Burning Bush, Dwarf Winged Euonymus

The burning bush is beginning to turn red, with a mixture of orange and gold. Soon it will be a beautiful solid red. I remember seeing one of these bushes at a distance years ago before I started gardening and thought it had red blooms.

American Painted Lady

What a beautiful butterfly! The orange zinnia really

brings oout the orange in the American Painted Lady.

They truly are "flying flowers".

Fall is in the air

I love the feel of fall in the air, especially the cool weather and less humidity. It will soon be time to starting cutting back all the flowers that have given me so much pleasure. I saved seeds from the Mexican Zinnias in 2008 and planted them in pots in early spring. They have been blooming all summer and will continue until frost.

The roses love the cooler weather and show it with a new flush of blooms, as you can see from this peach color rose. I just noticed today that the hydrangea is producing new buds. I don't know why that is happening this time of the year. I hope they develop into blooms but I'm not expecting to see them do as well as in the spring. I don't have any luck with mums returning when I plant them in the fall. The asters are doing well so I think I will plant more of them instead of mums.

Strawflower-Photo and Painting

Now that it is cold and rainy, I have started painting again for the first time in 5 yrs. I am trying the water mixable oils for the first time and I'm having a hard time learning how to use the paint. I am progressing very slow and I know the center of the flower will take even more time. Oh well, I'm in no hurry.

I see where these flowers got their name. The new blooms feel like dried flowers. I was so pleased with how this photo turned out. It is going to be my next oil painting.

Sunflowers "Maximillian"

This is a beautiful sunflower (Maximillian). The blooms are small and look like daisies, but as you can see, there are lots of them. The only problem is the height. Mine is at least 8-9' tall and I don't know how to stake them, so they are leaning on other flowers.

Canna Lilies and Crepe Myrtle

I am excited that the canna lilies and the crepe myrtle are blooming again. The crepe myrtle had lost all of its color and now is almost as pretty as it was when it first bloomed. I deadheaded the canna lilies and they have more blooms than the first blooming.

Worm on marigold

Could this be what is eating holes in the leaves of my flowers. I don't like the worm but it made an interesting photo. By the way, I didn't think critters liked marigolds!

Cosmos

These cosmos have grown so tall I have to look up to take photos. They were so pretty against the clear blue sky.

Morning Glory

What a surprise to see these morning glories blooming on the arbor. I wonder who planted these?

Flowers blooming Sept. 15, 2009

I didn't realize I still had so many flowers blooming until I walked through the yard and wrote down each thing. I hope they last a while longer. I'm not ready to see the garden turn brown :( and not looking forward to cutting everything back.

1. Ageratum
2. Allium, purple
3. Angel's trumpet
4. Asters (annual and perennial)
5. Butterfly bush (buddleia)
6. Canna lilies
7. Cardinal Climber
8. Celosia (cockscomb
9. Chrysanthemums
10. Clematis "Sweet Autumn"
11. Cosmos
12. Diamond Frost Euphorbia
13. Fall Crocus
14. Four o'clocks
15. Geraniums
16. Germander
17. Johnny jump-ups
18. Marigolds
19. Moonflower
20. Morning Glory
21. Oxalis
22. Petunias
23. Pink salvia
24. Portulaca
25. Purple Fountain Grass
26. Purple salvia
27. Roses
28. Salidago
29. Salvia "Lady in Red" (Scarlet Sage)
30. Salvia "Maraschino" (Texas sage, bush sage)
31. Salvia "Victoria Blue"
32. Sedum "Autumn Joy"
33. Sunflower "Maximillian"
34. Verbena "Homestead"
35. Vinca (annual)
36. Yarrow (achillea millefolium)
37. Zinnias

Moonflower

I love the moonflowers. The blooms open at dusk an close mid-morning. They only last one day but there are lots of blooms. The fragrance is so nice. If you're lucky you might see a moth on it at night. In the second photo, you can see the moonflower bud, an open flower and a spent flower from the previous night.

Butterfly weed seed pods

The butterfly weed (Asclepias Tuberosa) seed pods are very interesting. After they have turned brown and dried, the pods crack open and the seeds are dispursed as the wind blows them. This is a great plant for the garden to attract butterflies, moths, bees, etc.

Honeybees

A few days ago I noticed a few honeybees flying around the hummingbird feeder. Within a couple of days there were so many I had to remove the feeder. As you can see in the photo, the bee guard does work. All the bees chose the spot without the bee guard. I wasupset that I had to remove it since this is the time the hummingbirds are feeding heavily to prepare for their long journey south. My consolation is there are lots of flowers in the yard for them to feast on. I am glad to see that the honeybees seem to be making a comeback. I wish I could find the honey.

Johnny Jumpups

These johnny jumpups must have come up from seed from the spring crop. I love these plants because they bloom very early spring when nothing else is blooming and they drop seeds and come up again the next year, or as you can see from this photo, in the fall with beautiful blooms.

Fall is coming

Fall is on its way. This black gum tree is the first tree to show color in the fall. Only a few leaves have started to show the beautiful red color. It will soon be full of bright red leaves.

Deer

These are the deer that were grazing in my daughter's front yard this morning. In the front center is a doe with twin fawns. When they finish eating the grass may not need to be cut!

Cardinals

Five cardinals ... male, female and 3 young... have been coming to the feeder everyday for about a week. These pictures are the female feeding the young. I wonder why she has to feed them when they are big enough to do it themselves?? I couldn't get close enough to get a good picture.

Full Moon and Jupiter

I didn't realize when I took this photo (Wed. Sept. 2) that it was a special event. I was just enchanted with the beauty of the full moon. Guess I need to do some research to find out what was so special about this.

Canna Lilies

I was surprised but happy to see the Canna Lilies blooming again.

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"Autumn Joy" Sedum

"Autumn Joy" sedum is getting its fall color of various shades of pink. The bees love the blooms. Looking down on the blooms, I did not see the bees underneath. I'm sure glad I didn't decide to pick some of these blooms for a vase. They are good cut flowers and will dry if left in the vase without water.

"Sweet Autumn" Clematis

I know fall is on its way when the "Sweet Autumn" Clematis blooms. I enjoy the sweet fragrance it emits throughout the yard.

Bumblebee on salvia

When I uploaded this photo of a bee on a salvia plant, I couldn't help but laugh. The bee was sitting on a bloom that protruded from the back creating an interesting photo. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

Artemisia "Silver Queen"

Artemisia "Silver Queen" is an excellent plant when you need a silver color background for darker plants. They usually are more upright but these are in front of Leland Cypress trees so they don't get as much sun as they should. The contrast here is so pretty.

Voles/Moles

I have a lot of problems with voles/moles. The voles are the most problem since they eat the roots of plants and bulbs. Below is some of the damage. The first picture shows the holes that are all over the garden. The second picture shows the damage to the roots a sedum.

Sunflowers

The Maximillian sunflowers are finally beginning to bloom. The plants are 8-9' tall and due to the wet ground from the spring rain as they were growing, they are leaning over on other flowers. There are about 7-8 plants in one clump. I wish I could figure out how to stake them.