It's the 25th of the month and time to join Simply Susan in showing garden favorites.
Bees and wasps have been quite numerous around the garden this month. They each have their place in the life of the garden and so accomodation is made for them up to a point. They are fascinating creatures to observe nectaring on the flowers, but their nests are kept away from the house and play area for the grandkids. This little guy is enjoying the White Out rose, which has been a favorite of mine most all year.
One of my new favorite blossoms is this purple salvia. The bloom is very large compared to other salvias in the garden and the purple color attracts the hummingbird.
White and purple Philippine Violets re-seed so abundantly that some people find them a nuisance. I, however, love their flowers which bloom only in fall and find them worth the trouble of keeping in check. Actually, this year, I didn't have too many seedlings come up and so am quite happy to have these blooming away in the October garden.
The purple variety grow shorter and bushier than the white ones. The two planted together complement one another quite beautifully.
This month there are still plenty of favorites in the garden, but there is a definite change. Many of the summer's best bloomers have faded and plants which were waiting in the wings have come into the spotlight. Something I have noticed in creating this post is that My Garden Path is lacking in fall foliage plants. Mmmm....
What are your favorites......this month?
What beauties you have. I've never seen the white Philippine Violet. I love the purple one and am going to be using that a lot in my gardens since they pop up all over the place.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
Beautiful! I love that purple salvia too. I have not seen Philippine Violets before, the flowers in the fall garden look lovely. Are they big plants?
ReplyDeleteAfter I saw your post, I realized this is the time for "My garden favorites" already. So, I went back changed my new post since the Autumn colors are defintely my favorite this month!
Hi Kay...Love the Phillippine violets. My mother grows them, and I must remember to get some baby plants from her. I'm not sure if she has the white variety though. I think...if I remember correctly...that they don't freeze either. Is that right? Thanks for joining in.
ReplyDeleteThose Philippine violets really caught my eye at Bok Tower a couple weeks ago. They are quite stunning growing en masse. Love that 'White Out' rose! One I'll need to keep an eye out for when plant shopping. You really live close to me "as the crow flies," but how different your garden is! I need to look for that salvia too. We are in desperate need of salvias at PITV!
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady - I love any flower that will "pop up all over." I haven't found these to be invasive, just nicely spreading.
ReplyDeleteAmi - My Philippine Violets grow tall and lanky. The purple one I have had longer and I trim it back in spring and most of the summer to make it a little bushier. It is only about 3' tall and maybe a foot wide. The white one is new this year and has shot up at least 4' tall but just single stalks. I'll have to see how it responds to pruning. The purple salvia is kinda' sprawling and I think it will die back this winter.
Susan- My violets did die back this year, but so did my pentas. Neither have done so before.
Floridagirl - I love Bok for being able to see Florida friendly and native plants in action. It really helps me to appreciate what I can grow. I looked for 'Julia Child' to buy when I was there but they were out of them. I think I'm going to shovel prune 'Sunny' and replace him with 'Julia Child' when I find one. That salvia doesn't re-seed which means I need to get some cuttings started.
Good morning Kay,
ReplyDeleteReally lovely sunflowers, salvia, and so nice to see roses. The bees and buzzing fellows HAVE been active this month!
Your philippine violets are looking great!
I realize I should have sheared my white Philippine violets back by end of summer as they wouldn't be so tall right now. One of those many things I never got around to. As you know I don't love them or hate them but tolerate them. I think you're right... the purple ones are fuller and more compact.
I'm a little late to get in the loop but I did manage to post my favorites to join in the fun.
Have a great day.
Meems
A friend gave me a young plant. She didn't know the common name and only knew half of the scientific name. Several weeks later I figured out the whole name and the common name. About a week ago, I realized that some "weeds" that I had been pulling are Philippine violets. I was sure of it when the head started to form. Here, I could have had lots of flowers in that flower bed and I pulled them all out. I won't make that mistake again!
ReplyDeleteI can see how invasive they are and that they need to be kept in control. Next summer I will have plenty.