November Garden Blogger Bloom Day

The weather the last few days has been absolutely delightful! I've been trying to stay outdoors as much as possible for I know the warm sunny weather won't last much longer.

These pictures were taken a few days ago and, after the frosts we've had, I was surprised to see so many of the plants still in bloom. The mums are the most prolific bloomers by far, and I guess the biggest surprise was to find a few blooms on the dianthus. I forgot to include the picture of the lavender bloom in the collage.



This clematis is another pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to see another round of blooms, especially so late in the year!



I've lost most of the cosmos due to the frost, but these are in a more protected area next to the house and they are still blooming and attracting the few remaining insects.

It's been a while since I've participated in Garden Blogger Bloom Day, (hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens), hopefully by next spring I'll have my act together and be able to participate more regularly.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

Indian Summer

Yesterday was one of those gorgeous "Indian Summer" days. My seventeen year old son and I spent the entire afternoon outside cleaning up and working in the yard. Since we homeschool we can pick our own fall break days and yesterday was a perfect day for no school!

My son enjoys physical labor and he was such a huge help to me! He mowed the grass, did the edging and weed eating. He removed everything from the front porch and we cleaned it well. We moved a huge grass that had grown too close to the air conditioner unit. (That was a chore for sure!). We removed three trees. We had several small crabapple trees that just were not performing well at all. I'm not sure why but most of the crabapple trees around here looked diseased this year. I did a lot of weeding and removing annuals that the freeze had killed. I moved three 'Knockout' roses and a few perennials that needed a little more space to spread.



I was able to get all of the new flowers planted. The sedum 'Autumn Joy', immediately attracted the attention of a cloudless sulphur butterfly and some honey bees.

The Asian lady beetles are very annoying right now. The farmers are harvesting the soybeans and corn and have stirred them up. They try to get into the house and they land on us whenever we go outside. I've heard that they stink, but I've never noticed.



I removed most of the cosmos yesterday, the few remaining flowers were attracting the hover flies today. The hover fly looks like a bee and is a very beneficial insect to have in the garden.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of a good day in the garden on a gorgeous autumn day. To top it off with a hardworking son with a good attitude and helpful spirit is absolute bliss.

Yesterday's Walk in the Garden

I went outside Friday morning to fill the bird feeders and take a walk around the yard. Of course I had my camera with me! A couple of the Japanese anemone buds had opened! This is my first year to have this flower in the garden.

The hummingbirds are still here. I'm seeing quite a bit of activity at the feeders. They must be fattening up in preparation for their flight south.

I saw the neighbor's cat prowling around in the yard heading toward the bird feeders. I stepped into the garden to get closer to the sunflowers and just as I was taking a step I noticed the preying mantis peeking up over the lamb's ear.




While the butterflies have been scarce, I've had bees in abundance this year. For that I'm grateful!



I love to see the pollen covered bees!

We had a lot of rain yesterday, so the ground should be nice and soft, (hopefully not too wet). I hope to be able to do some much needed edging and weeding in the garden today. I did quite a bit last weekend but I have so much more to do.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Kitty and Cosmos

In July I had a post titled, Kitty Bouquets, that showed my cat getting into my flower bouquets. I love flowers in the house but am concerned that some might be poisonous to her so I rarely bring them in. I went out this morning and cut just a few cosmos so I could enjoy them up close. It wasn't long before little Miss Curious was licking her lips, (see her tongue in the second picture), and getting into the flowers. It happens every time.

Cosmos

I love this color!
I didn't plant these cosmos this year and didn't really want them in the front of this flower bed. I thought about pulling them up when they first emerged, they looked so healthy and strong, I decided against it. I'm so glad I did, they have been so pretty and have been a perfect addition to my butterfly garden. I am attempting to keep them dead-headed to prevent them from taking over the garden next summer.




Sun-kissed Cosmos