Monday, September 15, 2014

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - September 2014 The Big Chill

What happened to summer?

That's what everyone is saying this morning here in the Binghamton, New York area.  Friday, it didn't even get out of the 50's F (15 Celsius). 

But thankfully, we did not have a frost, unlike some other parts of upstate New York.  In fact, I woke up to a temperature of 50 F (10 Celsius) and it was such a relief.

That allows me to go out and enjoy my outdoor garden, knowing it is safe from frost for at least a few more days.  I hope.

Right now, these are blooming in my garden.

White marigold.

Yellow dahlia. (My first year growing this, and I already forgot the name of the variety. Its lovely foliage is tinged with purple).

Our garlic chives have been bountiful this year.  In the background you can see the red dahlias a late friend gave me some 20 years ago.  20 years of digging and replanting, and this may well be their best year ever.


Red and orange geraniums, side by side.

This year, we have a mum that overwintered and is blooming!  This picture was years in the making.  Hardy mums are becoming more popular in our upstate New York area, and one local nursery that sells these does not charge that much more than for the greenhouse varieties that never survive our zone 5b winters.  So, we bought two more this year, from Sticks and Stones Gardens.
We bought this unnamed flower plant at Wegmans (a New York based supermarket chain) yesterday morning.  There were a lot of plants for sale Saturday.  Sunday, there was this lonely specimen.  It will be going into our front yard near the mums.  I wonder if these are Michaelmas daisies but I will call them asters. I'm sure one of my readers will correct me if I'm wrong.


Pink petunias.
Our first Japanese Anemone flower,opening up just in time for GBBD.  This white breaks up all the red and pink we seem to favor.

And, for one last pink flower, sedum.  It's coloring up nicely.

It won't be long until these plants are covered in snow, while the ice cold air whips around them while they sleep. The cold start to today was only a sneak preview of what is to come.

Thank you again, May Dream Gardens, for hosting this monthly 15th of the month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme. If you like flowers, come join us and see what is blooming all over the world.

Anything blooming in your house or yard?

11 comments:

  1. I love seeing the flowers in your garden: so lovely! You must have a big garden with so many varieties or else it seems like it. I only grew some organic cilantro - I used to hate it and now I love it! ;) <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful flowers! Thank you so much for this! I too have resolved to bring fresh flowers into my home every week for the winter time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What great pictures and beautiful variety. Would love to see a picture of your garden as a whole, must be beautiful. I wish some of those cooler temps would find their way to my home in Santa Barbara, CA. Unseasonably warm here but my garden is beautiful right now with 3 colors of hibiscus, plumeria and lantana in full bloom.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Goodness, well that is chilly for mid-September. We're still warm here in Austin, but softening up. Your blooms are lovely-the asters, the sedum and the garlic chives--ours are just finishing up. Happy blooms to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Alana

    Gosh - I always lose myself in your land of colors! #HUGSSS

    The temperatures have plummeted in Chicago too :-( I am not looking forward to snow, sleet and sweaters ;) , BUT the only silver lining is that we are going to move to a new home. lol

    As for gardening, gosh, I am horrible with plants, but my husband is a hobbyist. Our roses were blooming last week... :D

    Keep drawing us into your vibrant world #HUGS

    Much love
    Kitto

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your White Marigold caught my eye. I decided last month that I should grow white Marigolds next year. You are probably too young to remember when Burpee offered a large sum of money for a pure white marigold. I don't think it happened.

    Thank you for visiting my site so I could find your blog, full of so many interesting things and ideas.

    It looks as if you've visited Georgia and discovered Camellias. They'll be in bloom by Thanksgiving, the early C. sasanqua. The prettier C. japonica tribe will start after Christmas. They come in some wonderful pinks, too..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, the flowers in your garden are marvelous. How much freshness they must be spreading.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dahlias can be a lot of work.. 20 years digging and replanting.. it looks like you've been well rewarded. They are a gorgeous colour.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I bought an aster this year that looks very much like yours, and its label calls it 'Dragon Improved.' At least one website I consulted calls it Michaelmas Daisy as well. That yellow Dahlia is gorgeous. I've seen so many beautiful Dahlias on other people's sites that I'm convinced I must try to grow some myself. Do you know if woodchucks like them, though? Always the first question I must ask!

    And yes, where did summer go? I don't regret having relatively little really hot weather this year, but I'm not ready to go cold just yet! -- Kimberley

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such beautiful flowers....Oh so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Goodness gracious, what a lovely garden!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me, and I appreciate each one. These comments are moderated, so they may not post for several hours. If you are spam, you will find your comments in my compost heap, where they will finally serve a good purpose.