Sunday, October 11, 2009

OCTOBER & STILL BLOOMING

undulating southern magnolia leaf edge...
colchicum 'water lily' sparkling with raindrops friday morning...finally the night blooming cereus bloomed! the last few years, this plant's buds withered without opening. this flower was the 3rd try for this plant! i was rushing out the door to work on friday at 7:30 am and noticed this flower. i dropped my briefcase, grabbed my camera, and took the shots above and below.

echinacea 'coconut lime' is going to flower! i had despaired, but if the frost holds off, i should see one this year!
delicate detail of hydrangea 'limelight.' yes, that's an ill-fated japanese beetle hiding!
dwarf (?) oakleaf hydrangea has started to turn on the north side, except for this younger leaf.
the square garden looks a bit messy, but the mums and asters help.
i've been letting wild asters populate the new south border, because it's so pretty and carefree. the tree in the middle is a japanese stewartia, and the foreground plants are alpine strawberries.
rose 'heritage' taking its final bow, with a fiery marigold background near the potager.
'heritage' is on the fence in front of the potager fence (right above the lens i amateurishly left in the shot.)
another view of the potager through the garden gate... you can see i cleaned out all the blighty tomatoes this weekend. on the left is the big-leaved magnolia, then the amsonia, then the grasses, then the herbs.
the typical view of the potager, in the late afternoon.

6 comments:

Connie said...

Love the leaf colors on the Oakleaf hydrangea! Here's hoping your Coconut Lime echinacea has time to bloom before frost. Ours came 2-3 weeks ahead of our normal frost date.

miss m said...

I'm having blog commenter's block so I'll keep it simple - LOVELY !

ps. cool magnolia leaf wave !

Anonymous said...

Love that night blooming cereus! The flower shaped pistle is to die for!

sis

em said...

connie, thanks! the buds look so immature, and we should have frost in 2 weeks! such suspense!

miss m, thanks for stopping by and commenting!

sis, thanks! I can give you one if you want yet another house plant...

Kerri said...

There's always something to get excited about, isn't there? Well, mostly anyway :)
Love that wavy leaf! Wonderful shot.
I'd be very excited about the colchicum. Gorgeous!
Some things are more important than getting to work on time ;) I'm so glad you took the time to photograph the cereus. Wow!!! Great detail!
I do hope the "Coconut Lime" bloom has time to open. It's a beauty!
My limelight flowerheads are brown now, but still rather pretty, even frosted.
I've fallen in love with Oakleaf Hydrangeas. Must get one!! That leaf color is extraordinary. Wow!
Is that "Sheffield" (mum) in the square garden? That's another must have.
Gotta love those volunteer no-work asters :)
Wonderful shot of Heritage Rose.
You and your "hubs" have done a fantastic job with the potager. I'm sure it's given you lots of pleasure this year...in spite of the blighted tomatoes.
You have such a great assortment of shrubs and plants in your garden. Hope I get to see it all in person one day...and meet you :)

em said...

kerri, thanks for the long comment! teh coconut lime is just opening, but only the outer petals. unfortunately, i don't know what mum that is... next time you are around nyc, please let me know and we'll arrange to get together!