Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a sampler of what I have to be thankful for today. All photos are from my garden in November. I hope everyone has an enjoyable day!

End of the Line

The deadline is drawing near for the November Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest~~http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=9088. (BTW- did they change how to post links?. Just when you learn how to do something they change it.) I was holding out just in case I came up with something profoundly symbolic but I guess that just wasn't meant to be. When I first read the subject for this month's contest I immediately thought of this photo and a friend's suggestion for using it cinched it.



My contest entry:




This is Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink' on the morning of our first frost this year. Please follow the link above to see all of the entries for the contest. Thanks to Gardening Gone Wild for holding these contests. I really appreciate the opportunity and enjoy learning about garden photography on your blog.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day- November 2009

Even with such a mild autumn this Bloom Day finds the garden pretty disheveled. Our first killing frost~just barely~ was last Saturday morning and was followed shortly by four straight days of rain/wind/gloom caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida which morphed into a Nor'easter and a half.

This was Chrysanthemum 'Single Apricot Korean' aka 'Sheffield Pink' last Saturday morning.



And here it is yesterday~ sporting some cute insects:)



A couple of new buds and flowers remain.



These sweet little flowers belong to Tinantia pringlei, Spotted Wandering Jew. I had a hard time getting a good picture yesterday but I had to try to post this neat little plant. It's still in a pot since I'm going to try to overwinter it in the garage. I planted one of these last fall and lost it so I'll try a spring planting for this one.





Verbena 'Snowflurry' is a transient in my garden ~ it seeds around at will but the plants don't have a long life. I've just been sharing and moving the seedlings around. This one is peaking now.



Rudbeckia triloba has a few flowers dotted around on young plants. My laziness has ensured that I will have legions of these next year.



My noid aster was the last to bloom and the prettiest still.



The Muhly grass still has some color.



The tall mums are looking a little the worse for the weather but are still a pleasant sight probably just from the size of the clump.



Celosia spicata doesn't show much sign of the frost and still has a few seeds for me to collect.



The Mexican Bush Sage only has its showy bracts remaining. I couldn't resist showing off this colorful autumn bokeh.



I'm pleased to see the winter foliage of Lycoris radiata making an apperance. I had no bloom from any of my Lycoris this year but from what I've heard the genus is rather fickle that way. Here it is with the few remaining Aromatic aster blooms.



I'm sure that I'll see some sporadic blooming from Dianthus and the verbena as winter approaches but what makes me happiest is seeing the signs of next year's garden already sprouting:)



Visit the smorgasborg of posts from the garden blogosphere found at
May Dreams Gardens on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Blooming Friday~ Winding Down

It's Blooming Friday again! This is probably the last one before our first freeze ~ predicted for tonight. Our hostess Katarina has lots of flowers blooming out of season. The only out of season bloom I found in the garden was this lone Forsythia bloom still in bud. Forsythia is normally a harbinger of spring- so much so that it's used as a timekeeper of sorts. Too bad I haven't put that pre-emergent weed killer out on the lawn yet;)



This is the same type of mum that I've posted earlier planted in what's now a very hard to reach area under the Buddleia lindleyana. It blooms without me touching it all from year to year~ very carefree:)



A young Salvia regla 'Jame'~ I've tried this plant several times. We gardeners are an optimistic bunch aren't we?


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The Muhlenbergia is as colorful and fluffy as it will get this year. The color fades quickly after the first freeze.





The plumes of Miscanthus 'Cabaret' have reached the puffy stage that they will wear from here on out.



For more Blooming Friday posts visitRoses and Stuff.

Upon Closer Inspection...

... the gardener sees the little things that can't be seen by passers by. At a glance my garden is all grasses and mums and asters. With a second glance you might notice Salvia 'Indigo Spires' and maybe Salvias 'Cherry Chief' and 'Hot Lips'. Just a stroll around the corner would reveal the blue flowers of Salvia 'Black and Blue' which survive but do not thrive in my garden and are therefore special.



A deeper look reveals that newbie Salvia disjuncta is gonna produce at least a couple of blooms before the first freeze.



Of course the tiny inhabitants are not noticed unless you look closely...





nor is the lone flower of the ambitious bindweed that has survived on this site since it was farmland.



As the gardener I am truly blessed to be able to see these things and so much more simply by walking out of my back door.

Blooming Friday~ October 30, 2009

The late show continues here with plenty of flowers still in bloom. The leaves are colored up and falling. It's a beautiful time of year. The mornings have been dreary this week so all of my photos are from yesterday morning since it was fair.

The Angel's Trumpet was still very fragrant on Wednesday evening.



Mum 'Sheffield Pink' or 'Single Apricot Korean' is still looking great even if its neighbors aren't.



A couple of dreamy morning shots- Swamp Sunflower



Georgia Aster



Most of the salvias are still going strong ~ 'Cherry Chief' blooms from Spring until hard frost hits.



Salvia madrensis, Forsythia Sage is new to the garden this year. It was planted out in July. A few blooms are just opening on this very late bloomer.





I have been pleasantly surprised at the fall color of the foliage from Hibiscus 'Red Flyer' this year. The "aster" in the background is my noid that was labeled Climbing Aster.



The "aster" closeup



My tall noid mum and Aromatic aster





Finally some real color from the Muhly grass ~ I really need to buy some next year just to see if I'll have an earlier show from the new clump.



This is the same noid mum as above only in another location in the garden. This clump is in part shade and not as vigorous. It just started blooming this week.




Visit Katarina @ Roses and stuff to see more Blooming Friday posts.

Camera Critters- Bees and Butterfly

Bees braving the wind and cool weather.








One more visit from a Monarch today ~ Salvia 'Indigo Spires' was the main attraction.







Follow this link for more Camera Critters.