October is Just Beautiful in The Ggarden!

It is like a resurrection. Like a "second wind"....Like the "second coming"....

Like the garden is taking a deep breath (instead of a sigh) and getting second wind.
The days are cooler--the humidity less--and the nights are just great for sleeping.....
Getting a second blanket out tonight---GEEZ! Highs tonight in the upper 40's!!!
Can a sudden frost be far away??? Hope not! I will freak out!!!!

Great gardening weather! I have spent the last two days hauling--and NO sweating!!!!
The ominous cool nights are reminders of things that could come--at the drop of a hat--any night now....

Time to clean and prepare all your plants that will have to come inside at a moment's notice.
Did that half a day yesterday----Treated them all with Systemic Granules. Feel more at ease now....
I will be able to just grab and go-----and go---and go---and go-----to get them all inside....

So many of my blooming plants are at their VERY best this time of year.
Makes me realize--that cooler nights are the secret....Plants just need that to get their "second wind".
And--many of them are gifting me with their best just now--even though, in a matter of weeks,
I will have to "bite the bullet" and yank them all out. That really hurts me!!!

Especially my Brugmansias--they ALWAYS have their best bloom-flushes in October.....
just when I will have to cut them back and sacrifice all the existing blooms to bring them in
before the first frost hits....


The still-blooming annuals are beautiful this time of year. Vibrant and colorful!

I walked around my garden today and took a bunch of pictures to share...

Show us yours! Tell us how YOU feel about your garden in the month of October....

Here are some pictures I took just today-----Gita

Jill's Black Ornamental Pepper....got the seeds at the Feb. Seed Swap this year...

My "Endless Summer" Hydrangea still putting out blooms.

My pink Mandevilla. Always the best performer....

I bought one of the red ones too--and it is in my back yard--and it stopped blooming
as soon as the heat hit. It is in a bit more shade than the pink one--but--I will never buy
this one again. It just does not perform all that well....

My 2nd year Swedish Ivy (from cuttings) now cascading down from it's 10" HB. Awesome!!!
The other HB is from 3-- 5" double Impatiens I bought at Lowes for 25 cents each.

It took a while--but, now, all of a sudden--it has become this beautiful HB of color.

My Angel Wing Begonia--which was cut back to the nubs early in summer---has now gown
into a HUGE plant. It has NOT bloomed, though...Odd! But--I think that when you sut the whole plant
back to the nibs--they need to seriously re-grow before they bloom.
Never happened this year!

However--the plant itself is always a masterpiece of foliage as it re-grows during the summer....

Now---You all know about me and my zillion Coleus I grow....

Struggling with the thought of whether or not to do the cuttings thing again.....
It was overwhelming last winter....Three separate pinching and rooting sessions,,,,,

I look at them all now in my garden and think---How can I NOT preserve these????
They are now so beautiful---even if they are trying hard to go to seed---which I deny them by
pinching off all the seed-shoots....

Please indulge me as I show you several of my Coleus as of today.
How could I ever let these just pass into oblivion??????

Another----

Yet another---

Another--with Vinca flowers...

This one is what i call the "Frilly Coleus"----It takes over!!!!
Is it really a Coleus?????

This is not the best picture--but this ONE PLANT covers an area of about 2'x3'.
I love the many color combinations it can manifest---I thought it may have been 3 different Coleus
as I had it growing from cuttings???? But--It was one and the same....

Another picture of the same "Frilly" Coleus in my Birch Bed...Interesting....Hmmmmm

Here are some impatiens in the bed by my front door---in front of my re-growing
Bob Hope Carmelia. You all may remember that I cut it back to nubs last year.....

I NEVER planted this Melampodium (Sp?)--I swear!!!!

It grew on it's own. I like it better than any others I have planted from Garden Centers,,,,
I have NO idea where it's seeds are????? I would like to collect some if I did.

Some Orange Coleus....

This one was a surprise for me!!!!I It just sprouted up. I recognized it as an Amaranth and let it grow...

I used to have a "Giant Amaranth" years ago.....
Even though this looks like it--it is not the droopy-flowering one the Amaranth I had.
It is an upright bloom--just a slightest bit pendulous...I like it a lot better. Will try to collect some seeds....

Some New Guinea Impatiens growing in a Bed-by-My-Shed....
Love these flowers!

Some Wax Begonias WAYYYYY overgrowing their space in my small clay W-Boxes
by my Kitchen door....next to the Black Ornamental Peppers...

Last one----I promise----

Some lime-green/maroon Coleus--one of my favorites.....

NOW--With thanks to you all for looking at all these---
PLEASE post your favorites from your October garden.. Fall can be wonderful!!!

Gita, great pics. Your plants are doing great! Wow! How did you even keep that hanging basket alive through the summer heat!

My garden has been completely neglected with me working away from home this year. The sunny side of the garden was scorched in the summer and the shady side has grown into a jungle. This picture is just about the only thing I can show. This area gets a few hours of sun in mid morning when the sun is between the the house and the trees and a few more hours of sun in late afternoon when the sun comes around the house. I have both sun and shade plants here. They seem to be doing ok.

About taking Coleus cuttings, which section of the plant do you use? The tips are very tender. Do you use them? Or do you use the middle section? I tried and failed last year and would like to try again this year.

Wow, Gita, the various coleus plants really did well and look super. When David gets back, I'll ask himto take a couple of photos of ones that came from yours. We kept most of them on the deck, the better to keep them watered and enjoy them from inside. Love all the color combinations. One that did get planted is now rooting inside due to a hose encounter.

Donnerville, you really have had a challenge with being gone so much, but what you posted looks so lush. Love the variety, and the tropical feel.

The deer have done more and more browsing as summer progressed, and we had several large, dead oaks taken down, so our yard is not a thing of beauty right now.

Donner--

My big Swedish Ivy (which is neither Swedish or an Ivy) hangs just under the overhang
by my front door. It gets bright shade--and whenever it rains--the gutter just above leaks a bit.

On the Coleus cuttings---I take about 5" or so off the tips of the branches--but NOT the tips that
have gone to seed already. Remove the bottom leaves, and stick them in some fresh mix. That's all!
I kept them all winter under my light set-up as it was not being used for seeds. That is, probably, why
they grew so well. I am sure you saw my pictures last year....Keep just moist until rooted and growing...

Donner---What is that dark maroon plant with the red spiky flowers in front in your picture???
Is it a Celosia of some kind? or an Amaranth?

Pat--Thanks for your kind words.....YES! I do love the colors od the Coleus--that is why it is so hard
for me to decide whether to take cuttings again--or not...I think I probably will.....

The weather forecast is nice all through the last half of this week---in the 70's.
Last night was NO fun--I was freezing! Don't want to turn the heat on just yet...wearing a sweat shirt....
Besides--I am a sicky right now--whatever is going around--half the people at HD are sick...
Cough, runny nose--watering eyes, and all that....Bummer!

Gita

You are a kindred soul!
I've been removing spent Brugs for the last week - we have trees and shrubs plus pots - I won't bring them in til 1st week in Nov - (I think)
Do you have any advice on Snapdragons?
I do a protected garden at The VA Home - a famous design by Gillette - and planted them last fall. I was sure the muggy summer would finish them, but they remained "robust" - that politically fav word.
So I cut them back last week -
Can I depend on them to continue to grow this winter and next spring?
Could they behave like perrenials? Do I fertilize them now?
thanx -

Gita Lovely pics. You know how much I love coleus. If you do over winter some, please, pretty please do one of your "frilly" coleus for me! And, if you have a chance to send a close up pic so I can look for a name for it
Here is a link to an illustrated tutorial on coleus cuttings and much more from the Coleus Forum here

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/596774/

Judy--

I could send you a small package with some of the pieces of the frilly one...

Last year I had this one growing--and, I swear, it was in 3 different color combinations...
The green--like i have now and some had the deep red in them too. There was a 3rd one....
Pretty weird!

My el-cheapo digital camera finally gave up the ghost....It was a Polaroid--cost $79 at the HD about 6 years ago.
I won it as a gift at out X-mas party...It has served me well. Now I can, finally, justify buying a new one.
Have wanted one for a long time.....
In the interim--I am using my old camera--it is a Kodak Easy Share and is the size of a regular 35mm camera....

Will get some pictures for you, Judy. Right now i have to run up to the drug Store to p/u a RX.

Gita

OK, Judy---

Walked around and took some pictures of the "Frilly? Coleus....
Also--took some from last year's rooting trays--where they are some totally different colors...
This variety, whatever it is, seems to grow more robust--has sturdier stems--and different color combos
in different locations...

Here's a closer up of the more yellow version. with maroon veining.

On the SAME plant--there are also stems that are almost all green....

Then--there is one stem that cannot decide if it wants to be yellowish OR green...
The top leaf cluster is split in half--yellow and green....

This one is in a different bed--and has a lot more maroon in it...

Now I will take you to my rooted Coleus trays from last winter----
There was another version of color...very fall-like--oranges and rusts....

See bottom shelf on the right hand side--there are 2 pots of these...

Last one--NOT a goof picture--this combo seemed more deep, dusky pinks...

I swear, Judy, I do not even remember buying this kind!
They just seemed to "morph" into different color combos....

Does this help you? Gita

Thanks Gita, always fun to go on a coleus adventure! Your frilly coleus is called "Sparkler" and it is one of the more changeable ones. Coleus often throw sports (like Hosta does) and that's how new ones come to be along with breeding. As coleus age they often change color as well as develop color variations in different light conditions. There are over 900 named varieties and more on the way!

Polly your brugs are wonderous! Do tell us more about your "protected garden" and I hope some will chime in on your snap dragon question. I vaguely remember a specialty nursery grower here recommending a particular variety (tall growing) that would often 'come back' around here.

After the last two summers here I am seriously considering concentrating on Spring and Fall in my gardening choices and omitting Summer altogether! Start early, finish in a flurry and forget the middle. I need a second wind like a lot of glorious autumn sunny days when it is a joy to be outside. Can one really have 'cabin fever' twice a year? lol

Gita, I will try some coleus cuttings this weekend to see if I can do better with them this year. I do have indoor lights for them because I have VAs on shelves. The plant you asked about is an Amaranth. i got about 3 from Sally last year and got a million seedlings this year. If you like, I will pot some up for you next year. I am sure there will be plenty of them again.

Pat, thanks for the kind words. As I said, that was just about the only part of the garden I could show :-(. Anyway, I have quite a lot of foxglove seedlings now. Many thanks to Dave for the flower seeds. I am looking forward to another beautiful spring next year when them all bloom.

Polly, your garden is beautiful!! So lush!

This message was edited Oct 3, 2011 9:59 PM

I have to share an unexpected surprise with you all.

I was taking apart my heavy clay W-Boxes to not leave everything for last minute.

You all already know that these were more full of the Purple Oxalis than any of the flowers I planted there..
My goal was to just trash the remnants of dried up Petunias and yank out the Dusty Millers...
Then--gently--try to remove each clump of the Oxalis so I could re-pot them in separate pots.

So--I proceed to dig up the first clump of the Oxalis from the W-Box. Then--I see these large, fat, opaque
root sections below the clump of the Oxalis. Because I also had some Trailing Vinca Vine in this pot,
I figured these must belong to the Vinca. So--I broke all of them loose and was planning to toss them.

Then--I looked and realized that these were part of the root structure of the Oxalis! Wowsa!!!
I NEVER knew it made anything else but these little, orangy corms!

SO! Now I was more careful with the rest of the clumps (6). If I found one of these fat root modules--
I tried planting it along with the rest of the clump.

All right! Of course I had to take some pictures so you would believe me....
Did anyone else ever find these in the root-clumps of their Purple Oxalis????

These are about 2"-3" long and plump. This is a close-up of a few of them. One actually shows that it is
attached to the base of one of the small, orange corms.

Here is this whole clump of Oxalis.
You can see the white root-clumps as part of the root mass.

It sure is a mystery to me--How about YOU all???? has anyone ever seen this?
Donner--You gave this plant to me (right?). I dug and dug into that crowded pot and removed a bunch
of the little corms to pot up for Ruby and sally. Never saw, or felt, any of these big, fat roots!!!

Here are thee 6 pots I got out of the 2 W-Boxes.

There is one more to go--but that one just has one clump of Oxalis in there....
May be the "mother" of them all!!!

All comments welcome--please share if you know anything about these "other" roots....

Gita

Gita,

The purple Oxalis always grows those big roots. I do not keep them because I just have never thought of doing anything with them. If you remove all the corms from the the big roots (I do that), the roots probably won't be good for anything. If you keep a few corms on each root, the corms might grow faster next time you pot them up... ... Not sure. I have never tried it.

Donner

This message was edited Oct 6, 2011 11:53 AM

donner--

Thanks! I did not know what to do with hem. I potted some of them in the pots along with the corms...
No harm, I guess--but i could fish them out and get rid of them.

These big roots seem like they might be a water-storage type of a root--like Spider plants make???
I potted a small pot full of just he big roots to see what happens...

What could be the purpose of these big roots???? Obviously--the small corms make them--NOT the other
way around. SO--why do the small corms need these???????? the 69-thousand $$ question.....

Gita

He, Donner--yesterday, I dug up and potted up all the Wintersweet Shrub seedlings that had germinated from seed
under the shrub. I plan to dig them in somewhere for the winter...
These are almost 4" tall--not bad for the 1st year. Do you have any Chinese friends that would like to have one????

Here is one of the coleus plants from Gita that we have enjoyed all summer and will root cuttings from for next year. We kept it on the deck.

And another favorite. Those frilly ones with so many colorations are neat. DH Greenthumb found a few minutes to take pictures.

Lovely coleus plants, Pat. I tried and failed to propagate them last year. There was a photo of one pathetic survivor from last year. I will find it and post it here so that everybody can have a good laugh.

Gita, only one of my Chinese friends is a gardener and her garden is about 90% in shade, not a good condition for wintersweet shrubs. I would like to have one seedling though. You and I should meet up for lunch in Baltimore. I work in the Inner Harbor area during the week, or I can drive up to your neighborhood. I have never been to White Marsh.