Six on Saturday – 16/10/2021 – More, please!

Chris Mousseau

Our lovely warm October continues, with frost nowhere in sight:

The only annoying thing about this trend is the grass – it keeps growing, and keeps needing mowing! And I’m not talking about ornamental grass, like this one, the first of my Six for today. To see Sixes from around the world head over to The Propagator‘s site.

Next up is an array of Zinnias – four to five feet tall in some cases, and still attracting pollinators and still gorgeous:

I had planned to plant my bulbs this weekend, but with today being a washout (rain…) I’m REALLY glad it’ll stay warm for a few more weeks! This is what I ordered: Narcissus double ‘Tahiti,’ Hyacinth ‘Aqua,’ Camassia Quamash and two Allium: Christophii and Summer Drummer (allegedly it will grow up to six feet (180 cm) tall!

There’s still little dots of colour here and there in the garden, like this Echinacea…

…and this rose, the floribunda ‘Friesia,’ still valiantly pushing out leaves, stalks and flower buds:

Finally, I’ve been collecting seeds from my favourite annuals, such as these dusky rose strawflowers, when I can reach around the bees and wasps. Have a great weekend everyone!

22 Comments

  2. I hear you about the grass! Mowing is part of my weekend plan. But isn’t it great to hang on to the warmer weather for a little longer? 🙂

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  4. OH! Is that sugar maple?! You know, sugar maple can live here, and can color well, but is only unpopular because so few know what it is. (Also, the color does not last long before defoliation.) The native bigleaf maple, which is the sugaring maple of the West, turns only clear yellow. It is an awesome tree, but not colorful like Eastern trees. I just mentioned it in my Six.

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    1. This tree is likely an Ash – I feel sad to say that because Emerald Ash Borer is all over the place here, and has killed a few trees on my property already. There are four, however, that are large and gorgeous still, like this one, standing in the open where they’ve developed a strong, beautiful oval shape.

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      1. Wow! That is impressive color for an ash! I tend to forget that ash develop such color. The few that live here defoliate without much color at all. Arizona ash, and the ‘Modesto’ cultivar of it, sometimes exhibit nice yellow color. ‘Raywood’ ash can get good burgundy red color, but only if conditions are right for it to do so.

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      3. Of the few ashes that used to be ‘somewhat’ popular here, the Shamel ash, Fraxinus uhdei, is the most popular. It is also known as the evergreen ash, because it retains much of its green foliage until new foliage replaces it in the spring. It is a big and boring tree, with aggressive roots, but I sort of like it. Since it is our ‘standard’ ash, I do not expect other ashes to be remarkably colorful. ‘Raywood’ ash can get that dark burgundy color, but it is sort of a surprise when it colors nicely.

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  5. Your temperatures are almost better than here! Where are we going …
    3°C at night and 12 ° during the day on Thursday, 15-23 ° expected next Tuesday and again return of cold … Last week, I presented my zinnias and now it’s your turn: you have a lot more and what of varied colors! Very pretty .

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    1. Over the past 6 years our first frost has appeared from Oct 6 – Oct 17 – so we may set some sort of record this year! I’m looking forward to seeing what colour Zinnias I get next year, from the seeds I collected this week.

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  6. Looking at your strawflowers, I realized something I may have thought of before, or even mentioned, but didn’t fully grasp: when I was young — maybe even through college — I assumed strawflowers were made of straw. Whoops! Some might be, but not these lovelies! The tree’s colors are glorious. I miss that kind of autumn color, but its absence does lead us to search for more subtle examples.

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  9. Everything is looking great, Chris. I think this is the first Saturday that everyone likes the weather! Your Zinnias look marvelous and I am looking forward to seeing the Camassia next year.

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    1. You’re right – no hurricanes or drought or wildfires this week for a change! The Camassia should be great – I have some scattered about already, but want to create a drift somewhere that is more noticeable…

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  10. Stunning autumn colours at the top of your page, and as a zinnia fan I enjoyed seeing your zinnia photos. Your allium ‘Summer Drummer’ looks a lot like my unidentified allium which has turned out to be a bit of a thug and will have to be curbed after this year’s flowering.

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