Oops! Another Bloom Day Got Past Me

Once again, I missed Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the 15th. But since I still have plenty of plants putting on a show in my outdoor garden, I thought I would post some pictures anyway.

From the front yard:

This Rubeckia hirta, which has been in its second bloom cycle of the year for more than a month, has acquired a white ring on the petals as it ages.

Chysanthemum cultivar. I love the orange color.

More Chrysanthemums, which have flopped over a bit. Next year, I might try to keep them trimmed back early in the year ("knee high until the fourth of July") to produce more upright, compact plants. Besides, the cuttings root easily, so I'll have more plants.

A solitary late Lychnis coronaria bloom

We have a new bed in the backyard, which has been a couple of years in the making. Our yard is sloped, so my husband built a retaining wall so that we could have a level bed in this area. However, getting it finished and planted hasn't been our priority until recently. So for about a year, anytime I repotted or discarded a plant, the old potting mix got dumped into the bed. Then when we did decide to finish, we added bagged soil, peat and compost, and Bob tilled everything together with the native soil. The result is a rich, but looser planting medium than the heavy black clay soil on the rest of our property. That, combined with a warm fall, has resulted in fast growth and reblooming of plants that might normally have been done for the season. This is especially gratifying, since along with the fresh new perennials, I purchased some rather ragged discount plants in August, and I wasn't expecting much from them until next year.

From the backyard:

Sedum 'Autumn Fire'

Gallardia x grandiflora 'Dazzler' with some Nepeta x faassenii 'Blue Wonder' (Catmint) on the left.

Another shot of the Gaillardia

Salvia 'May Night,' still going strong in October. I only wish that my Salvia plants out front were this prolific.

Another view of the Salvia, showing part of the wall that Bob built

The Salvia, Nepeta and Gaillardia have been attracting lots and lots of bees for the past few weeks. My stepson Dave, who is my go-to guy for insect identification, tells me that they are honeybees, which makes me happy and hopeful.