Horticulturally Fortunate!

We have really been enjoying the mild weather this fall. Some years we miss fall altogether as we go directly from hot to cold! This year after the blazing hot summer, we have really savored each beautifully temperate day! The flowers really started blooming, which was a site for sore eyes! We had a lovely afternoon last Thursday and I grabbed my camera to see what was going on. .this week is into November, and the blooms persist much as they are in these photos, including the water lily above.

I love the fall colors of the mums in the fall. I bought a few to scatter in my new flower bed. I have mums in other gardens and will hope to divide them a bit more in the spring! The purple salvia has persisted for the last two months. .and the napeta blooms have also served many butterflies the past months. I saw a painted lady as late as a few days ago!

I had mentioned several times that I had a huge bulb order coming. .and it arrived about 2 weeks ago. I didn't realize how many bulbs there were. .until I counted via their empty packages after the planting took place. Total count of 219 bulbs. Many of them went in the big bed I can see from the kitchen and dining room. .near the pond. I also added a bunch to sections of the above bed. Now I can hardly wait for spring to. .well. .spring. I got a great assortment of lilies, tulips, crocus, daffodils, allium, and some things that I can't remember, nor have I tried!

I adore the way the light hits the fountain grasses. Which reminds me that I have intended to dig a clump of this purple fountain grass out to over-winter. The one from last winter made 3 nice clumps this summer and turned out pretty cost effective!

The black eyed susans are blooming much nicer now than they have all summer. Some of them re-seeded, which excited me! I see so many bloggers have such great success with them. .but I admit, I've only had limited success. .hopefully I'm on the right track now! And of course, white mums in the front. The accidental combo works well here!

These gray-headed coneflowers really did well despite the drought, and the fact that they were only planted last spring. You can see that the Mexican hats are STILL blooming back behind them. .They have persistently bloomed for 5 months now!! Amazing!

Though the Maximillan sunflowers are dwindling, I was still able to find some nice photogenic clusters!

I took out a lot of the dead sunflowers because the sight was painful to me. .I did leave some for the finches though. .as they have been fun to watch clinging to the heads munching seeds!

Here's just a little peek from the west looking around toward the pond. A lot of bulbs went into the flower bed around where the fountain grass can be seen from here. Also some red rocket hyacinth went along this sidewalk. .there isn't much that smells better in the spring than those!

Here's a sideways shot of my greenhouse. Their are tomatoes in most of the big pots. I would guess most of them are going to be cherry tomatoes. You may remember that Cami uprooted them as seedlings. .and when Grant found her, he put the seedlings back into cells, without having a clue which cell they came out of. .she seems to always be surprising us with something. I also have a few peppers growing. I tried germinating some herbs as well as broccoli and cabbage. Nothing sprouted. .except for a few chard plants, which promptly disappeared. I thought I had a mouse in there, but I haven't had any other trouble, nor have I caught anything. .It got really warm in the greenhouse one week as it neared 100 degrees a few days in Sept and I wonder if they just rotted. .or if the soil was bad?

I did move in a few things from the yard. .and may try the cabbage again later. .if we ever slow down long enough for me to motivate! I have found that the greenhouse is a wonderful place of respite in the bitter cold months. .so I look forward to having anything green and growing during those times.

The lambs ear didn't actually bloom this summer. .but the wonderful gray fuzzy leaves were looking really nice the other day, and I couldn't resist snapping their photo!

Here's another small look at the new garden bed. The blue atlas cedar was planted in August. .and I have been in total love with it since!! It really changed the way the area looked. .which was a GOOD thing! I can't wait to see how the garden turns out. The zebra grass made plumes a few weeks ago. It should be significantly bigger in a couple years. .and I think it will make a great statement!

The temperatures are turning colder. .it even snowed yesterday afternoon!! I advised the kids that it will be "christmas light" weekend here. .We should have great weather to get them up on the house before it gets too cold. .and in time to light them up Thanksgiving night! We are also hoping to do a front door makeover this weekend. .stay tuned.

Have a wonderful weekend!