What happened to October? How could thirty one days breeze by so quickly! The fall color was absolutely gorgeous this year. The many overcast, rainy days were great for picture taking, not so great, however, for seeing sun shine highlight and warm the golds, reds and oranges. The beautiful leaf show lasted a couple of weeks, now it's clean-up time.

I like to shred my leaves and distribute them on my garden beds. A friend gave me a few bags of aged cow manure, so I'm going to mix this with the shredded leaves on the beds as well as add some to my compost container. My plants should appreciate the added nutrients.

I bought some half priced spring bulbs at Meijer. I wanted to plant them in a place where I could see them from my kitchen window. The area is a little shady but I hope they'll have enough sun to flower. I had to pull out some ground cover and prepare the soil a little. I planted tulips, crocus, and alliums then covered the area with chicken wire so the squirrels wouldn't dig up the bulbs.

I got all the summer bulbs dug and my containers moved into the basement a few weeks ago. The Brugmansias and Glory Flower are enjoying the grow lights in the basement, they're blooming like crazy.

On Friday I'll have help cutting back the remaining perennials and putting away summer furniture and garden art.

GARDEN WALK

Have you had an impromptu brown bag lunch yet? Okay, the next step is an informal garden walk. Anyone can have a garden walk. I sent out emails to my contacts and phoned a few friends who don't email and invited them for coffee and a garden walk. I wanted to do the walk in the morning while the Morning Glories are still open. Also, walking through a garden at the beginning of the day with a cup of coffee in hand seems like the ideal way to enjoy nature's bounty. My garden walk was today and it was a perfect day. My friends stopped by and I showed off my most treasured blooms. Fortunately, a Tiger Flower was open. No one was familiar with this lovely flower that only blooms for one day. Although the Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) has been blooming for a couple of weeks, only one flower was open today. As we walked along the garden path, we talked about poisonous plants, such as Castor Bean and Foxglove; discussed whether red plants in the garden are necessary to attract hummingbirds; and chatted about the advantages of container gardening. It was a lovely morning. I especially enjoyed the interaction with fellow gardeners.

GOODBYE

During the month of October the weatherperson is the most important person in my life. I listen closely to the daily forecast, hoping I won't hear the "f" word, FROST. At least four times this month I have run around with old sheets covering my tender perennials and tropicalsA couple of the Brugmansias have not even bloomed yet and there are still plenty of buds on the Tibouchina. The Dahlias are blooming like crazy. I can't bear to say goodbye to any of these plants until the last bud has opened. Tonight, however, the forecast is for a hard frost. I have to say so long to the growing season. All is not lost though. I cut as many blooms as I could and made bouquets. Ah, the lovely bouquets look so nice on my front porch.

MY FALL BLOOMERS

I've been waiting and waiting for some of my favorite plants to burst into bloom. Some of my plants have been in bud form forever, it seems. Each day I look for even the slightest hint of an impending flower. Do these plants realize they are growing in Michigan! Don't they know we're now into September and first frost could come any day now.
These are some of the plants that are teaching me patience:

Mexican Bush Sage is not hardy in my zone 5. I have it in a pot and although Mexican Sage is drought tolerant I water it daily. I can see hints of brilliant purple peeking out from the gray-green lance shaped leaves. Its normal bloom period is September through first frost.I'm anticipating another purple bloom, Tibouchina (Princess Flower, Glory Bush). This plant is a native of Brazil. While waiting for Tibouchina's beautiful flowers I'm appreciating the uniqueness of its multiveined, silvery green leaves that look like velvet.
Every year I cross my fingers and pray that we have a fall that is warm enough for the Pineapple Sage to bloom. Hummingbirds love the firey red tubular flowers of this herb. The consolation for the lack of flowers is, of course, the intense pineapple scent of the leaves. I have used fresh leaves of pineapple sage in fruit drinks and iced tea. I've read that the flowers can be used in flowers and desserts.
Asked to name a fall blooming plant and the probable answer would be Aster. I have New England Asters, most are purple but some are pink. Oh yeah, some are white and look a lot like tiny daisy.
My over-wintered Brugmansia has been blooming for a few weeks now. The flowers are huge and pale yellow. However, the "Brugmansia Collection" I ordered in the spring are not blooming yet. One plant does have lots of dangling buds. I'm anxious to see the different flower colors of the new plants.
Turtlehead, Chelone, produces spikes of pink flowers that resemble the head of a turle. Hence the name. My Turtlehead is not planted in an obvious place so I need to remember to look out for the blooms.
The purple leaved Cannas have not bloomed and possibly will not bloom. But that's okay because the flowers of the green leafers are much more interesting and beautiful.
Canary vine (Tropaelum peregrinum) has little bird-like yellow flowers. It's a native of Ecuador and is related to Nasturtiums. So far, the vine has made it's way up the trellises and has wrapped itself around neighboring plants.

CONFESSIONS OF A PLANT ADDICT

I don't remember planting that. Whatever happened to ....? Where did I plant....? Those are my gardening season laments. Only a true plant addict could understand the planting frenzy that takes place in my garden between last frost in May and first frost in October.

There are the plants from the garden centers that I can't resist even if I have no room for them. There are the "pass-alongs" that I can't say no to. And the volunteers, who would toss out a plant that elected that special place in your garden to take up residence. Why can't I keep track of what's growing in my own garden and why don't I know the names of every plant.

I've tried keeping a garden log. That lasted about one day. I kept a journal for about one week. I tried taking pictures of each plant as I planted. Aha, I never matched the photos with the plant tags. I've come to the conclusion that I'm unable to keep track because knowing exactly what plants reside in my garden beds is just not that important to me. I love surprises. I have no interest in the predictable or the mundane. I don't mind (too much) if Black-eyed Susans pop up in the middle my beautiful pink Turkscaps. Do I need to know the name of a plant to appreciate its beauty. I consider it fun and a challenge to search out the identity of the inevitable mystery plant.

Added to that, I like wildflowers, Chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, Milkweed, Goldenrod . Weeds, maybe to some, but I like to include them with my cultivated plants. Oh, and then there are the exotics. I love Brugmansia, Banana, Canna, all of the summer bulbs, anything unusual. Of course the exotics and bulbs require handling and care after the outdoor growing season. And then there are the houseplants, some of which are cuttings from summer annuals. Would you believe I've even collected a few Orchids.

Oh no, it's now becoming clear, my passion for plants is getting out of control. I'm becoming a four season plant addict. HELP!!