An October Stroll Through the Garden
Let’s start in the backyard. Rosa ‘Sally Holmes’ still has a few blooms, and even some buds straining to open before the frost.
Most of the asters have gone to seed …
But the dwarf New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’, is a very late bloomer – it’s just hitting its stride.
Rosa ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ is still blooming on the arbor.
The last shiny seeds of Blackberry Lily(Iris domestica) will drop soon. Too bad they aren’t edible.
Now let’s head out to the front. The birds have eaten most of the crabapples, but there are a few left.
Prairie Dropseed (Sporobulus heterolepis), Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), and ‘Profusion’ orange Zinnias make a nice fall combination.
Most of the Cleome have long gone to seed, but ‘Senorita Rosalita’ is still blooming. I guess this is one advantage of sterility.
The Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’) is tall but airy.
The Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) has outstanding seedheads. It also has way too many &%$#@ seedlings.
We’re getting into late October, and still no frost. It’s coming, though. Best to savor these mild days while they last.
gardeninacity 
Yes, savor it we will. The weekend will be a shocker after the mid-70s this week! Thanks for sharing the remains of the day in your garden. It’s beautiful!
You’re welcome. It’s true the cold will be a bit of a slap, though weather that is very unseasonably warm seems unnatural.
Excellent entry for “Lessons Learned”! Thanks so much for joining in!
Thanks. Although you don’t get to the lesson unless you read to the end.
Everything is so precious at this time of year, once the frosts arrive, it will all be gone until Spring. Our weather is changing too, cold air from Russia is on its way for the end of the week, so a few plants etc. need to be brought in away from the cold.
I don’t overwinter anything inside, but I do have to start on cutting stuff back for the winter.
Enjoy every moment the sun is shining. You have so much beauty in your garden, even this late in the season. Love that Sally Holmes.
I highly recommend Sally Holmes, and excellent rose, though I’m less experienced with roses than you are.
Berries, seedheads, a few last flowers, these are the jewels of the autumn garden. Thanks for sharing your treasure with us! (Notice how grown-up and restrained I was by not making some tasteless comment about family jewels?)
There you go, making a nice stab at being poetic and tasteful and then you have to spoil things.
Love the grasses. The picture of the prairie dropseed with the asters and zinnias is perfect. Such a beautiful autumn look.
I’m trying to work more grasses into my beds. The prairie dropseed is especially ornamental, good wildlife plant also.
It’s odd, we really haven’t had any frost other then on the roof tops….I know it’s coming….sigh.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Sounds like it’s coming for us Friday or Saturday. Might as well accept it, drink lots of hot chocolate and wear sweatshirts indoors.
Sally holmes looks like it has a lovely colour.
Yes, the buds are pink, they open a very delicate pink and fade to cream.
Yes, there are still some flower buds around here, wanting more time to open. It sounds like tomorrow is going to be the last day for the 70s, maybe for the fall.
I enjoyed your photos. I am excited for my prairie dropseed plants I put in this summer to grow to the size of yours. That is a nice combination. I have the switchgrass ‘Northwind’, too. It grows more straight than the other kinds I have. I am planning on digging up one of my northern sea oats plants next year. I couldn’t do it in the fall because it is right next to our house. I will need to plant something else there after removing it in the spring.
I planted some native cleome seeds this fall, and will need to remember where, so that I can take out the non native ones that come up. I am excited to see what they look like, and if they are much different from the other kinds.
Not familiar with the native cleome. Is it related to cultivars like the ‘Sparkler’ series? You’ll have to post pictures so we can all see.
Your landscape looks to be in about the same place as mine right now. I keep expecting bad weather to wipe it all out until next spring. Thanks for the tour. My asters are also setting seed. ‘Purple Dome’ is barely recovered from something it caught over the summer.~~Dee
We’ve got a cold front coming in this weekend, so we’ll see what’s standing by Monday.
Lovely fall color in your garden, Jason! The switchgrass and blackberry lily seeds are two of my favorites. We’ve already had a frost, so most of my annuals and tender perennials have quit for the year, but I still have a few asters left…and of course, some tiny crabapples:) Enjoy the last few warm days while you can.
I am enjoying them, though I haven’t really had time to start my fall clean-up.
Cleome is a favorite of mine! i planted seeds in 2011, and got good germination and growth but was surprised none reseeded for 2012…esp here in FL.
How do yours reseed in zone 5?
Not very enthusiastically, but I’m waiting to see what happens next spring. I’m thinking of growing some white cleome from seed and starting them inside.
I am in zone 5b, and cleomes come up when the soil is warm enough in the spring. Sometimes they also come up in the fall, and I’m never sure if the ones I see in the spring are those or new ones. I found some seeds for a native kind, and got those planted a few weeks ago. I hope they come up in the spring.
do you know the botanical name of the native seeds?