you couldn't imagine there being any nectar.

and pink gaura which the bees adore.

There are lots more blooms out there but these are the stars of my fall garden. If you would like to share your fall bloomers then please join Carol at May Dreams for Garden Bloggers' Bloom day.

IT'S RAINY AND IT'S COLD

What a difference a day makes. I think I said that once before but this time the temperature shot down from the 80s yesterday to the 50s today and the rain gauge says 3.1" of rain have fallen since last night. No gardening today.

Thank goodness I got out yesterday and planted all my bulbs which arrived the previous week. They should settle in nicely over the next few days. I added to my species tulips which were so beautiful last year. HCG had a special 2 for 1 and I can never resist a sale.

I also planted the cactus pads which Zanthan gardens had kindly given me. I hope I am not too late with this project. Last year I potted one up and kept it inside for the winter. Opuntias are pretty tough so I will risk it this year.

I also found this fragrant white mist flower, Eupatorium havanense, was in bloom. It is the first time it has flowered because often the deer browse the leaves before it reaches this stage.

I got down to smell and it does have a fragrance.
On Saturday I managed to identify my mystery flower. It is the native Toothleaf Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata. I have distributed its seed around the outside garden and it is now growing in many places. It is a fall flower.

On Saturday, there was a garage sale going on close to Lindy McGinnis' garden. I bought these two little wall hangings. $1 and 50c. I know I can find a place for them on one of my walls.

These were another find this summer. I think they were probably used for some floral display and were originally some kind of plant with aerial roots which has been sliced across. I thought they would be nice for some little cactus or succulent. At $1 for all three how could I go wrong.

They are now potted up with agaves and succulents.