More Fall bloomers…

Osmanthus are great Fall blooming shrubs. They produce white to orange blooms depending on the species which are so fragrant they can fill an entire garden with sweetness!

About ten years ago I plant four holly-leaved osmanthus along the area where I park. They have grown to about 15 feet high and are covered in tiny white flowers with a sweet fragrance! I wish I had planted more. They grew so wide I had to trim a few limbs which had grown over the parking and I attempted to root the cuttings but had no success.


The flowers are tiny but extremely fragrant.


One of my favorite Fall bloomers is Blue Mist Flower, also known as Wild Ageratum, Blue Boneset, or perennial ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum (formerly Eupatorium coelestinum))


It is a tough plant which multiplies by runners to almost the point of becoming weedy but in the October your are rewarded with beautiful flowers. Pollinators love them because not much is blooming at this time.


By this time of the season the Basjoo bananas are rather large and every area of the garden is shady and looks weedy. I will begin to thin out most plants which have finished blooming or have grown too large. It is also a great time to use those cutting to make new plants!

I have discovered English muffins recently. I don’t know why I haven’t purchased them before? They are great with homemade chicken salad and heated for about 20 seconds in the microwave or even to make a homemade egg McMuffin! A nice bite to eat!  

I am enjoying the cooler weather–finally!

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Fall Festivals – SPARKcon

Fall festivals are in full swing. One of my favorites is SPARKcon. It’s a citywide festival of the arts.

Each area of art is named with the suffix “spark” such as fashionSPARK, circusSPARK, artSPARK, and musicSPARK. 

So much to do!

http://www.sparkcon.com

It all culminates in a street festival downtown with stages and blocks of vendors and artist.

I love circusSPARK which includes European-style acrobatics:

     

 
And fashionSPARK:

   
    
 
And artSPARK: street painting

  
And, of course, food trucks!

  
A beautiful clear day became a beautiful and clear night!

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 Fall at last….

Finally, the Fall temperatures have arrived and the humidity is bearable! The night temps have been in the low 60s and days are becoming shorter.

The cooler temperatures have encouraged the tomatoes and basil to begin growing again!

 
Which is great for making Pad Thai!

  
The cooler temperatures seem to make the color of most flowers brighter! These Four-O-Clocks seem almost neon!

  
And the special Fall bloomers! Colchicums!

  
The cool nights are great for drinks on the patios downtown! The Borough has the best corner and nothing beats the How do you Q? on the Corner of Dawson and Morgan Streets!

  
Or inside!

  
And pumpkins!

  

And some time to catch up on some spiritualism!

  
 

Shouldn’t we be canning something or making preserves?

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