Once Upon a Time in a Flower Garden in October

I sure got behind with my garden summaries. Now that I have a break from my night classes and have gotten through the holidays, I am working to get caught up. My flower garden never looks all that great in the fall. It is more of a spring and summer garden. But nevertheless, here it goes....

Some of the roses were trying very hard to show that despite appearing dainty and having a reputation for being difficult, they could withstand at least a bit of fall chill. It was a welcoming sight in a garden that doesn’t have much color in October. 

I have one mum that has proven itself to be a perennial and shows its lovely pink flowers every fall. The Black and Blue Salvia was also vying for attention.

This purple Aster was trying to outshine the mum.

I had planted this bright red Cockscomb in either September or October in an attempt to add a bit more color to my lackluster fall garden.

The purple Coneflowers were certainly past their peak, but that is when the Goldfinches are at their happiest. They sure do love the Coneflower seeds.

The bed on the other side of the main flower garden was looking lush with greens and deep reds. Nothing flowering, but still looking kinda lovely.

Shade plants like this variegated Solomon’s Seal really seem at home under the tree on this side of the yard. The painterly white stripes make this plant pop in the shade of the tree.

The dark leaves on the gracefully arching branches of the Ninebark make it one of my favorite shrubs. The clusters of tiny, white flowers are insignificant in the spring, but it is the leaves that make this a stand-out shrub. The coleus that is with it has become one of my favorite annuals. It was a darker red earlier in the season and then became more magenta as the cooler weather approached. It was full and beautiful all season long – and where it is at is a really sunny, hot spot. I think it was Stained Glassworks Copper, which is bred for full sun. Definitely a winner in my book. I want to plant more of these next year.

One the other side is a 3-foot spirea, which is another favorite shrub because it changes colors throughout the season, plus gets pretty, pink flowers in the spring. Now if I could only remember the name of it! I think it is either Goldflame or Magic Carpet. The leaves vary from lime green to red depending on the time of year.

The elephant ears in the two, tall, copper-looking pots were finally starting to seem more at home in the fall.

I enjoyed being able to see the back of these leaves while sitting on the screened-in back porch. They looked so pretty when the sun showed through them. Look at those dark purple stems and veins, plus the pattern of curved lines in the leaves – really cool.

My two pots of bog plants always appear happiest in the fall. The Pitcher plants look tall and healthy and the little traps of the Venus Flytraps seem to multiply like tiny bunnies. The White Tresses Orchids like to bloom in the early fall.

The bog pots are in the greenhouse now.

The fairy garden looks like a woodland setting in the fall with all of the leaves strewn about. 

And my poor pot of mosses and baby ferns was drowned by some rain storms. The sad gnome looks like he is going down with the ship. It’s as if he is saluting the end of the growing season.