Saturday, October 15, 2011

The Heat is On!

There's a fight brewing.  A fight between me and Mother Nature.  It starts this month, and will last all winter.  What's the fight over?  Blooms!


You see, Mother Nature tries hard to make all the blooms go away in the winter.  And sometimes she succeeds.  A hard freeze here, a snowfall there.  But I'm fighting for an ever-blooming garden.

As I live in zone 8, it's possible, but not always easy.  Who will win this year?  Not sure.

She's doing her best to lull me into a state of bliss.  All the roses are blooming right now, and she thinks I'm not thinking about winter.  Actually, I am pretty blissful right now.  But I know winter's not very far away.  And no one (not even the weathermen, obviously!) knows what weather conditions winter will bring.  So, it will be an interesting year.


Right now, the garden is blooming profusely.  Roses everywhere.  But it's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and I'm not going to talk about the roses.  I'm going to concentrate today on the companions that are blooming right now:


Asters


Firebush


Catmint - no, wait!  That's just a cat!


Here's catmint!  With a hummingbird moth!


Pavonia


Salvia


Of course, the fall staple - chrysantemums.  I admit to these being a new purchase.  It'll be interesting to see how many years they survive.


And another fall staple - sedum.

And that's just a small sampling of what's blooming in my garden!  Yes, Mother Nature is trying to lull me into a false sense of security that these blooms will stay.  I know that it's not true.  So, I'm going to enjoy them while they're here.  And hope for the best in the months to come through the winter.  And I do have hope!

Because I have something in my garden that just may beat Mother Nature at her own game.  The camellias are budding!


And those are better than any bloom.  Because this is a promise.  A promise of blooms to come.

48 comments:

  1. Hopefully this winter will be nice to you.. I read in the Farmer's Almanac that Texas and Tennessee should have a very wet, and very mild winter...

    Our Roses definitely go dormant here --and the only blooming things we have are our Pansies... That's why spring is so glorious for us.

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope you have many, many blooms! I love the photo of the cat...you got a good shot of that face.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful flowers today. Happy bloom day

    ReplyDelete
  4. Year 'round bloom is possible in zone 8, depending on the vagaries of the weather. Just in case, I take some things inside that bloom through the winter. Yesterday I sowed annual ryegrass so we'll have green in the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Holley, I am also striving for something being in bloom in the garden all year long, but even here in San Diego (zone 10!) this is not so easy to achieve and requires good planning on the gardeners side. This year I am aiming for roses blooming through the winter and since I have bought some Tea roses there is a chance that my dream will come true.
    I am curious to see if you can reach your goal in your garden this year. I am wishing you luck!
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope you have many things blooming all winter and may I say that the cat has the prettiest eyes! I can't believe the color of them!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Betsy - Wet and mild sounds wonderful! Oh, I hope so!

    Sage Butterfly - I came across him, halfway in and halfway out of the flower bed, and almost stepped on him! I just had to stop and take his picture!

    Melissa - Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day to you, too! Thanks for coming by.

    Nell Jean - Almost made it last year, but it was very, very mild - like an extended autumn - until we finally got a bit of winter. That's when I lost all blooms. You're right, we never know what kind of winter it will be.

    Christina - That's my goal. There's a couple of months that it's pretty iffy. Roses blooming through the winter sounds wonderful! I may have to plant pansies to up my chances!

    Egretta - He does have beautiful green eyes. They really are that color.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful but I think I am going to be very envious this winter. :)
    Cher Sunray Gardens

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lots of beautiful flowers. Are the camellias fall-blooming? Mine bloom in November and December. Happy GBBD.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well, I'm glad you snuck in a couple rose shots anyway! And who could imagine a garden without a cat or two? I'm looking forward to seeing your camellias opened up. It looks like you'll meet your goal of having flowers all year. Happy bloomday!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really hope the weather is kind to you though frosted rose blooms are lovely to capture aswell. I've never heard of a Pavonia before - it looks lovely but how cool to capture a little hummingbird hawkmoth nectaring.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cher - We'll see. With my luck, we'll have a record cold year! LOL

    Carolyn - I have both japonicas and sasanquas. Last year, they bloomed in November, December, and then in March. I'm hoping to add a couple more to the garden this year. If I can squeeze them in!

    lostlandscape - I always love seeing camellias blooming. It seems they bloom when nothing else will, so they are so very welcome. I hope to meet my goal - but it is quite a lofty one!

    leavesnbloom - Pavonia blooms here all summer and fall. And I was very excited to see the hummingbird moth. I can never seem to get a clear picture. That was the best shot I've had all year long!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good luck on the blooms this winter. Maybe you should put in some silks. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I want so to be able to grow camelias. But it isn't going to happen in my zone 5 garden. The hummingbird moth brought back memories of living in NW Arkansas years ago. Have a happy GBBD and good luck with your "year round blooms" project.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Holley, I admire your energy -- I'm afraid I've already given up the fight. I'm planning for spring now. Your October garden looks amazing. P. x

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow! Great blooms! Your October garden looks amazing considering everything around here is pretty much done for! The fact that you can have an all year blooming garden makes me want to pack it up and move! I hope you out wit mother nature and succeed with your blooms!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Greggo - I once had a gardening friend that would plant fake flowers in her garden when nothing was blooming. She was such an amazing gardener that no one ever thought they were fake! LOL If I decide to do that, I'll be sure to disclose it! hahaha

    bookworm - Camelias are such a wonderful plant for the south. Too bad you're just a bit too cold. Now that I've put it out there, I'll probably fail miserably! LOL Maybe I should have waited to know if I was going to make it or not!

    Pam - Spring will be right around the corner!

    My Garden Diaries - Well, when it was over 100 degrees for months and we were in a record drought, a lot of people here wanted to pack up and move away! Out wit mother nature - a good way to put it. I hope I can fool her, too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your roses are breathtaking! Lots of lovely blooms in your garden--I'm especially smitten with the blue-eyed striped bloom near the catmint:) I hope these promises come true for you this winter!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Rose - Isn't he pretty? And such a baby. He's really my daughter's - maybe one day she'll take him back!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jealous! That's all I can say! An ever-blooming garden--what more could a gardener ask for?! Love the photo of your cat!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, how beautiful, your garden is always stunning. I can almost smell the roses from here. What a beautiful kitty, too.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Jennifer@threedogsinagarden
    I like your catmint, I mean cat! He of she has eyes that look right inside you.
    It is nice to think that it is possible to have a garden with year round blooms. My garden is coming to its seasonal end. I will have to look to gardens like yours to keep me going through the long Canadian winter!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Your hummingbird moth is a Snowberry clearwing
    (Hemaris diffinis) I had one in my gnarly loft garden earlier this summer. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-diffinis

    I am going to try some scabiosa (pincushion flower) for some blooms in January. They bloomed pretty well for me back in New Braunfels during the winter. Hope it will not be as cold here as last winter.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post! I love the cat...and the catmint! Happy GBBD :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I always enjoy seeing photos of your roses, but your other flowers are pretty too! I love the color of the Pavonia. (Your cat reminds me of my Oliver who is my garden companion.)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love that Chrysanthemum! I am in the equivalent of Zone 8 here, and I have some things that bloom through winter. Iris unguicularis is fantastic, Camellias of course, and Wintersweet (Chimonanthus). Also Pansies and some Primulas, and Carolina Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) on a warm wall. There are probably lots of others.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I think many readers would be happy if you had blooms all winter so we can see them vicariously. Although I had the odd flower still going right now I expect they will all disappear in a couple weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  28. PlantPostings - I know it's possible. I'm going to really try to make it this year!

    Karen - The kitty is very pretty. And soft. And sweet. He walks around the garden with me in the mornings. I think he likes to stalk me!

    Jennifer - I really don't know how people do it with long, hard winters. Just the mild winters we get here depress me a bit. I want spring year round!

    Tufa Girl - Thanks so much for the identification! I have seen them here and there, but never get a really good photo. I love seeing them, though. And yes, scabiosa was in bloom for me last December! Mine didn't fare too well in the drought. I need to replace them, and hopefully get some blooms this winter!

    Rebecca - Everyone needs a cat - I mean catmint - in their garden!

    dorothy - The pavonia is one of the hardest workers in my garden. I can count on it to bloom through summer and fall no matter what the weather is like. I bet Oliver is a sweetheart.

    Lyn - I couldn't resist the chrysanthemum. I had some in my garden for several years, but pulled them out and put roses there (surprise!). I felt like I needed some chrysanthemums in my garden somewhere, though! Thanks for the extra plant ideas! It's warms my soul to go out on a cold day and find a bloom!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Marguerite - I'm sorry your blooms are coming to an end. But, having just the bones of the garden to look at can be beautiful, too.

    ReplyDelete
  30. At first I thought the first photo is the most beautiful, then I see so many other beautiful photos. Love the cat and the chrysanthemum too. Perfect posture of the cat! Just love it.

    Why fight with Mother Nature? :) Frost is beautiful too.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a wonderful goal to have blooms all year and my hope is you are successful. I love the roses and was intrigued to see the blooming companions..the kitty is gorgeous too!! The camellia buds though are definitely a blessing for more blooms. I now your Nov GBBD will be one I will be waiting to see since you will have so many blooms to see that I no longer can....

    ReplyDelete
  32. One - I suppose I shouldn't fight with Mother Nature. She always wins, anyway. But it's fun to try!

    Donna - Even though it gets very hot here, when the camellias bloom, I feel quite lucky to live in the south!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Your kitty has such beautiful eyes!

    So many wonderful blooms in your garden. I love your header - what a beautiful place!

    ReplyDelete
  34. garden girl - Thank you for the compliment in my header. I do enjoy the garden. The cat really does have gorgeous eyes. Not many have that color - they almost glow.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Cute picture of the kitty!!! I love our catmint. I planted a little tiny one about 2 months ago and it is HUGE now and full of blooms. Great little plant. I wanted it cause I liked the name but now I really like it and recommend it AND the deer leave it alone- a big plus in Austin. All your blooms look beautiful - winter- so far away for me to think about but it is mid-October! Where did the time go???

    ReplyDelete
  36. kacky - I love catmint, too. It's little blue blooms and sweet leaves look fabulous with so many other different plants. The time went to our drought! I'm trying to make up for lost time!

    ReplyDelete
  37. HolleyGarden, thank you for visiting on GBBD! Isn't it funny that we can have such different gardening conditions and still both be Zone 8? The Pavonia is lovely - I haven't ever seen it. I like almost anything that will bloom this time of year, because like you, I'm hanging on for dear life to my gardening time!

    ReplyDelete
  38. It's great to see all your beautiful blooms. Your garden looks gorgeous, despite the terrible drought you have had. I hope winter is kind to you. The cat's eyes are striking and beautiful as a jade jewel amongst the flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Your roses are beautiful; I know just what you mean about hanging on to the blooms, this year more than ever before I don't want winter to arrive. I've never seen Pavonia before, I'm going to check what it needs. Christina

    ReplyDelete
  40. What a lovely blog Holley, I enjoyed reading and looking at what's in bloom in your garden at this time of the year. I must say the Cat has nearly stolen the show!

    I agree too about the promise of those Camellia buds, can't wait for spring! :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Mulch Main - Hanging on is a good way to put it. Clutching desperately to blooms! :) The Pavonia should do well for you. I hope you can give it a try.

    deb- I hope winter is kind, too. After this summer, we need a break, and so do the plants. There are still tall trees all around that are dead or dying. They could use a little TLC from the weather. Love the way you described the cat's eyes.

    Christina - We had a hard summer, so I feel like we haven't had near enough blooms for the year! Pavonia, though, never skips a beat!

    Mark and Gaz - Isn't it funny that we're already looking forward to spring and winter hasn't even arrived yet? I guess gardeners are much more in tune with the seasons. I hope the winter is short for both of us.

    Kelli - He was just watching me take pictures, so I had to stop and take his!

    ReplyDelete
  42. What beautiful blooms! I love the aster and the firebush, but the cat is definitely my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Becky - Everyone should plant a cat in their garden!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I hope you have a mild winter and have blooms all year long.I will need to see those pretties when January hits us here. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Lona - I hope to have some pretties in January. Last year there was about a month that I didn't have any blooms. Scabiosa bloomed through December, and a camellia started opening its blooms in February. So, yes, January seems to be the hardest month.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Yes, we still have lots of blooms, at least for part of October. I have some clean up of annuals that were frozen this morning. I hope winter goes by quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Corner Gardener Sue - Oh, brrr! Frozen already! I hope winter goes by quickly, too. I'm already looking forward to spring!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...