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Friday, October 10, 2014

Some Fall Blooms and Veggies, October 11, 2014

Welcome to my Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post, in addition to the flowers shown are blooming a Fuchsia 'David', Dahlia, Coreopsis 'Sunburst', Geranium 'Rozanne', Strawberry 'Pink Panda', and Persicaria affinis, which I will be sharing next week.

Today I am linking with-

Guest Heart Thursday hosted by Clytie of Random Hearts

Orange you Glad it's Friday hosted by Maria

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Magical Mystical Teacher

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day hosted by Carol

As part of my Continuous Bloom series, I'm featuring some plants blooming now.   One of the best perennials in my garden for fall bloom is Anemone tomentosa.

A double form-


Anemone hupehensis var. japonica-

Another welcome fall bloomer is the Chrysanthemum-

Taking cuttings from mums in the fall is easy, they root great in water, then I can keep then indoors over winter to plant out the next year.  

Surprise late nasturtium-

Another welcome surprise was to find that a plant I grew last year that I thought didn't make it this year is blooming.   It is Conoclinum (Eupatorium) coelestinum, Blue Mistflower-  

It has wispy flowers that are a lot like the annual Ageratum 'Blue Diamond' I grew this year.  I hope the Ageratum will reseed next year outdoors.  I'm going to cast some seed about as well as start more indoors-

Okra doesn't do well here because it needs more heat, but I am growing a couple of varieties in pots this year.  Hill Country is short and fat-

Bowling Red is long and skinny,  the flower has a deep red stigma-

  The flower seems rather small.   When I was 4 I was in awe of the giant Okra plants my grandfather grew in South Carolina, standing over my head with beautiful large blooms like moons.   I love Okra, I like the flavor and the mucilaginous texture.  Maybe someday I can find a variety that will like it here.

Some of the Broccoli Raab is starting to bloom.   I am running out of the warm season vegetables so we will be having these a lot.

This is a woolly bear caterpillar of the Isabella Tiger moth, a beautiful moth and one of several Tiger moths that live in my yard, though since they are night-flying I rarely see them.  It is curled up in a soft plushy ball.
I hope fall is becoming an increasingly colorful and restful season for you.   Hannah

                                                    or cameras are macro

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.   I enjoy visiting your blog and leaving a comment, but I can't if Google+ is the only choice, so I will comment here.

67 comments:

  1. I saw an albino wooly bear the other day. Kinda cool. Don't you love fall flowers? I tried growing the perennial Ageratum but it likes really moist soil, I discovered this after I let it dry out and die. Darn it. :) The pastel color of your nasturtium looks like a painting, just gorgeous.

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  2. Thanks, Grace, I've seen the albino or blond woolly bears too. I love the Tiger moths, they are so beautiful. I enjoy the fall flowers since so many others have quit. The surviving Blue Mistflower is right next to my hose bib which is pretty much a bog. I guess that's why that one made it while the other 3 or 4 in dry places did not.

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  3. Nice picture, I love those flowers, a wonderful place!

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    1. Thanks, Leovi, it's fun to have flowers still for a while.

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  4. Lovely specimens...especially love the caterpillar♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/play-time/

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    1. Thanks, Laurie, at least it held still for photos all rolled up instead of trying to crawl away.

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  5. Your pictures are always so lovely. Thanks for sharing, and have a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Linda, I'm glad you like the flowers. It's great to hold onto summer a little longer.

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  6. The nasturtium is stunning, almost a painting, I can see that on a card, calendar, or the wall, Beautiful, And" woolly" , that is something I haven't seen down here. Cheers,Jean.

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  7. Thanks, Jean, it does have a subtle color and texture, almost like porcelain. I guess there may not be many Tiger moths in New Zealand.

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  8. Your wolly bear caterpillar is amazing, almost steals the show! But I also admire your nasturtium it is a paler, more delicate colour than the ones I am used to. I would love to have broccoli growing in the garden like that, I could munch it straight from the plant!
    Have a lovely weekend.
    Wren x

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    1. Thanks, Wren, I encountered the woolly bear plus another and some cutworms while mattocking a weedy strip I am planting grass on. The nasturtium is among other yellow, red and orange ones from a packet of 'Alaska' variegated ones,

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  9. Hello Hanna, your flowers are just beautiful. So many pretty colors.. Neat capture of the wooly caterpillar. Thank you for linking up to my critter party.. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, I may be running out of critters soon.

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  10. I LOVE Japanese anemones. Mine have almost finished blooming now but yours are still very lovely! I haven't seen any wooly caterpillars yet this year but I kow they must be out there. ;)

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    1. The fall anemones are amazing, and also the small spring Anemone nemorosa's. It's strange, I've never seen a small woolly bear. I was reading that they live through the winter and actually freeze solid, before pupating in the spring.

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  11. A lovely series of photos. Beautiful flowers and the caterpillar is very interesting. Thank you for sharing and wishing you a very happy weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Denise, I'm glad I still have flowers to share. Thanks for hosting!

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  12. Wonderful flowers. I love the anemones. The hairy caterpillar is very cute. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Gunilla, the anemones really put on a show all fall. I liked your cute frog.

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  13. Lovely blooms! We are seeing fall colors in Virginia.

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    1. Thanks, Linda, leaves are just beginning to turn colors here.

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  14. Those anemones are just beautiful! As are the other flowers including the asters and mums! I have always loved okra flowers, too. Nice post! Cute little fuzzy caterpillar as well.

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    1. Thanks, Marie, I'm always working on covering all the seasons better, so I'm happy to have a lot blooming, but the asters I planted last year did not return, and some I started from seed didn't bloom this year but may hopefully bloom next year.

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  15. A literal botanical garden. The japanese anemones are my favorites.

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    1. Thanks, Stan, I think I couldn't leave a comment on your blog. I enjoyed the art, the Gottlieb painting reminds me of Klee, and the Anuskiewicz one does cool things if I move the cursor up and down rapidly.;-)

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  16. So beautiful flowers! Great photos Hannah!

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    1. Thanks, Birgitta, I enjoy your great macro photography.

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  17. Hello Hannah, from your photos I am thinking that you live on the rainy side of the state. I live on the desert side. I am always looking for answers to gardening questions and trying to find the perfect plants to grow in our hot and dry summers. We just purchased a small country place and have plenty of room for growing. This was out first year to have a garden and it has been wonderful. I'm delighted to have found your blog.
    Your new blogging sister,
    Connie :)
    P.S. I'm sure that I can learn a lot for you :)

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    1. We had hot and dry summer here, not as extreme as yours, I just looked at Wenatchee, 7 days above 100ºF! I couldn't seem to get much of my 2 acres watered this summer, so many of the plants languished, but most left are survivors, I've lost a lot of plants over the years. I find the best are the naturally occurring plants and ephemerals that start out in the late winter and bloom early then disappear in the heat of summer. A lot of biennials also fit into the wet-dry season pattern as well. And then I'm always on the lookout for plants that can deal with drought. I'm about to do my selections for seeds to start under lights in late November, I did that last year and did get some blooms this year as a result. I am particularly looking for annuals and perennials that can take heat and drought. I learn a lot from Shirley Fox's rockoakdeer.blogspot.com in San Antonio, though I think the soil is different here, being acid, so the same plants do not necessarily work, plus it gets colder here. I don't get to E. Washington much but we did go there in late June one year and there were lots of wildflowers blooming. Great to meet you, Hugs! I would be interested in plants tough enough to make it for you.

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  18. White anemones with yellow center are my favorite flowers in autumn. They are in bloom now where I live, too.
    Thank you for sharing beautiful photos.

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  19. Thanks, Romi, I've seen the white ones, and your white ones, but I don't have them yet. I was given the ones I have by a friend. I enjoyed your Japanese kanji names for them.

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  20. Anemones are one of my favourites too. Lovely to see them bloom so rich in autumn when everything else are going to sleep. Have a nice week.

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    1. Thanks, Jannibele, I notice a lot of people putting them on their blogs for fall bloom, they must do well in lots of places.

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  21. Wonderful sequence of beautiful flowers.

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  22. Hello Dearest Hannah; Wow, you really have GREAT collection of plants (haha, naturally for your status). As for the flowers, I just knew Chrysanthemum and Anemone p;-) And when I checked the word 'stigma', I was surprised that it has botanical meaning. Very Unique wooly caterpilla with curled up in a soft plushy ball♡♡♡

    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Thanks, Miyako, that is so sweet! Perhaps some native plants here have not made it to Japan. Hugs and lots of love to you, too.

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  23. Hi! Beautiful colection of many flower photos! I like the blue diamond very much. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, Minoru, I'm not done with the Ageratums, there are a bunch more I may try to grow.

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  24. What lovely shots from your fall garden.

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    1. Thanks, Pat, I hope to have some asters blooming next year too.

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  25. You're so lucky to be surrounded by all that. This was the first year at our new house, on 2 acres we were excited about, and the grasshoppers stripped away everything. I really miss having a beautiful garden. There's nothing like it.

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  26. When we moved into our 2 acres there were many grasshoppers. I suppose some free-ranging chickens or guinea fowl would take care of them for you, but I caught them by hand by squirting them with the hose and making them too cold to jump, then I fed them to my chickens, and after a couple of summers of that they disappeared, years later I finally saw just a few now.

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  27. Replies
    1. Thanks, Christian, I'm glad to extend the blooms into fall.

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  28. Love your anemones. The only ones left blooming here are the doubles. I love them best.

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    1. Thanks, Donna, last year I tried multiplying them by taking root cuttings, I think it was February 2013, they made little plants and most are still alive, some are even blooming. It will take a few years for them to make big clumbs.

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    2. I need to do more root cuttings and move plants around. Thanks for reminding me Hannah!

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  29. Hi Hannah, thanks for visiting my site with your kind words. I love also the way you creatively chose styles of flowers to shoot, as in that heartshaped group of ageratum. It made me smile. You have lovely shots too. Sorry for your okra, they are happy here in the tropics, and we can grow them all year round.

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    1. Thanks, I really enjoy your tropical gardens and plants, the Hoyas are sensational. But I have to content myself with the plants that will grow here, and have a couple of Hoyas indoors.

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  30. OMG, Hannah ... your post is such a treat: ♥

    I'm deeply in love with those blue clusters of Conoclinum ... never saw this plant before and wonder if it would grow in Germany.

    BTW: The mysterious patterns in the grass *lol* are 'foot'made. I had an idea about pathes in the garden ... told my husband about it ... so we stepped out into the garden at 7 AM and pet the dew with our feet. Afterwards I went upstairs and took some pics to see if these ideas would work.

    Hugs of love for the week!
    Petra

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    1. Thanks, Petra, the Blue Mistflower is a native American plant, and was not very reliable for me, from 5 plants last year only one finally returned this year and is still very small, it is planted by my hose bib so practically sitting in water. The annual Ageratum flowers are practically identical and there are a number of varieties, some short like 'Blue Diamond' and some tall like Blue Planet or one I saw in a nursery but can't remember the name. My Blue Diamonds are still blooming like crazy in pots. I'm going to grow more varieties next year. I do see some people in other countries growing some American wildflowers though. I'm trying a couple of other Eupatoriums now, I will see if they can develope into anything here. Most are native in the E. USA where there is not acid soil and dry summers like here.

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  31. Thanks, Felicia, I'm enjoying the cooler weather of fall. And tonight starts a longer period of rain, I was racing to get a large area cleared of old vegetable bed rows choked with lots of weeds to plant grass seeds, and just got them planted at dark.

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  32. That blue mist flower has lovely color and shape.

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    1. Thanks, Abrianna, I had given up on it and then saw it blooming. Maybe it can get bigger next year.

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  33. Many thanks Hannah for dropping by my blog and leaving sweet comments! Sorry I am not a regular blogger and it might soon get worse... :(
    You seem to be very busy linking to so many blogs, congratulations for this attendance!
    Lovely bloom you are showing us!
    Keep well!

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    1. Thanks, Noushka, all the links do take some time to visit people. The international blogging scene keeps growing. I appreciate learning some more French from your blog and I'm in love with your beautiful dainty Kingfisher.

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  34. Wonderful flowers! Gorgeous shots!

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    1. Thanks, Mary, I'm enjoying them while I can. I'm hoping for a long fall.

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  35. Thanks for the information on, and lovely photos of, Okra. I'm familiar with the vegetable, but I didn't realize the blooms were so pretty. I just added Blue Mistflower to my garden this year. It's finished blooming now, but I hope it will really take off next year. It's a beautiful plant!

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    1. Thanks, Beth, unfortunately this particular okra blooms really fast, like maybe they only stay open a day, so I had trouble catching them open. They set pods well though, but not that many since the plants are so tiny. I feel discouraged about the Blue Mistflower, though it is pretty, and am going to put more energy into growing annual Ageratum varieties, next year I want to grow a tall one too, like Blue Planet from seed, in addition to Blue Diamond I grew this year and possibly Blue Hawaii. Funny thing about the nursery trade, none of these except maybe Blue Hawaii are actually blue, they are magenta. I guess they think no one would want a plant named Magenta Hawaii! LOL Magenta Planet! also LOL.

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  36. When I see all these beautiful flowers then you have a beautiful garden full of color and fleur! Lovely to see and as a perennial, they do it very well.
    Greeting, Helma

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  37. Thanks, Helma, your dragonfly photography is incredible!

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  38. Your anemones are lovely shades of pink. I used to have some white ones, but my stingy water regimen eventually eliminated them. I enjoy seeing them so much in other people's gardens! I have seen lots of wooly bear caterpillars this fall, and when I clicked on the link you provided I was thrilled to see what a gorgeous moth it becomes. Thank you for sharing that bit of autumn information!

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  39. Thanks, MulchMaid, I didn't water a lot of my beds this summer either since I have 2 acres, and I had trouble just keeping up with watering the vegetable garden. I've only seen that particular Tiger Moth once, but I did see a couple of other ones recently. They are amazing. I am so jealous of your Loquat actually blooming!

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  40. Beautiful beautiful series! I love the heart shaped purple flower! Thanks for sharing the love up-close with I Heart Macro:-)

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