Flowering Friday for Fall.. the last hurrah of this year’s blooms

perennial mums

Sharing a smattering of perennials still clinging to life in our October garden.

With the frost coming soon, and with winter’s impending arrival, the garden will soon be put to bed, the last of the leaves will be raked, (oak trees shed leaves a little later), so the time has come to look back at all that was accomplished this year, and to anticipate & plan new projects for next spring.

In the meantime, I’ve harvested many seeds, (still yet to be packed and labelled), steeped rosehips, lavender, and arnica flowers, (among others) in oils for our botanical apothecary products, and have collected an assortment of herbs for our small batch vinegar & spice rubs. A busy time of year for everyone! Gathering for the winter is what fall is all about. Now it’s time to offer gratitude, and just enjoy the garden for what it offered me this past year

~ Happy gardening!

Hardy phlox

Lovely light purple asters

A very late blooming Sweet William

The last bee I’ll likely see this year, on the sedum

Hydrangea, both white and pink

What’s growing in the July garden on a WordlessWednesday

A unique and unusual native woodland plant: Jack-in-the-pulpit

Arisaema triphyllum - Wall Flower Studio The unusual and unique Jack-in-the-pulpit is an excellent perennial woodland garden plant.

The Latin name is Arisaema triphyllum. This plant is easy to recognize, even when not in bloom, due to the foliage combination of 3 leaves.

These lovelies are easy to cultivate under the right conditions. They require no care at all once established. Jack will thrive in most soils, moist to dry, as long as it’s shady. They will happily accept seasonally wet locations.

The good news is that deer will not eat this plant. Having said that, neither should you or anybody else! It is poisonous.

Jack blooms for a long time; May through June in my neck of the woods, (which is considered a ‘zone 3’ USDA), ‘zone 4 A’ in Canada.

Jack in the Pulpit - Arisaema triphyllum This exquisite native woodland perennial is a treat to see every spring! For more information on this lovely fellow, I’d recommend a visit to:

Ontario Wildflowers
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Happy Gardening!

The Autumn Garden winds down for the season – Flowering Friday

These lovely, and very hardy perennial mums have lasted over 3 weeks as cut flowers.

I pinched them from the garden just before we had our first heavy frost.

They’re on their last legs now, but it sure was nice to have an autumn bouquet greet me at the front door each evening as I arrived home from the shop.