A little autumn in doors...

 The  Bonsai  in full autumnal glory !  Indoors for the day.

Physalis peruviana

Physalis peruviana or Cape gooseberry in my sunroom. Still blooming away ! It's been out doors all  summer.  I did get a few fruit to pick and eat. I don't think these will come to anything though. 

A few small fruit forming, they need plenty of heat and water .

I adopted these two plants from my neighbor last year , they were quite small .  I really don't know how big they get , or if I need to cut them back ? 

Here is the other one . I can see many little blooms ! I'll have to wait and see how they get along in the  winter . I don't usually heat the room unless it get really freezing cold. But I might  have to treat them to a blast of the heater if they keep pushing out the blooms .

A Few October blooms …

Mickey and  I made our way round the garden ,  before our PNW stormy week arrived .   Nicotiana  Slyvestris is aways the last late summer bloomer.

Another late bloomer 'Plectranthus kameba' is much happier this time of year. I have to  given this one plenty of water  to keep it from wilting in the heat . 

Persicaria 'blackfield'  the earliest and best Persicaria bloomer , for me anyway !

Aster 'Monte casino white'  the last aster to bloom.

When I started  this garden it was Cosmos, Cosmos every where. Then they seemed  to disappear….welcome back !

Mahonia 'soft caress 

I've been enjoying this combination of Carex 'blue zinger' and Cyclamen for weeks.   Some how  it survives despite  it being a favorite spot for the dogs to snooze on top of all summer. 

A climbing Petunia I grew from seed this year. 

And finally an early  spring time visiter . This Primula likes  to give me a surprise  visit  this time of year !
Happy Bloom day ! Thank you Carol and  more blooms here, 

October in the garden...

I can't complain about bare patches this year , at least not in the back garden. All the plants that have been suffering all   through  the late summer  with the drying wind and little water . Are enjoying the cooler temperatures  and rain fall .

This is when I would normally start moving plants around. But I think I'll wait till spring .

The front garden is looking far more autumnal . It's the Hamamelis ,which has been changing color all summer, depending how stressed  they get with the wind and the heat. Last year  they  had a sudden leaf drop really early , so I've been giving them an extra spritz of water.
The Guara's have grown and grown. Why I  thought five, planted at the front was a good idea .They were  were only tiny two years ago. Next spring I'll move them further back. They do look nice with the Erigerons though... 

It's Autumn ...

I 've been meaning to do Autumn  post , but I've had, not a... terrible cold, but a lingering…not a lot of energy  …first cold of the season. So, I 've been just lazily enjoying these last days of September.   

September gardener's bloom day

It's Asters , Asters and more Aster's this month !

September in the garden ...

The garden has been looking Autumnal for weeks. I 've been watering and dead heading and cutting back and adding new plants … trying to keep things looking fresh .

A week of good rain fall  and cooler temperatures. The garden has perked up ! I am  finally  going to dig out the gigantic Oregano clump hanging over the driveway on the left. It is smothering everything . 

The TALL back border has held up with very little water . This is probably the hardest driest soil in the garden , they seem to love it.

One of my most difficult areas to fill in , under the Santa Rosa Plum tree. It's shady most of the day . Then it gets a blast of late sun.  I've dug up and moved so many unhappy plants this summer . I've now filled it with : Euphorbia 'Blackbird', Aster 'prince', Panicum' Shenandoah' ,  as many  purple  Geraniums  as I can find and anything of the purpley dark foliaged sort. I might throw in a Eucomis' sparkling burgundy if I can find one.  

The former front lawn has been another tricky area. I'm still trying out plants .  When it was just a big area of grass , I never noticed how the wind blasted through.  I've got three Hemmamelis planted in here , hopefully a bit of a wind break! And low plants in the most exposed area .

The former Vinca major corner. Has been coming along nicely. I've been tugging out hand fulls of sedum ground cover as other plants fill in. There is still a LOT of sedum , which turns a frothy pink when in bloom.

The shade or not that shady area got awfully crispy this year, I've had to move a few things. This calls for a major replant . I blame my neighbors ... hacking down the tree that used to shade this area better.
So now to get on with it !