Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Bloom Day OCT 2008

I normally don't submit anything on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I usually post about my blooms a few days after the big event on the 15 of each month. But since I am posting all week long to give Tina a well deserved break and GBBD falls in the middle of this week, I am going to talk blooms today...

Before we look into my Georgia Garden, lets go to Florida. Lola recently sent me these pictures of her Canna's still in full bloom!

I really do like this beautiful bloom of yellow or is it orange? Hum, I will call it a yellowish orange. How is that for a compromise!
After I posted about my Cannas and Caladiums last month, Lola decided I needed to add to my collection. She got busy and dug up some of her bulbs and sent them to me! Thank you so much for the kind gift Lola. I will cherish them!

Now lets see what is happening in my Georgia Garden...



Ah, such a busy Monarch on the Pale Purple Butterfly bush!

The Silvery Checkerspot is still enjoying the Deep Purple Butterfly Bush and the White bush also continues to gather butterflies, bees and even a hummer or two.


The Periwinkle (Vinca) in colors of purple, pink and white continue to thrive.

The Begonia in colors of Pink and White and Marigolds also continue to bloom. As do the Cosmos, Mexican Heather, Purple Queen, Salvia, Sage, Petunia, Blue Daze, Lantana, Verbena. I am sure you are tired of seeing the same old blooms each month from me but those are my drought loving long bloomers! I cannot go wrong with those selections in my dry garden. The Caladium continues to shine and I see an occasional stray Black eyed Susan pop up with a glow. The Black Elephant Ear also gave me several more strange looking yellow blooms.

So lets don't waste time looking at my repeats from all summer long. Lets move on to some new things spotted in my garden.

I spotted these yellow wild flowers on the county right of way while spreading pine straw nearby. What are they? I know the one is either Ragweed or Golden Rod. Which is it, can anyone help me here? If it is Golden Rod, I may have to move it off the county line and onto my property line. And what is the cute yellow daisy looking flower?

I also spotted this tiny purple flower near my creek which has stayed dry for most of the summer. It looks like some type of Sage. Any guesses?















Here is a bloom which I have neglected to share which has bloomed all summer long also. It is on a bush and I am guessing a Spirea. Am I correct with my guess?
Ah, what would fall time be without mums popping up. I had mums in a hanging basket years ago and when they were all played out, I planted them along the creek. I did not know that mums do not like the shade but these little things still pop up and are begging me to move them to a sunnier place so they can thrive for me.


















Here is another mum of pink color asking me to please give it some light so it can spread its wings and fly for me!
My poor little Pampas grass have given me only two little Blooms this fall. The Saint wants to cut this thing down so badly but I will not let him. I keep telling him that one day it will be healthy like the other ones we see full of blooms all over town.

Here is a tiny blue flower I spotted on the county right of way along side the other wild flowers. See how tiny the bloom is to the right? I circled it to show you how small it is then zoom in to give you a better view of the little pretty. Any guesses as to what this cutie could be?















And just what is this bloom? Oh, my, goodness, it is an Azalea that has gone crazy! Azalea's do not bloom in the fall unless it is an Encore variety which this one is not! Tina had a similar strange occurrence with her Azaleas a while back. Hum, wonder if the cold snap we had a few weeks ago confused this baby...
The Saint and I went up into the Georgia Hill Country looking for some color on Columbus Day. It is a bit early for major color but we did see some yellowing with red dogwoods. We did not see much color in the trees but we did find this pretty along side of a beautiful stream.


















Ah, I want to go back to that pretty stream!


Here is a closer shot of the blooms. Does anyone recognise this wild flower? I really do not know my wildflowers and should invest in a book to learn more.

And just what is this in the below picture?

More little purple blooms which I have no name for. This one kind of resembles the one found by my creek. Hum, a creek loving wildflower perhaps?
And yet another mystery bloom to me in the form of this wild flower which I spotted all along the roadside of the Hill Country. I wonder if any of these wildflowers could be Mountain Laurel?
Here are some more beauty's we found when we stopped for a break along our journey.
The setting was a marina but to our dismay, the cafe was closed so no lunch by the water side.
The containers were still so full and lush with blooms.

Ah, a little reminder that it is indeed October with a bit of corn stalks in the background. Our day in the Georgia mountains was full of beauty and my drought tolerant flowers continue to give me blooms, this OCTOBER GARDEN BLOGGERS BLOOM DAY, In the Garden....

34 comments:

  1. Lots of lovely blooms today Skeeter. The little purple flower (8th shot including video) looks like a Flax, the White flower (9th shot) looks like Star Jasmine, the pink flower (18 & 20) are Cleome. The pink daisy like flowers (22) are some type of Asters. Hope this was somewhat helpful. :)

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  2. Hi Skeeter, you have done a great job giving Tina a much needed break, good work. After this week you will need a break yourself. LOL It is hard to post every day, I know. The one plant is goldenrod, I know that one. The white blooms from the bush look like a type of abelia, not spirea.The flower by the steam looks like cleome, but don't know how it got there, not a wildflower.The purple and white looks like prunella. Mountain Laurel looks different than that, like a rhodie or azalea. We have some azaleas blooming too, the cool weather triggers them, I think. The encores were derived from that trait. Great containers at the marina, I wonder if they use fish emulsion as fertilizer? ;->
    Frances
    http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

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  3. Your blooms are plentiful and beautiful. I agree with PGL on the types. Thanks for sharing your garden today!

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  4. Such bounty in your garden. I love the monarch butterfly, I finally had a visitor last week! Looks like everyone is answering your plant id questions....so I will pass! Happy Bloom Day...gail

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  5. Beautiful flowers Skeeter! I was going to say, the only one I know is #22, purple asters, they are soo pretty and fluff up when dried.
    All our b-flies seem to be tucked in for the winter but we're getting a bundle of ladybugs! Good video!

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  6. Skeeter you have done an excellent job in giving Tina a much needed break. Those are beautiful flowers whether wild or otherwise. I have enjoyed the trip with you. Thanks so much for helping. Will be happy to see the rest of the story.
    And thanks for the kind words. I like to share.

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  7. Perennial,Thanks so much for your identifying the pretties! I must invest in a wildflower book. I was shocked at how many wildflowers popped up since I have never noticed them in those areas before! The county usually does a better job of mowing I guess but this year they were not so thorough so maybe that is why I am spotting them! I need to label my pictures now for future reference. I also need to dig some of those up and put them into my yard! tee hee...

    Frances, Thanks and I will be getting my break next week with some traveling so Tina will be here on the weekend dates for me. We work so well together dont we. :) I am so excited the one plant is goldenrod. I was not sure but now will dig it up and move it into my yard instead of the roadside for the mowers to chop up! Free plants yeah! So I may have an Abelia instead of Spirea, hum, I always wondered what that bush was. It was here when we bought the house and it blooms at different times of the year. It is in an area where I dont really get to see it much so I neglect to show its beauty. I must be a better Bush mom then I have been. lol. All the flowers in the mountains were really pretty and I was glad we spotted them as the trees were not showing much color at all. I know the Marina could have used the fish emulsion (I learned a new word today) as there were a lot of them under the dock. The Saint and I were wishing for some crickets and a cane pole! lol...

    Meadowview, If you agree on the types, then they must be as reported! Thanks for the input and I will label them pretty ones and try to store them in my memory bank, if there is room! lol.

    Gail, we have been seeing the Monarch for the past few weeks now. I spotted 3 at one time and that was exciting for me! The yellow Sulfur was all over the mountain areas and some pretty little white butterflies of some type. We did not get close enough for a photo op. :)

    Dawn, Yep a little bit nippy for the flutterbugs your way now! Soon we too will be seeing Ladybugs and in the house no doubt. I cannot figure out how they get into the house during the winter. I catch them and put them on a plant but many succumb to death in the window ceils. Funny thing, we dont see many during the summer in the yard but sure do during the winter in the house! At least we know we have the Lucky Ladies around...

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  8. Lola, you are so kind to share with me! Thanks for showing us your Cannas. I am shocked they are still blooming. I have noticed a bloom or two in the landscaped areas of business's here so reckon that is normal with all this warm weather we are still having. Calling for a record high today but with low humidity, so that is fine with me. I am sure Tina is enjoying her break from all the writing to do other fun things. She is probably digging in the dirt if I know Tina. LOL...

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  9. Skeeter, that was a fun post. I enjoyed seeing the wild flowers.

    I had a wild goldenrod blooming along the road this year that was much nicer than the hybrid varieties. It was branched perfectly and bloomed top to bottom on all sides.
    Marnie

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  10. Marnie, I do believe the Goldenrod you see in the pic along with the many others I spotted will soon be in my garden. Free is my Friend! Tee hee...

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  11. I too was going to say that the white flower looks like some sort of jasmine. The leaves look like mine anyway. Lovely views. It's drizzling here, so no gardening for me today!
    Brenda

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  12. Very nice Skeeter!

    I wish our canna had bloomed as well as Lola's. Maybe next year. Frances beat me to the ID of your goldenrod. Better move that one on into your garden!

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  13. Your lucky to have some many blooms left. I have hardly anything new in bloom from last GBBD.

    The pink Mum is really nice and the first half barrel that you came across is a great colour combination.

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  14. Wonderful post of tended garden blooms and native blooms! That white shrub bloom looks like my abelia. My Encore Azaleas have been blooming for a month now, but I did see some native varieties in a local arboretum in bloom as well...I agree...that's a new event among azaleas. Cameron

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  15. There is still a lot going on there. The lush container reminded me of some enormous white periwinkles I saw in front of a restaurant. The flowers were much larger than most.
    Donna

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  16. Hey,

    Good job at posting on the correct day, I posted for the GBBD also on the correct day! Coodoes for me!

    I can ID 2 of your mystery plants for you. The first blue flower, the one next to the yellow golden rod(or whatever it is.) is a wild blue lobelia. I have this plant along with a cardinal lobelia in my yard. The second one that goes near the water's edge is called prunella or self heal, or heal all. I also found this near my house in the woods, and transplanted it into my yard. Hope you enjoy this help that I was able to give you.

    I am not sure if I spelled "prunella correctly!

    ~Zach
    Happy GBBD

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  17. Skeeter, Thanks for the video of the Monarch--I love these butterflies, but they are very hard to photograph! You did an excellent job.
    I was so proud of myself that I recognized the goldenrod and the cleome, but I see others have already identified them for you:) Isn't blogging great? I know I've learned so much from other gardeners this way.
    The cannas are beautiful; I've seen some still blooming here in central Illinois, but we've had an unusually warm fall.

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  18. Just a note to add. My Flowering Almond has blooms on it. That is strange as it normally blooms first in Spring. Sure is pretty though like tiny roses. More of my Cannas in the gate garden are blooming again. They are not in the Canna garden.

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  19. Brenda, Hope the drizzle clears up so you can enjoy the garden tomorrow! The weather here today was beautiful. A bit warm for this time of year but still with low humidity so wonderful to me!

    Dave, the golden rod will soon be in my yard! I know just where it is going to go. I spotted a lot so a lot I will have!

    Dan, Our weather is a bit warmer then what you are having now so to be expected that you dont have much remaining this time of year. The first barrel was my favorite also!

    Cameron, You are the second person to identify the bush as abelia so it must be one. I am glad to finally know what it is! I think the azaleas are a bit confused. We had really cold temps a few weeks ago and now, above normal temps, so warm enough to open them up I guess. I noticed today that it has several more blooms open on it! Crazy stuff but fun to see!

    Donna, the containers were so full of blooms as if just planted, they were that perfect! Our Periwinkles are still blooming like crazy, you will see them on a posting soon so stay tuned...

    Zach, I normally dont partake in the GBBD but Tina always does. She has so much more to share then me anyway. My stuff is the same old stuff from month to month and that gets boring for people. Tina is off for the week so I did a posting today. I am excited to know that I have a Blue Lobelia in my yard! I planted 3 Lobelias and they died on me but ended up back at Lowes for a refund so not a total loss as I can try again next year! I have never heard of the prunella before. That is an exciting discovery for me also! This one was found in the mountains so it stayed in the mountains... Thanks for the help...

    Rose, I think I took 4 videos before I got one that was good enough for the posting. Still not the greatest because the wind was blowing the bloom all over the place. I can capture all butterflies with a bit of effort except for the Monarch. They do not seem to stay still for long! I am spotting some cannas here also but not many. The weather has been above normal for this time of year here but about to change this weekend with a cold front. Blogging is great as I too have learned soooo much! Thanks to Frances, I now see Muhly grass all over the place; I had never noticed it before now! lol

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  20. Lola, this warm weather sure has everything confused! I wonder if the daffys will start popping up? lol... Cold front headed our way this weekend so things will change then...

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  21. Do you know what the plant is with the strappy leaves in the background of the first half barrel. I really like the texture of that plant.

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  22. Dan, I have no idea but it was really a beautiful shade of green! I think it may have been a houseplant of some type but not sure. I was paying more attention to the fish in the lake then the flowers... lol...

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  23. Great GBBD post. 18 and 20 look like cleome to me to.

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  24. i am watching debate while i look at your blooms, love your blooms so bright and cheery in comparsion! thank you for sharin them.

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  25. Aunt Debbi, I now believe this little pretty to be Cleome also. So many have decided for me. Thanks for the ID...

    Marmee, How funny you gazing at blooms while listening to the debate. We had that boring same ole same ole, chat going on in our living room as well. Cant wait until Nov 4 to be over and done. Maybe my wallet will be full again too! lol

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  26. Skeeter,would you believe that yesterday there were butterflys in the garden in Maine?!! Did not get out to it today as it is raining but will tomorrow. They say it will turn COLD in a couple of more days.

    Lotsa color still at your place and Lola's Cannas are just as great as can be. Thanks for sharing it all with us and how sweet is that Lola anyway?

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  27. 18 AND 20 ARE CLEOME!!! (Sorry, I get excited when I know the answer.) You can tell because the leaves look like marijuana leaves, which makes me laugh a little.

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  28. Jean, Butterflies in your Maine garden in mid Oct? Wow that is exciting. They do not want winter to come this year. Winter weather will be there soon though. Calling for the big cold front to hit us tomorrow. We have been close to record breaking temps here this week but will be cold again this weekend. We are headed to VA and TN and I had to rethink my packing as I had not planned on the cold stuff. Now we have to go with the layered deal... Yep, that Lola is a sweeite!

    Wicked Gardener, how would you know what marijuana looks like? lol I was thinking the same thing about the leaves but was afraid to bring it up for fear of someone questioning me. After all, I cannot tell a lie... tee hee..

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  29. Ummm . . . I've seen pictures? I was a middle schooler during Mrs. Regan's Just Say No period - they brought the stuff to school to show us. It was an excellent education. Actually I just read Julie's post and thought it was funny. I want to plant it just to see if I can make a little extra cash off of the neighborhood kids. (Of course I would never do that because it is wrong. Very funny, but wrong.)

    http://asucculentlife.blogspot.com/search/label/Cleome

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  30. Funny Skeeter cause that was just what I said to myself when wicked gardener wrote that. But then I thought I'd better not say anything as when my kids were still in school I wanted to see what it looked like as they say it is a pretty plant. So I got some seeds from a kid that my kids knew and I tried to grow it and it did nothing for me. Funny thing about it is that I thought about trying it again not too long ago but thought I'd probably get caught and my local paper would have a big headline about an ole lady growing pot!!!

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  31. Mom-Shame on you! We know you are JUST kidding! Everyone learns about what pot looks like early in school just like Wicked Gardener said. Quite a few plants look that way and I even have some growing in my garden.

    Skeeter, LOTS of blooms in your garden. I'll pick up bloom day now and may even put up a post here soon of what is going on here at Tiger Gardens. Thanks so much for sharing it all and Lola's great cannas too! I see everyone has helped you to identify your blooms. I love the help here and it is much appreciated!

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  32. Tina, you knew when I grew that and if I remember right, you told me how to do it. We were living on Potts Point at the time. Is your memory refreshed?

    By the way, had 2 letters from Christy today and she sounds GREAT!!!! Graduation is to be on December 10th and AIT does not start till Jan 20th so she will have over a month off. Can't beat that!!!!

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  33. Mom, I am glad Christy is doing well. I will mark the date on my calendar. Bella is adjusting way better than I thought. Only a few fights. BJ at first with her. Now he could care less. Once we win BJ it is all but done for the others. But Bella does not like Link (top dog) and growls at him. Funny since Link can't hear. He could care less. What a big headache with all these dogs now. CeCe and Bella are ok. Bella is just so hyper compared to mine. She is wild. Good thing mine are older and more laid back and accepting.

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  34. This has turned into the funniest post I've read in a long time!! Thanks!

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