Well another week of warm, sunny weather has passed and we have been basking in it; soaking up all that vitamin D and happiness the sun brings with it, and watching the garden go on blooming as if there is no winter approaching. Bliss!
October 31st? Yes! 😃
As a result of this mild and sunny month, I have a rather odd mix of flowers to share in my vase today. Odd in a very positive way, I must add.
As you can see above, a large pink cosmos has made a late appearance, possibly the ‘Double Click Cranberries’ which turned out to be single from last year. Then there is a blue Scabiosa, some pink Gypsophila which I thought had died in the summer, some pink Salvia (‘Icing Sugar’) and a blue Geranium…. and is that white flower on the left an anemone? No, a Hellebore!
In the middle of the the three mini vases you can see a pink aster and my one and only reliable Chrysanthemum ‘Anastasia’. She comes back bigger and better each year, while others barely produce a single flower. I think I might try and take cuttings from her next year.
And on the right, more Geraniums (the pale pink one is ‘Apple Blossom’), a white Japanese Anemone, some purple sage and Aster ‘Ezo Murasaki’.
The temperature was 21°C yesterday (Sunday), but is forecast to slowly drop this week down to 7°C on Saturday. Oh well, it was a wonderful month and the garden needs a rest now, so November can come.
How was your October?
As usual, many thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, who had the ingenious idea one November to share a vase of things from her garden and has since invited us to do the same every Monday. 😃
Have a great week, and happy gardening!
🍁☀️🍁
Words and Herbs 
So many flowers. I like your little vases.
Thank you! Yes, so many flowers still, even now into November. 😃
How very colourful and I too like your trio of vases.
The vases are very appealing, even when they are empty! 😉
You make it look easy. Perhaps I should try. I can grow just about anything, but am not so proficient with selecting colors or making good use of flowers.
Well, I think if you can plant a garden, you can fill a vase… it’s the same principle of seeing what goes and what doesn’t. And I have never seen a vase of flowers that hasn’t been appealing in one way or another. Getting a good photo of it is the hardest part! 😉
Yes, . . . I suppose; although I am none too proficient with planting a garden either. I prefer utilitarian gardens, rather than aesthetically appealing.
So, a ‘utilitarian’ vase would be interesting…. 😉
So, what you are saying is that I am exhausting my excuses?
😉 Well, I didn’t actually say that, but…. 😆
‘Anastasia’ looks like a most beautiful chrysanthemum Cathy. I’m sorely tempted 😂 If she gets through your winters she will certainly cope with ours. I was convinced on first sight that the white flower was an anemone Cathy! It has been a most mild October here to but as with you our temperatures are set to drop too which is hugely reassuring.
I can definitely recommend Anastasia, Anna. I haven’t had much luck with any of the others I have planted but this one withstands quite a bit of bad weather and even light frosts too. Yes, November will inevitably be drab and chilly, but this garden and gardener won’t mind too much after such a glorious end to the gardening season! 😃
Don’t they all look lovely together photographed against that rich green swathe of grass? The weather is bringing you a late season bonus for sure, have a good week.
Thanks Noelle. Yes, all that green is nice – the grass came back thicker than ever after being burnt to a cinder in July, proving its reslilence!
Good of you to say that about your grass, it has made me realise and also given me the the confidence not to worry too much.
Yes, it really is tough and although we also have loads of clover and weeds, the grass has suvived for the most part too.
Nice
Thank you.
Your sunny skies and cheerful pink flowers look more like what you’d see here in Southern California than late October in your part of the world (except we’ve little success growing chrysanthemums here). I’m glad you enjoyed a slow progress into autumn.
Yes, it has been a gentle slide towards November, making up for our terrible heatwave in the summer. 😃
Now that is the perfect Halloween treat! What a pleasure it must be to have flowers from the garden this late in the season. ❤️
Yes, hard to believe we are into November already if you look at the garden!
So pretty! Loving the pink Gypsophila.
Thank you Lisa. I was glad I hadn’t lost the Gypsophila afterall. 😃
Sweet arrangement
Thank you Flower. 😃
Love the way you have displayed this week’s blooms, Cathy. It’a nice you can enjoy an extended flowering season – a consolation prize for your tough Summer.
That is exactly what I was thinking too…. made up for the poor show of flowers in July and August. 😃
Gorgeous, just gorgeous. I love photos with the field in the background. ❤
Thanks Beth. We’re enjoying the green grass while it lasts! 😃
We didn’t make 21 degrees last week, but not far off at 19+ with several mild days and sunshine in between the rain. What a varied mix you have managed to include despite the petiteness of your vase stand – and what a great way of showing off all these late bloomers! I especially like the colour of that pink chrysanthemum. Did I tell you that after seeing this stand when you first showed it, I asked the Golfer to make some to hold some of the test tubes I bought in a job lot from eBay? I kept a 3 and a 5 version, but the others were for sale at our open garden events
Yes, I meant to ask if he had made any for you. I have got some test tube vases too. (So many vases, not enough Mondays! LOL!) Will have to put those to use again too. 😃
Don’t think we ever, ever had such fab weather for such a long time. Each year we have about the same precipitation so the rain will come one day…and then it might not go for a long time! But it’s bliss and we enjoy it while it lasts. Love your vase – such a nice way of displaying the little gems. Here I’ve seen lilac in flower this week. It’s crazy, even the flowers are walking on their heads (as we say here “on marche sur la tête”) 😅. It’ll get cooler here now as well. Big hug🤗
You sound more positive now Annette. 😘 I am relieved that we didn’t lose too many plants or trees afterall, but we do need a lot of rain still to help our trees fill out next year. Lilac in October is crazy, but then I had hellebores flowering in the full sun in August too! 😜 Have a good week Annette. Hugs to you too. 🤗
I love the last hurrah of the brilliant flowers in the Autumn. These are lovely, bright pastels.
Ah, thank you – that is a nice way of putting it… the last hurrah. Exactly! They know their days are numbered! 😉
I’m thinking ahead to what I can gather through the winter. It will be a welcome challenge in the dreary winter days.
Such beautiful flowers!! Love all the colors some are my favorites pink and purple!! 💖
😃 There are indeed a lot of pink flowers still in bloom. 👍
What gorgeous flowers! I love the Anastasia chrysanthemum. Fancy finding a hellebore in flower on the 1st of November! Amazing. We have had 19C temperatures, but today it’s dipped down to 8C tonight and only expected to be 13C tomorrow. Quite a shock after the very mild month. Have a great week. Karen x
Thanks Karen. It is still sunny, but decidedly cooler today.
First frost last night. Only been 11C all day, so much cooler now.
Ah, the carefree days of summer–in autumn! Glad you’re enjoying a mild season that extends the bloomtime. Love your flowers. I locked into that hellebore immediately. Wow!
😃 November has started off mild too, but it could be frosty very soon, so I shall pick lots more flowers in the next day or so!
I think that’s an amazing array of color for this late in the year, Cathy. Such a beautiful arrangement. I love the hellebore. I had my first hellebore specimen this year, but it isn’t flowering in November. 🙂
My hellebore shouldn’t be flowering until much later either! We haven’t had any really cold weather yet, except for a few nights down to about 2 or 3°C, so it was a bit odd but a lovely surprise. 😃
Love at first site 😍🪴
😃 Thanks!
This is beautiful and the flowers are making me happy full of life and the sunshine through it is full of hope. Thank you!💕
Thank you for such a lovely comment Christine. So glad it made you happy! 😃
What’s better than a lovely vase but 3 on a Monday enjoy them not sure I have anything pretty left here save the birds and forest 🙂
It’s amazing how much I could find for vases last week. This week a lot fewer flowers left though.
🙂 I guess it is inevitable 😦