Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October 2016
What's blooming in my zone 9a garden on this October Bloom Day? Here's a sample.
Convolvulus 'Blue Daze' has been in bloom all summer and now well into the fall.
'Molineux,' a David Austin rose, is at its best in the fall.
Red cypress vine, an old-fashioned plant that is a favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds.
This purple porterweed is being visited by a Long-tailed Skipper butterfly.
Bronze Esperanza is still in bloom.
As is its yellow cousin, popularly known as "yellowbells." If you are guessing that this plant is a member of the very large pea family, you are correct. The family resemblance is right there.
'Cashmere Bouquet' clerodendrum.
Tithonia, aka Mexican sunflowers, are visited almost constantly throughout the day by butterflies like this Gulf Fritillary.
The blooms of the almond verbena are not particularly showy but their heavenly scent permeates the part of the garden where the plant lives, especially in the late afternoon.
Well, they aren't blooms but the fruits of the ornamental peppers are colorful.
Duranta erecta, golden dewdrops, continues to bloom.
'Lucifer' canna blooms bring a bit of fire to their spot in the garden.
Butterfly ginger, more blooms that perfume the garden with a wonderful scent.
Cephalanthus occidentalis, aka buttonbush, a native plant much loved by butterflies.
Cape honeysuckle offers its orange blossoms to migrating hummingbirds.
'Black and blue' salvia is a favorite of mine.
And I do love the weird little blossoms of the shrimp plant, Justicia brandegeeana.
Firespike is an autumn bloomer that is coming along a bit late this year. So far, it only has buds. Its long-lasting flowers should still be with us on November's Bloom Day.
The Justicia 'Orange Flame,' though, has been in bloom all summer and continues to send out its "flames."
The blooms of Texas sage, Leucophyllum frutescens, are triggered by rainfall, and it doesn't take much. Earlier this week, we got a brief shower of a few hundredths of an inch. Next day the shrub was covered in these flowers.
My old species canna continues to send out blooms regularly.
The purple beautyberries await the attention of the mockingbirds and robins that love them.
Pink coral vine graces this garden fence with its blooms.
A few cosmos blooms continue to brighten their corner of the garden.
But on the muscadine vines, the grapes are beginning to turn color, confirming that autumn really has arrived and many of this month's blooming plants will soon be ready for a rest.
Don't forget to visit our host, Carol of May Dreams Gardens, to see the list of other bloggers participating in this Bloom Day and thank you for taking the time to visit my garden.
Happy Bloom Day!
You have an abundance of colorful blooms in your October garden Dorothy and it is so nice to see a combination of summer blooming selections along with fall favorites such as your beauty bush. Your capture of the butterfly is also lovely and they must certainly enjoy all the blooms. Happy autumn and happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteButterflies do love many of these plants, especially tithonia, duranta, porterweed, and buttonbush.
DeleteHi Dorothy. Thanks for stopping by. To address your question on the variegated liriope, I know it does not like poorly drained areas and performs best when you cut it back in early spring, so to push out new growth. Also, feed it with a slow release fertilizer at that time. Hope this helps!
DeleteThanks, Lee. I'll put your suggestions into practice!
DeleteYou have an amazing variety of flowers left, Dorothy, and many requiring warm temperatures, you must live in a warmer place than I do. the Duranta blooms never fail to impress me. My inground Canna never makes it to flower stage.
ReplyDeleteSummer has made a reappearance here this week, as it is wont to do any time of the year, and many of the flowers appreciate it, even if the gardener does not.
DeleteWow. I've never seen some of these flowers so I am guessing you live far from me in Michigan. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm in zone 9a, about a hundred or so miles north of the Texas Gulf Coast, so, yes, quite different from Michigan! I look forward to visiting your garden and seeing what is blooming there. Thanks for dropping by.
DeleteA great show for Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteLove the butterfly on the Mexican Sunflower
Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
It's almost impossible to get a picture of the Mexican sunflower without a butterfly on it!
DeleteSuperb blooms Dorothy. Some I grow too, but many, many, more I would dearly love to be able to grow! The ginger is glorious.
ReplyDeleteI love that ginger, too. Its only fault - if it has one - is that it grows so rampantly here that it sometimes has to be cut back to keep it in bounds.
DeleteI have a few favorites among these blooms. They are gorgeous still!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carmen. Most of my plants are long-term bloomers so you will have seen them before. I'm glad you find them still beautiful.
DeleteI always love visiting your garden. My cape honeysuckle is blooming now. There is something about the particular orange color of the blooms that just makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteIt is a happy color, isn't it? The hummingbirds certainly think so.
DeleteI'm always amazed at the number of different plants you have Dorothy. They look lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jayne. Many of them are beginning to be a bit bedraggled but are still hanging on.
DeleteAgain, you have so much that we don't in upstate New York (except for beautyberries, which I don't have, but do grow here). You will help sustain me during the coming snowy months.
ReplyDeleteAnd you can sustain me through our impossible summers!
DeleteLovely blooms! Although you grow many plants I can't here, I do see we share some favorites like the Beautyberry and the 'Black and Blue' salvia. I also have cypress vine--do you have trouble with it spreading? It has taken over part of my arbor bed, even though I keep cutting it back. It sneaks up on me, though, and I'm often fooled by small red blooms on the roses, the phlox, and other plants:)
ReplyDeleteYes! I often find it growing in widely dispersed areas of the garden, but I just pull it out if I don't want it there. Once you've got it, it comes back stronger every year. I like it. It reminds me of my mother who always grew it and who gave me my first plants many years ago.
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