A Moveable Garden

Probably my last GBBD post for 2023, though perennial mums have only begun to bloom. Maybe I’ll do a short post for November, who knows. But back to now, the last 30 days comprising September’s end and October’s start have been fairly seasonal except for some wonderous warm days the first week of October.

The average high for the period was 62.7°F, with the highest temperature of 77.5°F on 3 October. The average low for the period was 47.4°F, with the lowest temp of 37.°F on 13 Oct. We haven’t had a light frost yet here; looking at the forecast, we may get one 23-24 October when lows of 33-34°F are predicted. I’ll probably plant my garlic around that time — it should be in the ground several weeks before the ground freezes.

Rainfall has been about normal, for a change, in late Sept and early Oct. Typically September and October rainfall is about 7 inches, combined. This year, we got 2.5″ of rain in late Sept. and 1.37″ in early October, for a 30-day total of 3.87, a little more than half the two-month average. After the deluge of the summer, the reduction in rainfall is very noticeable.

And now, some of the last blooms in my yard until April or May of 2024.

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FRONT YARD

The ‘Bluebird’ asters (Aster laevis ‘Bluebird’) are the big show in the front, covered many days with bees (including sleeping male bumblebees) and flies, and until very recently the occasional butterfly or moth. Probably one of my five favourite plants in this garden for its carefree nature (no maintenance needed), attraction to pollinators, and regal contrast to the foliage of nearby trees, shrubs, and other perennials turning yellow, brown, orange, and red.

‘Bluebird’ asters

video (20 seconds) of bees and flies in ‘Bluebird’ asters:

Other flowers in the front yard

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SIDE YARD & VEG GARDEN

Welcome to most of the October action in the garden. I didn’t plan it this way but the garden has its own ideas.

The pink asters (a New England aster cultivar, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, but not sure which one) are just about finished now but they’re gorgeous, their stems strong and hirsute and yet floppy, and the flowers are very attractive to insects.

I’ve been very happy with the bloom longevity of the Japanese anemone ‘Curtain Call’ that I bought last year. And bumblebees love it.

The native Gaillardia aka blanket flower that I planted last year (G. aristata) has also been a surprisingly long-lasting bloomer, still going strong in mid-October.

The rest, a combination of annuals and perennials:

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BACK YARD

Not a lot happening here now, though I think the Pee Gee hydrangea just gets prettier as the blossoms both deepen and fade and the foliage yellows. The Joe Pye weed faded a couple of weeks ago but hosted monarchs, fritillaries, and bees while it flourished.

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SHADE GARDEN

Also quiet now that summer’s over (it’s never a real flower hotbed), but the ‘Hot Lips’ turtleheads (Chelone), now finished, put on a great show this year.

The only other bloomer at the moment is the heuchera/coral bells (‘Kassandra’, maybe?).

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ROCK WALL

The white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’) that I put into hospice in the rock wall in 2013 is blooming!

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FRUIT GUILD

Yarrow and sneezeweed are it.

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Hope to see you back in the garden in May 2024! (or in November if I post a few mums)

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. (She’s in USDA hardiness zone 6a in Indiana and I’m in zone 4b/5a in New Hampshire.)