I can't believe it- I just noticed a hardy water lily bloom in my pond this afternoon!! And We have had a few hard frosts!!

toadlily
pincushion flower
autumn joy sedum
clematis (re-bloom)

Dastowers...that's amazing and wonderful that you have a water lily bloom!

Bakemom..what clematis is blooming? Fun!

...Beverly

mums
asters
guara
butterfly bushes
russian sage
mini roses
valarian
sedum autumn joy
Dahlias
Blanket flowers
Moss rose still hanging on
Lantana
Vinca
Spider wort
Clementis
Golden showers rose

Been a little lucky with only one frost so far.. but more coming in the next couple of days

Definitely winding down here. I have some purple obedient flowers and baby pink Fairy roses in the back. Still a couple of Rouguchi clematis winding thru the rose bushes.

Amazingly, some Voodoo fuschias are still blooming in hanging pots by the back door.

In the alley way "bed" there are a few Goblin gaillardia, and the marigolds I put in as placeholders this summer are going strong. All sorts of marigolds, in all the shades and patterns of butter yellow thru mahogany. I keep cutting tiny little bouquets, and putting them in little blue glass vials -- what a wonderful punch of color beside the bed!

I'm in the process of cleaning up the garden for winter. Every couple of days I bring in more herbs to dry. First it was cutting back all the basil and a massive evening of pesto making.

Then it was cutting the lemon verbena down to the ground, and a perfumed evening stripping the leaves and laying them out on an old window screen to dry. On successive evenings, I harvested thyme, oregano, chocolate mint, peppermint, sweet grass, mugwort and tansy.

I'm almost ready for winter.....

I made a ton of pesto too. Seemed this year the basil had a more peppery bite to it. might be my imagination.

I have no idea which clematis - time for name that plant.

We've missed the frost on the flowers, although it has been spotty in the lawn. Here is what I can think of ...
Abutilon, Aster, Canna, Cardinal Climber, Celosia, Ceratostigma (Leadwort), Cleome, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Crocus specious, Echinacea, Linum, Nicotiana, Pinks, Snapdragon, Solidago (Goldenrod), Virginia Spiderwort, and a couple of others on the porch.

Mums
Pansies (just planted! I cheated!)
Aster Jindai
Solidago
Zinnia Profusion
Knock-Out Roses
Anemone Sept.Charm
Heliotrope (protected)
Sedum Autumn Joy
Scaveola
Dendranthemum Sheffield Pink

Butterfly Bushs
Spiderwort (still has a few die-hard blooms)
Autumn Joy Sedum (turning deep burgandy)
Frosty Morn Sedum (still light pink white!)
Lots of different Mums
Daylilies
(my cherry tomatoes are still producing!)
Better Boy tomatoes
Couple different Rose bushs
Lamiums going like crazy still
Dusty Millers'
Lambs Ears
A few different Hosta
Habaneros' (have them potted and still going strong!)

That's about all that I have seen lately, we finally got some rain this evening and that will help alot!! Our maples are really starting to drop leaves and Mother Nature in her wisdom is helping (along with the wind) to blow them up against the flower beds... that is helping with alot of the frost that we have had, but I also took old sheets and pillow cases out and covered alot of my plants during the first frosts that we had. My begonias' are still going but I have been taking them in at night the past week, along with my Christmas Cactus ...
I figure that the rest of the plants are ready to hibernate. I know I am in the mood for the Holidays!! lol.
Kathy

spearmint,
a little pineapple mint,
some curly mint,
some lavender bit of basil
5 tomatoes R.I.P. vermin got 'em
cayenne peppers
tiny bit of rosemary
a few marigolds
some clover and weeds

Cosmos, cleome, ageratum, lobelia, hardy Southern Belle hibiscus, musk mallow, Malva Mystic Merlin, foxgloves, heliopsis Summer Sun, Heavenly Blue morning glories, mums, carpet roses, John Cabot roses, and the last of the Gloriosa daisies.

But the amazing thing is the 60 coleus I started from seed this year and that grew about 3'X3' each! I thought the frost would take them, but nope. Each one is still a coleus bush!

And the absolutely loveliest thing to me are my three Beautyberry bushes 'Early Amethyst'. Wow, are those masses of berries gorgeous!

Bonnie in Newark, OH

Hey Bonnie, my oldest is in Newark right now. If he is too loud, please give me a call and I will turn him down.

I have plants which are mostly winter sowing on that forum, so here is the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bakemom's Fall stuff - part of it.

Hey Bonnie in Newark!
I'm not far from you.... I live between Fredonia, Alexandria and Granville! Grew up on Cherry Valley Rd.
Bakemom - I think I heard your son the other day! LOL!

We should all get together somewhere for a fall garden talk day or something!

Love those Beauty Berries. Mine is going strong. Had an English woman in the garden the other day and she was amazed at the fall foliage on the witch hazels (I have quite a collection) and then she saw the Beauty Berry... "Where did you get that?????" Baker's Acres! She said she would go there on her way home to Johnstown and pick one up!

I have missed the frost and have daylilies, shrub roses and other stuff still going. I got one of those new roses this year at Wilson's... darned if I can remember the name, but they are all the "thing" this year... a bright fushia pink shrub rose. --Oh I remember- "Knock Out"... and it's been blooming it's behind off. I don't "do" regular roses, but shrub roses do well with my neglect of them!

I know we didn't mention going for walks, but I went this past weekend and it was beautiful - if you dodge the asian lady beetles.....so, if you want to go for a beautiful walk, just north of Johnstown off of Rt. 62, go west on Dutch Lane - I think it's about a mile from 62, is the state nature preserve "Morris Woods" and it's about a 2 mile walk around. The trail if pretty level, but in some areas, there are many roots you have to be careful of not tripping over. Really pretty this time of year. Lots of neat trees and shrubs to see.

Also, in Alexandria is Lobdell Reserve (or is it Lobdell Preserve - I can NEVER rememeber that), which is a Licking County park, and it is really something. I think it's 500 acres!! I've hiked there for 4 hours before without being on the same trails. But, it's pretty rough hiking in spots - pulling yourself up the hill by grabbing sapplings! But, there are also many fields you can walk around that are not very difficult, and it's very pretty. An old farm that had HUGE woods and was turned into a park. Big old trees, streams, stands of native gingers, all sorts of neat stuff.

Jules

I really haven't had that hard a frost yet. Only one morning down to about 33F, but really didn't kill anything. About 68F today. Let's see, what's still blooming???- Actually still nice color for October..
Foxgloves "Foxy"
Tradescantia
Hardy Begonia
Malva
Asters
Butterfly bushes (a few last blossoms)
Verbena
Hardy Ice Plant- still full of blooms
Penstemon
Corydalis "Blackberry wine"
Monkshood
Phlox- just a few last blossoms
Gaura
Alstroemeria "Sweet Laura"
Toad lily
Saccharum-sp??? (hardy sugarcane) just starting to send up plumes now
Muhly grass (also just started a week or two ago)
some "Cold hardy" Camellias
and lots of pansies.

I'm down to the "bitter ends" as they used to say.

Marigolds, gaillardia, a few premature catanache and sweet william in the alley.

Pink fairy is still going, and blooming in an intense dark pink unheard of in warmer weather.

A few toad lilies, and some stray roses. I swear, they don't want to stop! Every time I drive down to Cincinnati, I try to take my mother and my sister bouquets from the yard. I think I've already taken them each two posies of "the last roses"....