Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2018

Recent rains have kept me and my camera out of the garden but this morning the sun came out and I was finally able to get out and record some of what is growing - some of it even blooming - in my garden this September.



No blooms here. The muscadine grapes are well on their way to ripening and the mockingbirds keep close watch on them. The purple ones don't last long.



The Duranta erecta sports its "golden dewdrops" - at least the ones the birds haven't got to yet.


My little Satsuma tree is heavily loaded with fruit.



And so are the purple beautyberry shrubs.



The 'Pride of Barbados' still has a few blooms.



But most of its blooms have already matured and ripened into seeds. The shrub is full of these "beans" and if I don't remove them, my yard will be full of little volunteer 'Pride' shrubs next year.

All of these plants with their loads of fruit say that summer is ending and autumn is almost here. And not a moment too soon for me.


The little 'Pinball' gomphrenas have been covered in little pink blooms all summer long.



Salvia farinacea (blue salvia) has come on strong in the last couple of weeks.



This fuchsia-colored angelonia has perked up, too, since the temperatures have moderated a bit.



My coral vine harbored dreams of world domination and threatened to start by covering my backyard this summer. I had to cut it back severely about a month ago to discourage its over-exuberance and that caused it to pause in blooming for a while, but it has stopped its pouting now and is beginning to bloom again.



'Big Momma' Turk's Cap has many, many blooms, a boon to the passing hummingbirds.



I find the blossoms of porterweed quite weird in appearance, but that doesn't bother the butterflies which love them.



And next to the porterweed is a plant beloved by bees - basil.



My crape myrtles are winding down but they still have a few watermelon-colored blooms.



The almond verbena, on the other hand, shows no signs of winding down. It is covered in these sweetly scented blossoms.



The tropical milkweed carries a few blooms and I occasionally see Monarch butterflies visiting them but I've yet to see any eggs or caterpillars this year.



The bronze fennel is blooming, too, and I planted it mostly for the swallowtail butterflies that use it as a host plant, but I've seen no caterpillars munching on the plant.



A pretty pink waterlily bloom is mostly hidden by overarching leaves.



The wedelia has loved our rather wet summer and has responded with a growth spurt and a bloom spurt.



Purple oxalis in its pot on the patio has a few blooms.



The tiny blooms of Tradescantia 'purple heart' go mostly unnoticed.



This lantana has been a magnet for butterflies recently. Naturally, there were none around when I went to take this picture.


The blue plumbago took a long time to hit its stride this year, but lately it has been looking happier.


The Hamelia patens is ablaze with blooms, food for the hummingbirds.



Nearby, a few of these daylilies still bloom.



Like many of the plants in my garden, the pentas are showing the stress of our long summer but they still bravely send out their blooms.


All over the garden, the fungi are on the march!


These little mushrooms growing next to one of the weed-choked beds in my resting vegetable garden look almost good enough to eat. Hmm...



This is yet another type of fungi,  seen half in shade from the redbud tree and half in bright sun.



And then there are these interesting little guys growing near the north side of the house. I wish I were more knowledgable about fungi and could actually identify all of these mushrooms.



Finally, this bromeliad was supposed to be a houseplant, but then my naughty cats chewed every single leaf on the plant! And then threw it all up, of course.  I decided the only way to save the poor plant was to send it out into the world, so it now sits near my front door entry.

One week until fall starts. I am ready!

Thank you for visiting my garden this month. And thank you, Carol of May Dreams Gardens, as always.

Happy Bloom Day!

Comments

  1. It's always a treat to visit your garden. Some flowers I know right off, but a lot are different from ours, which makes it more fun. You really have a lot of fungi. I remember one time I tried to grow blue salvia (bought a plant at a plant show in Charleston, South Carolina) and, needless to say, it didn't come back the following year. But I know there are some hardy in my zone, so maybe we'll see.

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    1. The fungi have really popped up in response to all the rain we've had. There are SO many different varieties of salvia. I'm sure there must be some that would be hardy in upstate New York.

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  2. Lots and lots of wonderful blooms! And I enjoyed the mushroom photos, too
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

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    Replies
    1. Mushrooms are fascinating to me. I need to apply myself to learn more about them.

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  3. Your garden, as usual, is glorious! :-) My favorites are the crepe myrtle, the purple beautyberries, the purple oxalis leaves, and the waterlily.

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  4. The mushrooms are not bad looking either, and you are right, they look good enough to eat. ;-)

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    1. They do look yummy, but since I don't know what's poisonous and what isn't, I guess I won't tempt Fate!

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  5. I am not familiar with porterweed. It's a beautiful color. I looked it up and it's not for my growing zone. I love the fungi photos. Whenever I see any I have to destroy them in case the dogs try to eat them. Dogs can be stupid that way! I would never eat a mushroom not purchased at a store or restaurant! But, then again, I don't eat mushrooms, they taste like dirt to me! They are so pretty though.

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    Replies
    1. I don't have dogs so I let the mushrooms do their thing because I do find them so interesting. I'm with you though - I would never eat one unless I bought it in a grocery store. I'm not that adventurous!

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  6. Hello Dorothy, most of your plants grow also here in my climate. I haven't observed birds here eating the duranta berries, or maybe they have more choices. I didn't go home this weekend coz of the strong typhoon, so not able to have photos of both my hoyas and butterflies around.

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    Replies
    1. The news from Luzon as it is lashed by Typhoon Mangkhut is very distressing. So many lives lost already... Stay safe.

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  7. My garden is also filled with wild mushroom growth after heavy rains every year,love the muscari grapes they are drool worthy.

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  8. You have captured the look of summer ending and fall beginning so beautifully as usual. Due to a lovely August of almost continuous days in the 80s with decent humidity, my yard looks better than it usually does this time of year.

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    Replies
    1. You can feel the seasons beginning to change and see it in the change of light.

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  9. Our cat does the same thing to house plants. We've stopped trying and just have hanging plants and terrariums right now.

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    Replies
    1. Hanging plants and terrariums are just about the only viable options.

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  10. Your garden is so colorful for September Dorothy and I love your muscadine grapes! Everything looks fabulous. I even like your new mushroom inhabitants and I agree that it would be fun to learn more about them, especially with all their interesting shapes and sizes! Happy Bloom Day and almost Fall!

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    Replies
    1. I'm definitely going to make an effort to learn more about those mushrooms. I have quite a diversity of them in my yard at the moment.

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  11. I am loving all the blooms in your garden! The tropical milkweed and pride of Barbados are beautiful!

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