October at a Glance

~ ~ Notes on the October Garden ~ ~

October is leaving on a rainy note this year ~ which is fine with me since I'm tucked cozily inside my home with a cup of hot tea browsing through the photos of my October garden. 

This warm sunny hibiscus flower seemed like a good choice... the perfect color for autumn and of course, Halloween.  It takes a good portion of summer for the tropicals to recover and bless us with their blooms. I don't seem to have enough of these in the garden anymore. But they are always cheerful ~ always welcome!

One of the first trees I planted when we built our house was this Golden Rain tree. Why, you might ask since it's a prolific seeder? Well, it's simple! This tree is always one of the first signs (often appearing in late August) that the end of summer is nearing. I'm always excited to see the yellow flowers that appear first and are then quickly followed by...

the salmon colored seed pods. The color is stunning! Especially since we don't have a lot of fall tree color. And, what beautiful blue skies we have in autumn.

I look forward to seeing Sparkling Burgundy camellias in the garden each fall because they bloom so heavily. Sparkling Burgundy is a member of the sasanqua varieties which kick off the camellia season here in Florida. 

Who can resist photographing flowers with all the delicate water droplets on them following a rain shower? I know I can't!

Here's another tropical that is back from winter's gloom and doom. 

This mandevilla vine is such a pretty bright white that I never tire of seeing or photographing it.

It blooms all summer and looks so pretty paired with the red pineapple sage (below) that starts blooming in autumn and continues right through the winter.

What else is blooming in the October Garden?

The arbor is covered with a pink blooming vine. I'm not sure of the name. The nursery owner said St.Joseph's vine, but I don't know for sure. The island bed is in a fluffy stage...kinda like a "big hair" hairdo (wow...hairdo - that word really dates me, doesn't it?) due to the culmination of a lot of summer growth. The Mexican sage and sweet almond are large and fluffy as is the purple fountain grass. 

And, the "wild" area is making sure the hummers and butterflies have plenty to eat. 

From left to right ~ Turk's cap, Firespike, Porterweed and native Liatris.

Life's Simple Pleasures

Catching a glimpse of a couple of frisky otters going for an early morning swim in a natural spring in our neighborhood. They are so sweet-looking! A relished site in this tiny piece of  "Old Florida" in which we live.

Hope your Halloween is filled with TREATS and not TRICKS!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - The Heat is On!

It's mid-summer, and only the toughest plants can keep from withering in the heat and humidity of a Florida summer. So, before I set about snapping photos for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, I thought I probably wouldn't find too many. Boy, was I wrong! There was so much to choose from that I couldn't even post all of the photos. Some of the other plants in bloom (not shown here) are: hibiscus (I'll do a separate post on those tropical beauties), lantana, pentas, begonia and ixora (definitely summer stalwarts), bromeliads (they love their place in the shade) and thryallis (which was just getting started).

I'll start off with the cool colors of summer - two orchids basking in the impermeable humidity.


Can't live in the south without having crepe myrtles. They may not have a scent but they bloom in abundance - twice, if you dead-head the first blossom.


This Rose of Sharon or Althea has a soft, delicate appearance. You don't see a lot of these around, and I don't know why. They are beautiful!


The Peace Lily does better outdoors for me than in. The dark green foliage and bright white blossom lights up shady nooks in the garden.

Impatiens add a lot of color to shady spots. These volunteers decided to nestle up against a bamboo palm in the side yard. So long, as they are in the shady they're not water-greedy.

Another favorite of mine is the Mandevilla vine. It's not an aggressive vine that is hard to control, and it blooms, blooms, blooms.


I find that Portulaca or Moss Rose does well in patio containers. It's not a messy plant. The flowers dead-head themselves by rolling into tiny little balls and don't stain the patio deck.

Also, this Crossandra is not too messy and it rewards us with lots of blooms.


I love this combination of bright cherry red Knock-out roses and deep purplish-blue perennial salvia. I scooped these 4 salvia plants up off the "bargain shelf" at Wal-mart for next to nothing and they have rewarded me with a profusion of blooms all summer.


Even this variety of Liriope is blooming with abandon. I can't recall the name, but it's not one I've used in the past. I only hope it's not one of those that keeps on spreading and I have to dig it up and separate it (yuk!) I like plants that mind their manners and the boundaries of other plants.

A Few More

Here's a few more pics of azalea blooms. The blooms have faded on the larger plants and I've trimmed them back and fertilized them, but the fashion azaleas (red orange blooms) are still blooming.
Even Makayla is admiring these from the screened patio, or could it be that she is just watching anole lizards scamper around on the mulch.

More Azaleas!

The azaleas are still blooming away, although it is quickly approaching the end. I hate to see them go, as they are so colorful and cheerful!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Azaleas are the quintessential southern spring flower.

They signal the start of spring in my zone 9 garden, and come in hues of bright fuschia, white, violet, sunset orange, red, and hot pink to name a few. When I was a kid, there wasn't a yard that didn't have at least a handful of azaleas scattered around. Many had the giant 7 foot tall Formosa varieties that were covered in blooms. But now, you see fewer and fewer as professional landscapers fail to add this southern staple to new yards. Happy Valentine's Day to all of the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day bloggers!