MORNING LIGHT

Early morning in the garden is the time to capture the garden at its best. I have been cleaning out a lot of the extra plants growing in the herb garden.

 It's a favorite place for plants to seed in the cracks between the pavers. But eventually the time comes to make way for next years little hopefuls. Gomphrena has spilled over to make it impossible to walk down the pathway.

Several times this week I have breakfasted alone, sitting in a spot under the covered patio.

From a distance the impression is that there is not much to do. The plumbago has taken the place of the heart-leaf skullcaps. Of course the skullcaps will be back again during the cooler weather.

A couple of years ago I finally had success with a summertime wall planter. This is the second generation planting with a new Agave desmettiana, 'variegata' with the narrow-leaf Mexican portulaca. I used felt to line the basket.

Around the corner in the English garden the Felicia rose is about to bloom again.

There is no more faithful re-bloomer than Felicia. This is her third blooming of the year and the fragrance from a single rose this week stopped me in my tracks.

Hope you are enjoying your fall garden. I am.

WHAT I DID TODAY

I was surprised....... by flower on the crinum lily, Crinum procerum 'splendens' in my water garden.

I emptied......... the three outside water tanks, filled the rain barrels in the garden and watered all the plants. It's going to rain this weekend!

I watered.... the flowers growing between the pavers in the potager.

I collected.....seeds from the red spider zinnia.

I potted up.......snapdragons and violas from their 6 packs into 4" pots. They will spend a couple of weeks in the greenhouse until they have made new roots, making them easier to transplant.

I noted.......that the wonderful, fragrant Felicia might need a trellis on which to twine next year.

I jumped over...... the narrow leaf zinnias growing in the pathways between the vegetable beds.

I decided........ that the Philippine violet was at the peak of its bloom.

I resolved ..... to  thin the baby pak choi for tomorrow evenings dinner.

I gave.... the Aloe marlothii a new pot.

It is so happy.

I realized....... that it is time to take lots of cuttings to save for next year.

I did a lot of other things too. Like tackling the fire ant problem and weeding and sowing but the fun bit is always just walking around with the camera.
What did you do today?

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.

BOGGED DOWN WITH BLOGS

Honestly! where to begin. I am barely through half of the garden visits I made in England this summer. I did manage to finish all my visits to the Seattle Fling, but since then there are a hundred more things I could be posting about and a hundred visits before that.

I did, however, think this rose was worthy of a blog all of its own. I saw it in the Portland Rose Garden at the weekend. I am not sure this would be my choice of rose but it certainly was a show stopper. The name, All American Magic. This is a rose that fades with grace from red and yellow, to pink and cream then white with splashes of pink. Rather reminiscent of a rose seen around my home town, mutabilis.

The other posts will have to wait; the Denver Botanical Garden, the Steamboat Springs Botanical garden, the visit to my cousin's farm Co-op on Vancouver Island and the unusual rock pool garden at Haystack Beach, Oregon. I am thinking I may have plenty of time to blog about these visits in the coming weeks on my return home!

SWEET RELIEF

The sun never came out today and it was chilly! My garden loved it. Now, maybe the weather man will follow through with the promised 40% chance of rain tomorrow. I watered anyway.

In the sunken garden the columbines are in full flower. Note the oranges- pill bug and snail traps. On the spot composting!


The iris have been truly spectacular giving weeks of blooms.

Buebonnets, poppies and pink primroses all vying for a spot in the limelight.

Sweet smelling Zephirine Drouhin at the far end of the garden.

There used t be a pot of this plant here and when I moved it this rose grew from out of the cracks in the paving. It must have come from a root. It stays.

These little spider zinnias have grown from seeds planted this year. They usually show up in the fall from seeds that overwinter. I bought new seeds this year.

Wild onion.

The herb garden is finally starting to look a little tidier.

The espaliered pyracantha with a flush of new leaves and blooms. Where are those cedar waxwings?

The vegetable beds are filled with tomatoes.

Patti pan squash under netting in the hope of thwarting the squash vine borer.

Sedum has replaced the creeping thyme between the pavers.

How many years has this purple skullcap lived here? I have lost track. But see the poor blue flax plant peeking out from underneath. I wonder who will win?

Square bud primrose, Calylophus drummondii.

A pot of Dahlberg daisy, stocks and alyssum, seeded in the fall. Behind I have a pot of nasturtiums. I see the flower buds down at the base of the plant. Fingers crossed.

IT'S A KNOCKOUT

Tempted by the ease with which the Knockout rose "radrazz" grows, how could I resist the yellow variety Rosa "radsunny". Following our Saturday walk around Lady Bird Lake we headed over to our favorite post walk lunch spot, Whole Foods. There among all the new plants I saw the yellow variety I had been reading about. Hardy from zone 5-9, "radsunny" has the same dark leaves but a slightly more upright habit and it is has all the disease resistant attributes of the other knockout roses. In a flash it was in the cart. On the way home I kept smelling a wonderful fragrance; could it be the new rose? It was. I have my yellow rose of Texas.