October Favorites

It's the 25th of the month and time to join Simply Susan in showing garden favorites. 

Three swamp sunflower plants were planted in front of the bamboo hedge last fall.  After their bloom was finished they died back and were forgotten until Spring.  Suddenly there were lots of swamp sunflowers.  Too many for the space.  They were growing up through the bamboo and were taking over the whole bed.  They had to be moved.  Now they are growing in the boggy area of the garden along with pinecone gingers and umbrella sedge.  There is plenty of room for them to proliferate and bloom their cheery yellow flowers.

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?