Friday, October 16, 2015

Mid-October Garden Report

I'm going to interrupt my series on our trip west for now, and share the rapidly changing seasons around the valley back home here in Ontario.  The leaves are colourful, but less colourful than I ever remember before.  I've been working in the garden, getting last year's veggie bed ready for this year's garlic crop - which will get planted in the next few days.  Even though we've had our first frost, and the garden generally looks at its worst, I discovered several flowers still blooming.

The most interesting is this beautiful purple Clematis, which has just come into bloom the last day or two.  It was planted about 3 years ago, but has remained tiny and out of sight ever since.

But I guess it figured out how to wiggle through to the back of the fence where it could get some sunlight, and now it's in bloom for the first time.  Here's hoping it will shoot up the fencepost next year!

We have a couple of clumps of poisonous Monkshood, one of the last flowers to bloom, in a rich royal blue.

The last small sunflower is fading fast, but still a bright spark of yellow where it grew, still attracting bees.

There are a couple of bright red Smartweed blossoms.

And little clumps of these yellow and orange Calendula. I always find the orange ones are hard to photograph because the bright colour is such a highlight, it gets washed out.

There's a good sized clump of the Japanese Anemones, though they also are fading fast.

And at one end of the veggie garden the pink and orange mums are blooming like mad.  They started out as nice sensible symmetrical clumps, but now they're a tangled mass and I'm going to have to thin them out next year.

And just to prove I do a little work sometimes, this is this year's main veggie bed, all cleared of beans and zuchini, weeded, dug, and raked to get ready for the fall garlic planting.  Garlic here gets planted in October, and harvested in late July/early August.

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The seasons have definitely changed.  Blustery wind with blowing clouds and occasional rain showers the last two days.  The temperature is down to below 10°C (50°F), and I've broken out the lined winter pants for working outdoors.  And the forecast for tonight and tomorrow is SNOW!!  To be specific, we have a 'Special Weather Statement' that refers to the "First lake effect flurries of the season ... Several centimetres of snow are anticipated overnight...", depending on exactly where the bands of snow are located.  You have to be prepared!!


9 comments:

  1. Your vege bed looks so good, we are planting out tomatoes, zucchini, runner beans, lettuce, spring onions, some I have started from seed, others bought as seedlings. Blossom on the fruit trees, and the clematis vine. Snow already, will it stay on the ground or melt away?

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  2. I am almost done the gardens except for the few I still have in bloom but after this weekend I think they will be toast lol ! We are down near lake Erie so who knows what the weather is to be , it can change on a dime here ! Lovely photos , Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !

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  3. Wonderful photos - it is always great to see the last blooms. I have a patch of snapdragons just blooming to beat the band.

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  4. Such pretty flowers! Rumour has it we're getting snow on Sunday.

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  5. Gotta get my hand on some garlic and plant it. It would be better from an environmental standpoint and I just paid a buck fifty for one bulb!

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  6. You have an amazing number of flowers left! The only ones I have are on my porch in planters, and they are looking pretty scraggly. That's a very nice looking place for the garlic. I'm only a little jealous. :-)

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  7. What a surprise to find the clematis in bloom. I hope it performs beautifully all summer next season. Our veggie garden is all tilled up but we aren't sure what to do with it next year. The deer at most everything in it so it seems fencing is necessary. Expensive! I hope the snow isn't too bad.

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  8. You have a beautiful property. I have been thinking of planting some garlic this year. Your flowers are still looking good. My Geraniums are still blooming.

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  9. Even fading flowers have their beauty, sort of like old folks.

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