Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October 2019

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for October 2019.

Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana, we've had a couple of early morning frosts—right on schedule—and the garden is winding down rapidly.

Of course, that big "push" from a late-season dry spell has helped the blooms descend rather rapidly, in my humble opinion.

But I still have blooms.

I hadn't grown marigold from seed in quite a few years. I remember now how late they continue to bloom.  The other day I was admiring them and trying to take pictures of butterflies on them and found instead a praying mantis eating some kind of little butterfly/mother/skipper/miller.

Here for your enjoyment is the praying mantis.

And here is a sister insect of the one it was eating.

Shall we move on?  (Yes, Carol, because this isn't Garden Bloggers' Insect Day!)

Also in the Vegetable Garden Cathedral where the marigolds are, some snapdragons are putting out the bloom.

I planted these snaps way back in late March. I love that they've given me nearly 7 months of bloom. I suspect they'll go on for a while until we get a hard freeze.

Out in front, some Buddleia are still cranking out blooms. These have been attracting painted lady and monarch butterflies all fall.  (These are Proven Winners Lo and Behold 'Blue Chip Jr.' which are fairly sterile and do not set seed.)

Nearby, leadwort is also still blooming. It goes by the fancy name of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides.

A not to be outdone in the "I can still bloom if you can still bloom" game, is Geranium 'Rozanne'.

I'll really have to hand it to the garden for having as much bloom as it does under the weird conditions of the last few months.

And that's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in my garden. What's blooming in your garden on this 15th of the month. Join in this long-standing meme and show us. Just post on your blog about what's blooming in your garden, then leave a link in the Mr. Linky widget and a comment to entice us to visit.

And remember... We can have flowers nearly every month of the year. ~ Elizabeth Lawrence