Friday, November 4, 2011

And Then There Was One

 

With a little warm up or Indian Summer weather this week a final  cleanup of the garden beds and other chores were taken care of.


Nov3,_Geranuim

The last of the leaves were raked from the beds and mowed up in the yard. All except for the Oak leaves which will continue to blow in from the woods  and deposit themselves onto the front porch through the rest of Fall and into Winter.They always manage to end up on the front porch or into the small pond. Oak leaves take forever to break up and I complain about them every Fall.


Nov3_Iceberg

The roses were all trimmed back all except for a couple that still have one bloom or bud hanging on. I did not have the heart to cut them off even if they were a little tattered from some hungry insects.

Nov3_Crimson  The dahlia’s were cut off and the bulbs taken into the basement to overwinter until next Spring.
 Nov3_Argyranthemum_ButterflyYellow
The argyranthemum Butterfly Yellow survived the frosts.

The chrysanthemums that were bought for Fall decoration and color had fizzled out so they were taken from their pots and since they were hardy mums I planted them into the flowerbeds.

Nov3_Phlox_Nicky 
And I saw a few of just “one”  late blooms as I was cleaning up the garden. Even the phlox gave me one more bloom before winter.

Nov3_Shasta_Bug There was only one more deformed and small Becky Shasta Daisy to be found. And one strange bug resting on it.

Nov3_Gaillardia_Bee
There were a few blooms on the Mesa Gaillardia left yet but I only saw one Bumblebee laying on this bloom. It was either sleeping in the sun or drunk on the pollen because it never moved as I worked around it.

Nov_PH_Anemone There was one more opened bloom from the Prince Henry anemones but there are still some buds. If a freeze does not ruin them there should be a few more blooms from it.

IMG_0045

The Impatiens were cooked by the frosts so they were all jerked from the Tipsy Pots and the pots were covered for the winter to keep them from cracking.

Copy (1) of FairyGarden
The gnome and fairy garden was put away. These little things would get lost in the snow. Cannot have them getting a chill. LOL!
The Burgundy Glow Ajuga and Irish Moss will be fine.
The Grape Hyacinths are a little mixed up and were trying to come up in the little garden around the Irish moss.
 

Nov3_Geranium2 A couple of the pelargonium's that remained had just one bloom left on them.

Nov3_RT_Echinacea3 
The Raspberry Truffle Echinacea refuses to give into the frosts and cold mornings and is still putting on buds and blooming.

Nov3_RT_EchinaceaAnd for my own record keeping I planted Wednesday:
5 Purple Rooster Monarda
5 Rosy Returns Lilies
5 Shelford pink Foxtail Lilies
5 Nicky Phlox
5 Franz Schubert Phlox
5 Red Jewel Hemeniums
1 Harvest Moon Echinacea

Zinnia_Zahara_SRose The Starlight Rose zinnias grown from seeds saved from last years are looking washed out and giving up for the season.

Today is Fertilizer Friday so do not forget to “Flaunt You Flowers”
with our gal Glenda at  ”Tootsie Time”.

Fertilizer_Friday 

The rain barrel was drained and covered for the winter.
So the garden is bedded in for the winter for the most part and this old gardeners back is aching. LOL!

It is late Autumn now when even one bloom seems like a bouquet to us.

Have you got all your Fall gardening chores done?

Everyone have a great weekend &
Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

 

24 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I loved seeing your plants giving you last blooms before winter settles there for you. That echinacea and the zinnia were fantastic. Ones I haven't seen.

Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

myomyohi said...

Hello,
I will be doing mine this weekend. It is so windy today it's kinda cold, and I'm trying to get motivated to go out in the wind and get started. Loved seeing your last blooms. Time to start dreaming of next years plants.

Enjoy your weekend.
Myra

Patsy said...

I have been putting off cleaning the flower bed.The color in what flowers or left are fading fast and gone to seed. Need to plant the pansies now.

Darla said...

I've been reading a lot of posts where bloggers are getting the gardens and garden art ready for snow....the blooms you showed today are so, so pretty.

Diana LaMarre said...

It sounds like your gardedn is all set for winter.

I have not gotten all my chores done, but I have done as much as I am going to. The rest will wait until spring.

I feel good as I did more this fall than I did last year, so spring cleanup won't be too bad.

Kathleen said...

Oh I'm SO jealous for the blooms you do have Lona ~ all of mine were gone after our first snowstorm. After two bigs snows I'm already feeling like it's been winter forever. I think it's going to be a long five months ahead...
Glad you got most of your gardening chores done. I will have raking to do whenever the leaves come off the trees. Instead of turning color, they froze to black and are now hanging there really ugly looking! :-(

BernieH said...

Your garden is still showing some lovely blooms, albeit light in numbers. I can never get enough of that beautiful Raspberry Truffle Echinacea,nor those Starlight Rose Zinnias. Both are just gorgeous. It's always fascinating learning about how some gardeners need to put gardens to bed for the winter. I'm glad to see that you've still got a few blooms left to enjoy.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It's so nice to have some flowers still blooming. I noticed one last pink Phlox yesterday.
Fall chores will be going on for awhile still. Most trees haven't lost their leaves yet and I still have lots of perennials to cut down, more bulbs to plant, lots to rake up. I'll probably be going until December.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Lona, your blooms are great. We are supposed to get some snow flurries next week. I am afraid that this is the goodbye kiss to most of my plantings.

Eileen

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Glad you shared those final blooms. Your tipsy pots are very nice. I only stack 4 but I think your wider, shorter pots are a great idea. Maybe I need to switch out the pot size.

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Lots to be done in fall but I think the chores are as satisfying as the ones in spring.
One year we had an early snowfall and freeze before I could get the rain barrel emptied and it cracked.

Karen said...

Lona, I wish I could say we had this beast ready for winter! It sure does take a long time to wrap this all up, especially when we get the bright idea to transplant a 15 foot tall tree this afternoon. (I know, just what we don't need, another GADS job....we sure have problems staying on task, don't we?)

Isn't it hard to take off those last blooms? It almost seems like a sin, for far too long we'll be seeing nothing but white. And I've seen some really strange insects here too, almost like someone made them from spare parts from other bugs, lol.

Well, Saturday looks like good weather yet, so Carl and I will have to quit goofing around with moving trees and back to yanking plants out, pronto!

joene said...

You have so many more blossoms than I. Last weekend's snow took care of all but the tip of one rose and a few lingering phlox. This weekend, with the weather a bit more hospitable, we are doing fall chores as well.

sweetbay said...

Your gnome and fairy garden is so cute! I love your Starlight Rose Zinnias. They are beautiful.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Our flowers are..well..not well. They look crushed and beaten after a long and very hot summer..and now the high winds and heavy rains.
Poor things.
Not even nice enough to put in Friday's Fertilizer Friday. :(

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

My poor beds are a mess..to hot and dry and now soaking muddy mess. I can't seem to win! Soon though, I will out and get them done..YOur flowers are just beautiful!
You are such a sweetie for stopping by and visiting me! :)
Mona

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

Lona, I was working out in the garden today and thinking that there were a lot of flowers with just one final spurt. How funny that you would write about it. Have you had the Raspberry Truffle for a while? I haven't had luck with fancy echinaceas, but I think this style is better than the singles. What do you think?

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Lona,
Wait a minute while I go turn shut off my rain barrel that I am hoping is empty after it watered the herb garden.

OK, I'm back. Since it was almost empty, I decided to leave it on. I seem to only have enough time to do a few outdoor things at a time. I am making some progress, but there is still a lot to do.

I enjoyed seeing your last blooms and insects of the season. I was wondering what that strange one was. Some of the plants would go on and on if the winter didn't stop them.

Enjoy your extra hour tonight!

Masha said...

You have done a lot in your garden, and I am sure you will rewarded next year. I started pruning too, it is a bit early but I won't be able to finish if I delay. I am glad you found so many beautiful blooms to take pictures of, thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You are doing good preparing for the frosty weather, plus planting. I was out today doing a bit, but so much needs to be done, and my yard is little.

Shirley said...

What a wonderful bouquet you have there, Lona! Your garden tidy/work sounds very impressive too. Must get out into my garden soon :-)

Ah… sleepy Bumblebees have been spotted on ivy flowers here, they’ve been very popular with a wide range of insects. Thanks for stopping by my blog, enjoy the rest of your weekend :-D

Splendid Little Stars said...

It's amazing how the warmish weather has kept some thing still blooming. I have rose still blooming and a lone daylily.

Alistair said...

Mostly everything going to sleep Lona, a few pleasant surprises though. alistair

Phillip Oliver said...

Maybe our blooms will last a few more weeks. Great photos!