Slow painting

Saturday 16 October 2010

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day October



Getting a bit tattered now, but still blooming in the absence of frost, the dwarf hollyhocks that were part of my bargain buy of plug plants at the beginning of the summer. It seems a very long time ago that I was cosseting them in individual pots.

The nameless hydrangea is into its dusky, burgundy phase, before turning copper and russet later in the autumn.


The second flush of roses has been very strong this year, but with very little scent.


And the Jackmanii clematis goes on blooming.


Self-seeded nasturtiums from a couple of years ago are still popping up. I leave them each year because they provide late food for the bees.


A last summery hydrangea flowerhead. All the rest are now the colour of lace dipped in tea.


In this warm October, this is what's blooming in my garden. But change is on the way, with the BBC weather map tonight showing winds straight from the Arctic by the middle of the week.

More October blooms are at Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

17 comments:

Jo said...

There's plenty of interest there still. I'm not looking forward to the colder weather arriving, we've managed to avoid a frost so far.

clairz said...

What lovely blooms. I love that rose.

Roses do especially well here in my desert garden as they don't seem to be harmed by pests or diseases in this dry climate. Your flowers are familiar to me from my New England gardening days; the ones we have here are all new to me.

donna said...

Hello Linda. Tattered blooms look every bit as pretty to me as fresh blooms. They've worked hard all summer and deserve a break. Actually, I sort of feel like a tattered bloom these days.

The nameless burgundy hydrangea bush looks especially pretty to me. The leaves look like you painted them.

Warm hugs from me to you.

donna

Janie said...

You still have a lot of blooms to enjoy so late in the year. Our roses are still blooming, but the rest are quietly awaiting winter.

freerangegirl said...

Your blooms look lovely - I've never seen a delphinium that colour and it still looks pretty even if it is tattered. What a gorgeous rose too- hope the frosts don't get them yet x

TerryD said...

It’s lovely to see your autumnal garden, tattered flowers and all and I’ll certainly return to follow your seasons.

scottweberpdx said...

Nice post...I kinda love the flowers at the end of the season, the do have an almost resolute quality. You are so lucky to have nasturtiums looking that nice, mine are either dessicated by aphids or devoured by slugs ;-)

Elettra said...

wide variety of flowers and multitude of colors, well done

Kris said...

Love those valiant Autumn blooms - giving a last hurrah before the weather turns. And, of all the hydrangeas, lacecaps are my fave. :-D

Croila said...

What beautiful photos! The colour you have is very cheery.

It's funny to hear you say "this warm October"... As this is the first I've ever done gardening, I'm actually noticing stuff like this a lot more than I ever did before. I'm still not sure when the first frost is (or perhaps was) - must find out!

SandyCarlson said...

Really beautiful. They are aging with grace.

Kelli said...

You burgundy hydrangea colour is fab and your roses look so healthy! The first frost where I live in NI was this morning; can you believe it! I couldn't.

... said...

You still have lots of blooming in your garden, and it is looking so nice, Linda!
We have had several nights of frost, so here we see the end of the gardening season.

Shirley said...

This is my first visit to this blog. I came this direction by way of your comment on my blog. I love dropping by Occasional Scotland but quite enjoy this blog also. I really like your hydrangea which is enjoying its burgundy phase. How lovely to still have so much happening in the garden!

Randi said...

Lovely shots of the aging beauties!

Gunilla said...

Hi Linda

You have a lot of flowers still in your garden.

Now we have got a little snow during the night so it´s white all over.
It´s a lovely sunny day today so I think the snow melts away

Thanks for visiting me.

Have a lovely weekend
Gunilla

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Linda,
I enjoyed seeing your blooms and reading the things you wrote about them. We tend to only think of foliage changing colors, but there are blooms that do, too.

We've had a mild, lovely fall, but soon, that dreaded first frost will come, probably next week, and most of the last blooms will be finished for the season.