As we near the end of October, I have done my usual wander around the garden for a monthly assessment.  We have been very fortunate in having such mild weather and among the fallen leaves are a number of both annual and perennial flowers still blooming.

In my rockery bed area by the pond, I still have some annual alyssum which mainly is purple with just a touch of white.  I am letting this naturally die down so the seeds will drop and hopefully germinate next year.  

Purple alyssum

There are a few blooms remaining on the malva (common name “mallow”) which I grew from seed earlier in the year plus rudbeckia (black eyed susan) and gallardia (blanket flower).   The honeysuckle I think will continue to bloom until we get our first hard frost.  

I love the delicate blue felicia which sadly I did finally throw on the pile that needs to go to the transfer station.  There are a number of orange and yellow nasturtiums too.

Nestled deep in the leaves is a flowering yellow primrose.  I always like plants that reward you with a second blooming.  Even though this is in a shady area a few rays of sunlight have filtered through which was why I noticed it.  

Throughout the month of October I have been busy pruning and generally preparing the garden for the winter ahead.  The vegetable garden has almost been cleaned out now and is covered in leaves and grass clippings.  There are several pots of spring bulbs buried deep into this bed.

Buried pots of bulbs in vegetable bed.  

 I harvested the remaining tomatoes and pulled the plants out. I have them sitting on a shelf in the greenhouse at the moment with the hopes that they will eventually turn red.

I heavily pruned the hydrangea paniculata and the spirea bush along with all the rose bushes in the garden.

My posts throughout the month of November will be very limited as I am off on an adventure and will be out of the country for most of the month.  Now is the time though for all us gardeners to have a well earned rest.  We are never far away from gardening though as during the long winter nights we can peruse garden books, gardening blogs and seed catalogues to inspire us for the next gardening season.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN