So Long, Dry October; November, Please Send Rain!

We've just come out of an exceptionally dry October.  October is typically one of our driest months, but 2016 took things a little too far.  Many places in our area got zero rain for the entire month.  I can't recall if we had any rain nearer the beginning of the month, but if we did, it wasn't much.

I usually feel a little weird complaining about drought, because there are other places that have it worse, but this time I'm complaining anyway! ;o)  We need rain, but there's only the slimmest of prospects in the forecast.  At least the unusually high temperatures are expected to inch down this week.  Drought and highs consistently in the mid-to-upper 80s is just too much for what is supposed to be blissful autumn.

...That's what it comes down to, really-- Mother Nature's pulled a seasonal bait and switch!  I'm starting to feel cheated of autumn.  All summer, I look forward to October as a Golden Month, when the fever of summer has finally broken and cooler weather sets in.  This year, October didn't bring the anticipated level of relief.  The low humidity is nice, sure, but it doesn't feel truly autumnal, yet.

Oh well, I guess that's enough whining for one blog post.  I'll just add that I've delayed autumn planting, because I'm having enough trouble keeping the existing plantings watered and alive.  If my prayers are answered, November will bring rain, and then I'll be able to start planting things currently waiting (impatiently!) in the patio-nursery.

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Autumn doesn't bring as much colorful foliage, this far south, but there are a few leaves that change color.  Crepe myrtles sometimes provide a show.  (I haven't noticed any yet, this year.  Not sure if that's typical or if the color change may be delayed by the warm weather.)  Though an invasive pest, the Chinese tallow tree (a.k.a. popcorn tree) can be beautiful in fall.

This morning, I noticed that there are some orange and gold highlights in the white-flowered loropetalum.

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I'd like to add more grasses to the garden, so I'm trying to find some that will do well in our climate (and be well-adapted to my garden's particular circumstances).

It's not as easy as I would've expected to find healthy-looking, interesting grasses locally-- and they can be pricey-- so I'm also looking specifically for some I might be able to start from seed.  (The downside to that plan is that those grasses might also tend to be aggressive self-sowers.)

One of the potted plants waiting out the drought is this grass-- Miscanthus sinesis 'Adagio'.  (No photo of the whole plant-- just some of the seedheads.)

I've been very pleased with the performance of the two Japanese sedges in the garden-- 'Evergold' (pictured below) and 'Everillo'.  It could be interesting to add another variety, but so far, all I ever see locally is 'Everillo'.  (Incidentally, 'Everillo' is by far the less interesting of the two I'm growing.  Its bright chartreuse color has darkened to a less interesting medium green.  Maybe it would lighten in a different intensity of sunlight.  'Evergold' has stayed strikingly variegated.)

Technically, Japanese sedge is not a grass, but to most of us, it looks like one and feels like one, and I think of it as an ornamental grass, even if it's not.  (So there, taxonomists!)

So far, I'm very pleased with the 'White Cloud' muhly grass.  It's still very small, but it should get to a better size in another year or two.

The pink muhly grass is of a decent size, now.  I'm not sure how long the inflorescence usually looks pink before it fades to tan, but this year, it seemed to fade very quickly.  Maybe it always does; maybe this was a result of the unseasonably hot, dry weather.

(Most of what I've read online says that the color fades slowly in winter... I hope this early fading doesn't mean the plant is unhealthy.  Maybe I waited too long to water it, during this drought...)

It's pretty even when it's tan, but I won't lie-- a longer-lasting pink would be even better.

Well, time will tell... Maybe next year the color will last longer.

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No sign of life from the in-ground Japanese shrub mint.  It could still re-emerge in spring, but I'm not holding my breath.  The ones in pots on the patio are still okay, though (knock on wood)!  They're even blooming.

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I'm not sure why fall is spiderweb season (apparently it has something to do with the timing of their life-cycles), but it definitely is.  There are webs all over the place, outside.  I don't mind them, so long as they're visible enough that I don't walk right into them.  Well, and so long as they aren't those BIG spiders.  I really don't want to walk into one of those.

I'm seeing the occasional banana spider, but more often "smiley face" spiders (a.k.a. crab spiders or jewel box spiders) and orchard orb-weavers, like the one below.

There are only a handful of young leaves on the passionflower vines, but even so, Gulf fritillary caterpillars are still present!  (One of the Gulf fritillary butterflies landed on my hand-- and stayed a while-- as I was watering plants, this morning.)

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Curcuma elata was turning yellow with drooping stalks, so I cut it back to the ground.  I can't recall exactly when it "died back", last year, but I'm hopeful that it's normal for it to go dormant in late October-- especially since it was such a dry month.  It looked healthy enough until right before it started fading and drooping.  Most of the elephant ears have already gone dormant or are well on their way.

Curcuma 'Scarlet Fever' is lasting longer into the year, which makes sense, I guess, since it is so much slower to emerge in spring.  Even so, I don't think it will be long before it's ready to cut back, too.

The Mexican bush sage is a little leggy-looking, but I can't bring myself to cut it back.  I doubt it would have time to grow enough to reflower before frost (?), and what's left of the flowers is still pretty (even if the "legs" aren't).  Besides, butterflies don't care if a plant gets leggy.

The banana fuscata looks healthy and happy at the moment.  Most of the branches are lined with velvety little buds.

I think I'll move the forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis) next year, assuming it comes back in spring.   I don't think it's getting enough sun where it is, because it's flopped to the point that it's lying on the ground... Well, the flowers are still pretty!

Last year was better for the Salvia purpurea.  I'm not sure why.  Could be any number of reasons.  What blooms we have are the same beautiful magenta.  There just aren't as many of them (yet, at least), and the plants as a whole look kind of pathetic (which is why I'm only showing the flowers (g)).

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I have come to the conclusion that I am only a middling grower of succulents.  Part of the blame may go to this (usually) damp climate, but I probably bear a lot of it myself.  A few of the succulents are doing fairly well, at least.  I'll try to keep these few good ones going, but I don't think I'll bother adding any more to the garden (unless they're free or unbelievably cheap).

My favorite succulents are the rosette types.

They seem to do better for me, which is part of the appeal, but I also like the fact that they look like flowers.

The too-red rose has been blooming a fair bit, lately.  That plant knows how to perform under stress.

There are also a smattering of blooms on the 'Joseph's Coat' rose.  By and large, though, I'm not encouraged by its appearance.  Lots of the canes look sickly.  I'll have to read more.  I know you're ideally not supposed to prune a climbing rose too severely for its first few years, but if it seems to be dying anyway, it might be worth cutting it back hard, anyway.

If it can't improve, I'll be taking it out and replacing it with something else.  While the flowers are lovely, there are easier-care plants that would look better for more of the year.

Below, a jumble.  Double pink Knock Out rose, Salvia purpurea, and volunteer cypress vine.  It looks a mess (ugh, must deadhead the roses), but I like the purple, pink, and red.

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Black-eyed susan vine (Thunbergia elata) took its sweet time climbing anything, this summer, but it's finally done what I'd planned-- climbed up the two vertical supports I'd provided for it in a couple of places in the garden.

I'm not sure why the "eyes" of these two flowers are white instead of the usual black/dark purple.  I've noticed white-centered flowers before, but I'm unable to tell if they're all on the same vine, because they're growing in such a tangle.

Too bad the vines won't grow tall earlier in the summer.  It would make them more appealing, if they had a summer-long show.  Maybe they can, under different circumstances.

Double red Knock Out rose:

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The pincushion ginger (Hedychium thyrsiforme) bloomed for the first time, this year!

They're kind of strange-looking flowers.  Exotic, but not as showy as the pass-along butterfly ginger lily, really-- or at least, not as visible over a distance, since the flowers are smaller.  I think they don't smell nearly as much as the butterfly ginger, either.  The leaves are interesting, though, with a corrugated texture.

This is what the inflorescence looks like when the flowers have only partially opened:

In the background, you can see a pinecone-like inflorescence that has yet to begin blooming.

...And here's one that has been blooming longer, with the older spent flowers hanging from the bottom of the "cone".  (It may look a little messy, but that's just Nature's way. (g) At least, when the gardener's not willing to go pick off every brown part of a plant, that's what she tells herself.)

An interesting flower.  

Incidentally, the other ginger lily I was expecting to see bloom for the first time this year-- Hedychium 'Elizabeth'-- did bloom, a while back.  There were two "flower cones", and I did get a peek at the color.  However, the flowers were such pathetic things!  Embarrassingly puny.

This is another plant that I think needs more sun, so I plan to transplant it when it comes back in spring (apparently better for gingers than transplanting in autumn).  If I recall correctly, it might have been raining right when it started to flower, too, which I'm sure didn't help.

In any case, the flowers didn't look great, so I didn't bother taking photos.  Maybe next year they'll bloom better (unless they need another year to settle in after being moved around).  Rather than be disappointed by a sub-par show this year, I'm trying to see it as something to look forward to, since it's yet to bloom as it really ought to bloom.

October Flowers

This has been an extremely dry month, so far, and quite a bit warmer than our average October.  A side effect of the dry weather is that humidity has been relatively low, which at least keeps most of the day in a comfortable range-- particularly if you can find shade.

Some plants are suffering from the drought, and though I've gone out and watered some things a time or two, there's a large part of the garden that hasn't gotten any supplemental watering.  I'm just hoping those plants can pull through on their own.  If not...

I haven't been doing much gardening at all, for one reason or another, but in the past several days, I did repot some houseplants.  The tender "angelwing jasmine" I bought earlier in the year (because it was mislabeled as confederate jasmine) has moved from its ugly nursery pot into something a little nicer and is waiting its turn to come indoors, too.

I also took a few cuttings of purple heart, 'Pizzazz Purple' salvia, and dwarf butterfly bush.  (It may be a little late in the season for taking cuttings, but it doesn't hurt to try.)

In order to free up the pot it was occupying, I planted the bougainvillea into the ground in a somewhat sheltered spot.  It may not survive our winters, but it didn't exactly thrive indoors, either, and I only have so much space by our sunniest windows...  I'll keep it watered until the weather cools down and/or the rain returns, but other than that, it's on its own, now.

What I really need to do more than anything else is get out and do some weeding.  Maybe next week.

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Given the state of the garden and my own lack of interest, I've decided against an October "survey" post, but I've taken some non-survey-style photos, instead.

'White Cloud' Muhly Grass.
This was a clearance purchase I made online, so it got a late start, but it still managed to bloom this year.

I love it!
I'd like to add more ornamental grasses to the garden, but I'm trying to walk the line between "tough enough to make it (almost) on its own" and "won't take over the world".

Purple Muhly Grass.
The purple one has been in the garden longer (by a year or so?) and has started to put on some size.

Swamp Daisies.
They're still blooming away.  Some of the flowers are starting to shrivel, but they've put on an enthusiastic show.

Here they are with the seedheads of the 'Autumn Sun' cutleaf rudbeckia in the foreground.  I've cut some of these off and will be trying to wintersow them in the coming months.  I'd love to have more of this tall rudbeckia to spread around the flower bed.  It seems like the kind of thing that should grow easily from seed, but I don't take those things for granted.  (Too many failures under my belt!)

Perennial Mistflower.
I took some seeds from a wild mistflower down by the pond, last winter.  The plants that grew from those seeds are still in pots, but if they come back in spring, I'll have to find a permanent spot for them.  They have a reputation for being somewhat invasive, but I haven't noticed them taking over too much in the wild, so maybe that won't be a problem in my garden, either.

They bloom better with a bit more sun, but they don't like to get too dry, either, so they might be tricky to accommodate...

Madagascar Periwinkle. 
They come back year after year from self-sown seed.  This year, they didn't make an appearance until fairly late in the summer.  I'd begun to think they weren't going to return, after all.  But they did, and as always, they're a nice late-season filler.  Considering that they get zero attention or care (beyond any spillover benefits meted out to adjacent plants), they are beautiful and carefree additions to the garden.

Marigolds.
They only look good in parts.  There are other parts that look dreadful-- bare, brown, dead-looking stems.  The parts that look good do look good, though, and if you're careful with the composition and cropping of a photo, that's all you have to see. ;o)

Reindeer Moss.
This is growing on the grass-less wild strip just inside the southern fence.  The tall pines to the south protect it from direct sun.  These are tiny little pieces, but I still like to see it growing...

Lantana.
The two lantanas Mom gave me earlier this summer are still flowering.  Something has been at the leaves, but that doesn't seem to have discouraged the plants much.

Confederate Rose.
The big confederate rose that I transplanted from the garden beds to the side of the shed is still very much alive.  It's even blooming.  However, the sparseness of the leaves and lankiness of the plant suggest that it would be happier in more sun.

I'm not sure yet what I'll do.  I could leave it where it is and plant the small rooted cutting I have in a sunnier location, then just see what this shady-spot one does, for another year or two.  I could also try to take more cuttings (this year or next), against the possibility that this plant eventually fizzles out because of a poor location.  (It won't matter so much if it fades away, so long as I've had a chance to get one or two good clones going.)

The other option is to move it again, but I don't look forward to that.  It was a difficult job to move the first time.  One thing's for sure-- if I do go to the effort of transplanting it yet again, I will be giving it a place with plenty of sun and room to stretch.

Pink Trumpet Vine.
Still blooming a little at a time.  Here it is sneaking its way through the neighboring "banana fuscata".

The back garden arbor is still waiting for some finishing touches.  The viburnum is withering from the drought (and probably the shortening days), and the cannas are going into dormancy, but the gold of the swamp daisies looks wonderful with the light green of the cypress in the back and the paler yellow 'Sunshine' ligustrum.

(Trixie wanted to be part of the picture!)

Back along the gravel path, many plants are going into their yearly decline, but there are still enough flowers to keep the bees and butterflies happy-- and there's enough color to keep me happy, too, when I can forget (or ignore) the weeds and the plants that have not survived the summer.

I try to remember that plants die, and this is not necessarily a sign of failure on the part of the gardener.  It's a learning experience and a natural consequence of working with living things.  Even the best gardener has killed plants along the way-- and continues to do so.

Show me a person who hasn't committed the occasional "plant murder"-- uh, non-criminally negligent herbicide?-- erm, involuntary plant-slaughter?-- and I'll show you a person who has never really gardened.  (That's what I tell myself, at least, and sometimes it even helps!)