What's blooming in October?

October seems like such a lackluster month for flowers. Everything's browning, shutting down, or becoming bare.

And really, everyone is looking at the trees and their glorious colors anyway.

But walking around I was surprised to find quite a few things still blooming and some that got a second wind when the rains started again after months of only sporadic watering (hey, I tried...).




There's the pink Japanese Anemone that my friend, Julie, gave me that came from her grandmother's garden.

I had never grown these before and I have fallen in LOVE with them. They start blooming the end of August and go until the end of October with lovely, delicate blooms that are quite a departure from the big dahlias and mums more typical of the fall season.

I have repeated them throughout the garden and have even added a white one.




The white Nicotania that fairly glows at night has been going nonstop from July after reseeding from a planting from the year before.

I hope it reseeds again. Sometimes it's so hard to find these old-fashioned cottage-garden plants at the garden centers in spring. It's usually just the dwarf varieties (what is it with the dwarf varieties? All I seem to be able to find are little cosmos, little dahlias, and little snapdragons when I want the good old big kind...).




Here's the last rose I found blooming, looking a little worse for wear, but blooming, nonetheless. It's an David Austin English rose I found at an end of season sale for $3.99 (normally $19.99!). I bought four of them even after I had sworn off buying roses- I just can't resist the old-fashioned multi-petals and sweet scent.

Plus I had holes I needed to fill.

I always have holes I need to fill. I don't know what my garden life would be like without holes to fill.




Not really a flower and not really blooming, but I had to throw in the Japanese Maple turning this brilliant shade of red.

Here's one plant that burst into bloom after the fall rains came- a Fairy Rose, one of my all-time favorite roses for beauty and easy-care. You don't even have to deadhead these if you don't want. My kind of rose.

Except it does get blackspot.

But everything gets blackspot in Oregon.




The Fleabane just sort of held on by the skin of it's teeth (leaves?) during August and then breathed a sigh of relief when the water became regular again and looks full and wonderful.

Really, I felt like I was watering all the time. Sheesh.

I've lost some tender annuals to frost, but this Victoria Salvia is on the north side of the house, so is still going strong.

I really should have put a mum in this planter on the porch with all the pumpkins, but this impatien is still green and blooming.

Well, it's only three blooms, but who's counting?




I leave you with this anomaly: one of the few tall cosmos I found and planted along the fence of the vegetable garden with all the dwarf ones that seem so plentiful. The dwarfs have all turned brown and dead, and this baby is lush and blooming it's head off.

Who knew?

I really need to remember to grow these from seed this year.

-Jami