Bloom Day October '14

So October Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is here already.  I got over to the Cottage for a day, and caught up on the colours of the season.  The short asters,  below, certainly are becoming drifts.  Time to split them up and share the wealth next year.

 

The last roses are slowly fading, and the taller asters keep popping up everywhere.  

The little chrysanthemums, above, were a gift in June.  They were blooming at the time.  Here they are at twice the size, blooming again.  The only other way they could surpass this would be if they survived the winter and bloomed next year.

You may see that I roughly propped up the fading foliage of the peonies to make way for 'fall crocus.'
Enjoy this happy Bloom Day.  Visit May Dreams Gardens for flowers from around the globe. 

September Bloom Day '14 - Digby, Nova Scotia

Crocosmia 'Lucifer'?

One of the best things about "Garden Bloggers Bloom Day" is the way it prompts a person like me to get out with the camera, post on my blog, and then surf the net to enjoy the blooms from around the world.  Thanks to May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly extravaganza!  

Above - Coreopsis, Sedum & Corcosmia
Below - Iceberg and Campfire Roses

 

An Aster (I won't attempt the new genus name yet)

So, here at my new home, in my new town, I have ready-made perennial borders all around.  We have started to make them our own... ripping out many hostas and bringing in some of our own things.  The blossoms this summer - on what was already here - have been quite good.  

Another Aster

Above - a little Echinacea
Below - a little Buddleja and a little Eupatorium
Yes, these three are all shorter cultivars.

 

It so happens that quite of few of these species in bloom today are new plants we have introduced.  The renovations will continue into the fall, I'm sure, including the planting of a few spring bulbs.  I've not seen any sign of a spring bulb anywhere in these beds.

Above - Achillea
Below - Hemerocallis and a late Lupinus

 

A vibrantly-blooming Strawberry, Fragaria

A Begonia that will soon need to be rescued from frosty weather

The last of the Phlox that have been blooming - lots of these in the beds on this property

Enjoy your bloom day!

Plant Profile: Golden Lace

It's time to start featuring a few favourite plants once in a while, so I choose "Golden Lace" first, Patrinia scabiosifolia.  The species name indicates the foliage is like unto Scabiosa, a plant that is planted regularly 'round here, but I have never grown myself.  I see the resemblance in the foliage, and even the long stems.  I'd not heard of Golden Lace until a couple years ago, when I saw seeds for sale at Gardens North.  Then I found it on a few blogs, and had to have it.  

It is in full bloom right now here in Nova Scotia, Canada, and not only pleases the eye, but the pollinators.  

I obtained a little packet of seeds early in 2012, and they came up well.  I planted them out later in the summer, and they all came back in 2013.  Some of them bloomed, some stayed leafy and reserved their blooms for this year.  
   I also discovered this spring that it spreads viable seeds quite well. I had many seedlings come up this spring, 'volunteers' as we sometimes say.  Fine with me.  It's a lovely plant, with very strong stems, and great colour at this time of year.   I recently dug a few out to take from the cottage garden to the new home I  moved to this summer.  
     Here are some images of the plant from early to latter stages.  You can see how the more mature leaves, and 'higher-up' leaves, are more 'scabiosa-like.'

It seems a very happy perennial here in my cottage garden.  Some are being feasted upon by an army of black aphids, but the plants are none the worse for wear. My Golden Lace plants are growing in pretty good soil, with afternoon and evening sunshine.  As others have found, the plant can vary a lot in height.  Below see three clumps - all grown from the same seed pack - of three distinct heights, from two feet to about six feet.  The tallest on the left are in the foreground - don't be distracted by the vibrant yellow of the Cup Plant behind.  

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden website, this plant is a host to a Daylily rust, and also listed as invasive down there.  So, one may be taking chances. 

As you can see, I took the plunge, and hope to have Golden Lace growing for years to come.