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| Welcome! |
Welcome to my zone 7b Long Island garden! It's nice to see you here! After our first nor'easter of the season on September 25 and through the 27th, dumping over three inches of rain upon the garden, the month of October has brought cooler temperatures in the 60's and drier days. A last reminder of summer brought temperatures back into the mid-70's as a final farewell, and now the slightly cooler breezes have returned, and it is the start of sweatshirt season. Join me for a tour of the garden to see remaining late summer blooms, changing foliage and the captivating colors of fall.
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| Hydrangea 'Firelight Tidbit |
The first stop is along the eastern fence line. 'Firelight Tidbit' has become on of my most favorite varieties of hydrangea. From its lime-green blooms in spring, which change to pure white in summer, then to a deep pink in fall, this variety is compact, long-blooming and definitely a winner!
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| Allium 'Millenium' Seed Head |
In the back border, the seed heads of Allium 'Millenium' are such fun! I planted these about three years ago, and am really enjoying the seasonal interest!
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| Dwarf Blue Spruce & Echinacea |
Here is a combination of foliage and blooms. This is Dwarf Blue Globe Spruce with the dried seed heads of Echinacea (Coneflower) and golden Hinoki Cypress 'Nana' to the left. The bird visitors have been feasting on the leftover seeds!
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| Sedum 'Brilliant' Last Bloom! |
As I was walking around the garden, I spotted this one last sedum bloom, which must have been sparked by the rain and warner temperatures...
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| Back Island Bed with Hydrangea 'Limelight Prime' |
and in the back raised bed, Hydrangea 'Limelight Prime' has pushed out a new bloom!
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| Hydrangea 'Limelight Prime' |
Here are the blooms up close. It is a plant that just keeps on giving!
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| Platycodon 'Kamachi' (Balloon Flower) |
Around to the back perennial border, while the foliage of Balloon Flower 'Kamachi' is aging to a deep purple hue, there are still remaining blooms to be seen.
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| Knock Out Rose 'Radrazz' |
This Knock Out Rose 'Radrazz', right outside the back door, has been blooming all summer and is pushing out another round of blooms that will last through the first frost.
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| Front Walkway |
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| Front Lawn |
This maple always puts on a show, but I think with the combination of drought we had this summer then a nor'easter with tons of rain, the colors seem to be much more vibrant this year.
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| Front Island Bed |
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| Fall Mums! |
We had a good season for the herb/vegetable planter, with tomatoes lasting all the way through to about a week and a half ago. After removing the completed plants, I thought, 'Why not plant some mums?!"
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| Back New Planting |
Having mentioned the nor'easter that affected the entire east coast in September, the continuous rain for three days and winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour had caused a row of very mature Emerald Green Arborvitae along our northern fence line to uproot, so a major renovation was needed. The trees were taken out with a mini backhoe and replaced with these Blue Point Juniper and Juniper Sea of Gold just four days ago.
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| Hydrangea 'Tardiva' |
Along the northern side of the property, Hydrangea 'Tardiva' is continuing to display its white panicle blooms that start in late summer and last through fall...
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| One Last Glance! |
and we could not end the tour without one last glance of the Hydrangea 'Firelight Tidbit'!
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| Thanks for Visiting! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my October garden. I so appreciate you being here, look forward to your comments and enjoy seeing what you have growing in your garden. Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who had hosted Foliage Follow-Up, a meme I will continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden.
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Until we Meet Again...Happy Gardening!
Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2010-2026. All rights reserved.
Lee, your Japanese maples and hydrangeas are so lovely! I had no idea the nor'easter had caused so much damage in your garden as to uproot mature trees. Your garden looks great despite it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elemaza. Your October garden views are beautiful, inviting and calming. I love the combinations of colors and textures and the combination of Aromatic asters and Muhly grass is breathtaking!
DeleteI'm happy that your garden weathered the nor'easter because you have so many beautiful blooms. The sedum "Brilliant" had me running to check it out at a nursery website. That Japanese Maple in the Front Lawn picture is gorgeous. I think we are going to have some of the best color in years where I live. Enjoy the rest of fall. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteAlana-I am glad you enjoyed the tour! You still have so many blooms for the month of October and your Japanese Anemone are lovely! We are getting much colder temperatures this evening, with no frost yet, but way to soon for comfort!
DeleteThat jazzy Allium seedhead grabbed my attention, Lee, but I do love your Hydrangeas, which age so gracefully. If only I could grow plants that look like those, but they're prone to incinerating almost overnight in our perpetually hot, dry conditions. Enjoy your cooler weather!
ReplyDeleteKris-I can never get enough of your gardens and everything is looking beautiful! I especially love the Dahlia collection. The variety 'Omega' is outstanding and I am also fond of the bush violets with their colorful hue! You have plants that could never survive here, but I sure do love seeing them in your garden!
DeleteGorgeous, especially loving the colors of the maples on the front walkway and lawn! The new plantings look good. It's always sad to see plants not fare well, but the opportunities will hopefully be greater in the long run. All my panicle hydrangeas took crispy turns between the heat of August and my wrist injury, nut tour quickfire tidbit looks fabulous. I love that Tardiva variet you have. My little landscape is buttoned up for fall/winter, with summer annuals just pulled and pansies planted. It feels so good! Thanks for sharing tour beautiful October garden, Lee!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rita-your table settings always make me smile, as so much love and creativity is put into each one. This is the perfect setting for October and Halloween and I especially love the scary vase, lovely floral arrangement and dancing skeleton plates, and all such a beautiful dedication to Mary. Keep doing what you do-always beautiful!
DeleteAbsolutely spectacular fall garden! I'm always envious of the blue spruce, every single time you show it... no matter the season.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tracy! I always enjoy seeing your cacti and succulents and the Colocasia 'coffee cups' is an eye-catcher, and the melons too-awesome!!! With all the work you are doing, hopefully it will cool down soon!
DeleteStunning! #GardenAffair
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting Lydia. I am glad you enjoyed the views! Have a great day!
DeleteSuch a lovely garden. I particularly like the hydrangeas, one of my favourite groups of garden shrubs
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and for your kind words. I am so glad you enjoyed your time here. Your fall photos are beautiful!
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