A Belated October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

This past week was hectic with some family stuff going on and I didn't notice it was Bloom Day until the next morning. Even though I'm quite late at this point, I still wanted to document what is in bloom in my central Ohio zone 6a garden since I've only done so in October once before. We're still in a drought, but we have gotten over 2.5" of rain so far this month which is helping us avoid it getting worse at least.

The zinnias are still blooming although most of the ones planted in the ground have awful powdery mildew at this point. The peach one above and it's friends are planted in pots that I water daily if needed so they've held up much better.

These thumbalina zinnias are also growing in a pot and as their name suggests are much smaller than all the other zinnias I'm growing. I wasn't in love with them over most of the season because they're just a bit too dainty for me, but I appreciate anything that is still blooming at this point.

I was worried that I might might only have one or two blooms on my Otto's Thrill dahlia this year, but numbers three though six are all on this branch that unfortunately snapped in the wind today. That, however, gave me an excuse to bring them inside to enjoy. There are still several buds to go, if the frost continues to hold off.

This single dahlia, which is definitely not Penhill Dark Monarch as labeled, is also still blooming. It is pretty and the bees love it.

This anise hyssop (agastache foeniculum) is blooming and I'm really loving the little bluestem planted to the right last month (Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues'), which is getting some lovely purple tones.

The award for the longest blooming flower in my garden has to go to this clump of salvia farinacea. It is easy to grow from seed, needs no special care and survives drought without supplemental water.

This volunteer cleome planted itself in a bare spot where I'm still figuring out what I want to plant long-term. It also been blooming for quite awhile and I just love it. I'm going to try spreading the seed around to other parts of the garden this year to see if I can get it to grow elsewhere.

My other asters are long gone unfortunately, so I was thrilled to see this white one pop up that I don't remember planting.

This small snapdragon clump was another surprise I found growing in the front foundation bed.

The snapdragon is near this nasturtium that finally decided to bloom.

I also spotted a coneflower or two and I have some rudbeckia both grown in the ground and in a pot. That's it for what's growing in my garden this month and probably my last bloom post for this season. Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - September 2025

It's rained less than 1" here in my central Ohio zone 6b garden since August 1 and we're now officially in a moderate drought. The garden is looking rather crispy, but there are still some blooms thanks to supplemental watering. 

Last month I feared I might not see any blooms from my Otto's Thrill dahlia this season, thanks to to an untimely deer pruning. But here is my second bloom, this one with more yellow peeking through than the first. 

I'm really loving these sky blue asters, as are the pollinators, which I planted last year and plan to add more next season.

My rudbeckia that's in a pot is still blooming. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the plants in the garden (those darn deer!).

Queen lime red zinnia from saved seed and an unknown variety.

The zinnias are still blooming too since I've been watering them, but the ones in my front bed have a nasty case of powdery mildew and probably need to be pulled (sobs).

These snapdragons I grew from seed took quite awhile to get going, but I'm loving the colors.

Nothing phases this mealycup sage (savia farinacea). It dealt with our overabundance of rain in spring and early summer and now it's still blooming away despite receiving no supplemental water. 

White snakeroot (ageratina altissima) suddenly appeared throughout my garden this year. It's native and the host plant to 7 species of lepidoptera, plus it's filling some holes for the time being so I'm letting it stay. I'm curious to know what others think of this plant. 

That's about it for what's blooming in my garden this month, visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's in bloom elsewhere. 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: The August Garden

 

Our rains have finally dried up and my central Ohio zone 6b garden is looking a little tired. We've had less than three-fourths an inch of rain so far this month, but I'm not complaining as overall we've had great rainfall this summer.

In August zinnias are the stars of my garden. These were all sowed from seed outside in May. Most of the seed I saved from the Dawn Creek Pastels zinnias I grew last year. I have no idea where that bright fuchsia zinnia in the top left came from, but that's part of the fun.

While the zinnias are doing great, it's been a bit of a disappointing dahlia year. Of my big dahlias, only Sweet Love is blooming so far. It's extremely reliable and has been blooming since early July. 

My favorite, Otto's Thrill, was severely pruned by the deer when it first set buds, which set it back quite a bit. There are two new buds now and I'm crossing my fingers I'll get some blooms yet. I also lost one other dahlia over winter, a hazard of not digging them up. But I still find the convenience is worth the risk.

Sweet Love dahlia

My dill is also in bloom. These umbel flowers are so pretty.

But when I looked closer yesterday, I was excited to discover seven Black Swallowtail caterpillars! This is exactly why I grew this dill, which I hope is enough to sustain them. I'm already plotting to grow more host plants for them next year. I also spotted two Monarch caterpillars on my sad-looking rose milkweed. Hopefully it will work for them.

This dwarf sunflower is a survivor! I grew 10 or so plants from seed, but the darn deer ate every single one down to nubs in June. I thought they were goners, but the plants grew side shoots, then buds and now one of them finally bloomed! A head-clipping weevil got the second bloom on this plant. Gardening is tough business sometimes.

I'm also excited to see this garden phlox bloom. Keeping it in a cage is the only way to keep the critters from eating it.

I wintersowed this mistflower last winter. Not only is it blooming during it's first summer, but it's also been ignored by all the critters in my yard, a major bonus!

I love volunteer flowers and these cleomes have been blooming and bringing me joy for weeks.

This wild petunia (ruellia humilis) is quickly becoming another favorite. I love its color, that it blooms for months and that it spreads a bit. Unfortunately the critters also love it, so I keep it caged.

And last but not least are the tomatoes which keep blooming away and proving me with these yummy cherry tomatoes to eat.

Also in bloom are agastache, snapdragons, coneflowers and even pansies (since March!). Thanks for stopping by and please visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming elsewhere.

A Very Late July Bloom Day

Front garden bed with monarda, Shasta daises, coneflowers
and mealcup sage (Salvia farinacea)

 

It's been a week, so while I took photos in time for July Bloom Day hosted by May Dreams Gardens, I'm just now posting them. I didn't want to miss the occasion altogether though since my garden is currently in peak bloom.

Coneflower with an unknown variety of monarda

The monarda in the front garden bed has thrived this year. Usually the heat and lack of rain means a shorter bloom time and powdery mildew by now, but it's loving the wetter than normal summer we're having.

unknown variety of gladioli

Last year the deer ate all my gladioli before they had the chance to bloom, but this year I've been vigilant about spraying them with deterrent and have gotten to enjoy quite a few of these stunning blooms.

White swan coneflower

I just love the mix of pinks in this Firefly Fuschia yarrow, planted last year.

My Sweet Love dahlias have been blooming since July 5, but I'm still waiting on my dinnerplate dahlias to bloom. Despite being in zone 6b, I don't even bother digging these up anymore. They like where they are and have returned two years in a row. 

I love the dainty delphium butterfly blend (delphinium grandiflorum), which I grew from seed from Botanical Interests. I just wish I could manage to grow more than one plant a year.

I've planted so many rudbeckia seedlings, but the critters have been relentlessly eating them. I'm really enjoying this one that managed to bloom (as is this ant). 

There are also several other native plants blooming now in my garden, but you can see some of those in my last post if you're interested. And visit May Dreams Gardens to enjoy other fantastic gardens in bloom.

June Blooms

It officially feels like summer in my central Ohio zone 6b garden. Some things are still behind, but it's heating  up and so far we're still getting enough rain to keep the garden looking fresh. It's been in the high 70s and 80s for the last week and by next weekend we're expecting to be in the 90s. The hot temps are a little too warm for me, but that's summer in Ohio.

This week I'm most excited about my favorite poppy, the breadseed poppies (papaver somniferum). These are from a heirloom mix I purchased from Select Seeds last year. I  saved and direct-sowed thos seeds in early spring and this is the result. I just love the variety and go outside each morning to see what new variations have bloomed.

This is the first dahlia to bloom this year. While pretty, it's certainly not Penhill Dark Monarch as advertised. That's the risk of buying from a big box store I guess.

And this yellow dahlia is a surprise as I thought I'd pulled the yellow dahlias last year (they don't quite fit my color scheme). But here is one I missed that survived winter. The bees will love is, so it'll stay for the season and I'll reevaluate it this fall.

'Alaska' Shasta daisies

I have a bunch of lavender and wouldn't be without it. I like to dry a bit each year to display as dried flowers in winter. And the bees love it.

bellflowers

My first-ever clary sage (Salvia sclarea v. turkestanica); bloom and it's so unique. I grew this biennial from seed last year via winter sowing and this is the first one to bloom. It has also been completely deer resistant so I plan to grow more in the future.

The lamb's ear is also blooming. It's not my favorite look, but the price was right on these (free) and the  bees have been enjoying it.

Also in bloom are salvia farinacea, pansies purchased in March (well worth it), a few coneflowers and foxglove beardtongue.

That's it for this month in my garden; visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

May Bloom Day

Things are starting to wake up in my central Ohio zone 6b garden, helped by plenty of rain and mild temperatures.

Up first is blue false indigo (baptisia australis). I've had this lovely native plant for many years and always enjoy it's lovely purple blooms.

My purple bearded iris (unknown variety) are also blooming. Not only are they gorgeous, but so far they've been completely deer resistant, something that is becoming more critical in my garden these days. And bonus, all of my irises were a gift from two generous neighbors.

Fellow native Monarda bradburiana is also blooming. This one is growing through a cloche to keep it safe from the deer and menagerie of critters who reside in our back yard (bunnies, groundhog and racoons, oh my!). Did I mention I live in the middle of the city?

Various types of allium are blooming throughout the garden, like a display of purple fireworks. It's another beauty the deer leave alone.

I've had two Miss Kim Lilacs for at least 17 years and they were starting to look worse for the wear. Last year I nervously did a significant prune and am really pleased to see all the new growth at the bottom. This year I plan to prune the old growth even further.

The pansies I bought in late March are still blooming away thanks to the real summer heat not arriving yet, which is fine by me. Just another reminder for me that it's worth it to buy spring annuals; these have brought a lot of color and joy for the last two months.

Lastly, we have the rare Toby flower, who would like to be outside as much as possible, but alas is only permitted supervised visits. He too spends most of his outside time in the garden beds.

That's it for this month in my garden, but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.