Autumn in New England is such a beautiful time. The leaves are changing from a beautiful shade of green to a fiery shade of red. The weather is still warm with sunny days, blue skies and a hint of briskness in the air. It is officially pumpkin and apple season! That means it's time to bring out the festive fall decor and pull out the aprons for some seasonal baking. Here in zone 6a, you never really know when the first frost will hit. I wasn't sure if September was the end of the growing season. Turns out, it's been a balmy fall so flowers are still blooming and veggies are still ripening. I am excited to link up with May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Come take a tour and see what is growing in my October garden!
Fall Flowers
In March, Garden Harvest Supply was nice enough to send me some free, pollinator friendly seeds for my garden. They sent me Powderpuff Mix Aster seeds. I'm happy to share that they bloomed! I love the multicolored mix that produces purple, white, pink and red asters.
Roses finishing the season out strong.
Very happy I purchased this classic rose bush in the spring.
Lovely October sunflowers still lingering in the garden.
Happy to say, this is the first year I was able to grow multiple varieties of morning glories. I've grown the blue colored flowers in the past. This year I added some purple, pink, white and even striped blossoms!
Hundreds of zinnias put on a spectacular show this year. The butterflies flocked to them. I'm glad the bees still get to enjoy these flowers late into the growing season.
Autumn Edibles
Last cherry tomatoes of the season ripening. I've never had tomatoes turning red in October before. I feel lucky to be able to enjoy them so late. Next week the temperatures are supposed to get down into the 20's, so I am going to be picking my last fruits this week.
Last month in my post about my September garden, I thought I had failed my mission to grow Pattypan squash this season. Then, when I was doing some garden cleaning, I spotted this little guy! My heart skipped a beat and I was so elated! I have picked a few more since then. I love this tiny, spaceship shaped squash and can't wait to cook my first dish with it. If you have any recipes, please feel free to share with me in the comment section below.
You really can never say never when it comes to nature and gardening. I thought because of a few planting glitches, I wasn't going to see any Mexican sour gherkin cucumbers, otherwise known as cucamelons this year. Again, I was wrong, and boy, I am happy to say that! I planted them in a spot that wasn't sunny enough. The vine started to grow towards the sun, so mother nature ended up fixing the problem for me. I ended up harvesting a bunch of these tiny fruits this month. I can't wait to grow them again next year.
I purchased these seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
October Garden Decor
Bringing a bit of spooky charm to my garden with a cheerful scarecrow, dried cornstalks, broomcorn, pumpkins and chrysanthemums.
What are you growing in your October garden? Do you have any late blooming flowers for the pollinators in your yard? Tell me about it in the comment section below or tweet me some pictures @thefreckledrose.
Hope everyone is have an amazing autumn.
In Case You Missed It - In The September Garden
This blog post is featured here - Green Thumb Thursday, Today's Flowers, Nature Notes
31 Comments
Michelle @Ramblingwoods
October 26, 2015 at 12:41 amOh my goodness…you have a wonderful fall garden.. Michelle
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 4:03 pmThank you Michelle!
chickenruby
October 20, 2015 at 2:12 amwhat a gorgeous selection of flowers and vegetables, i love the UFO shaped squash
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 4:03 pmThank you so much Suzanne 🙂
Amy
October 18, 2015 at 2:56 pmWe had our first frost Friday night, so my garden is done for the year. All that is left is cutting things down and cleaning up. So happy you still got to see a squash growing, I never heard of that type of squash or cucumber before. Very interesting.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 4:02 pmThank you Amy!
Amanda
October 17, 2015 at 4:26 pmSo much gorgeous colour!
The scarecrow is just wonderful, we don’t need one, but I’d sure like one!
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 4:01 pmThanks Amanda! 🙂
Annie
October 17, 2015 at 1:44 pmOh those powderpuff asters! Beautiful! It’s all so lovely – thank you for sharing.
My children are sat by me and squealed with delight when they saw the scarecrow – something I can see we are going to have to make here too!
Such pretty and clear photos 🙂
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:59 pmThank you Annie! I’m so glad the scarecrow made your children smile 🙂 I get so happy and excited to put it out each year. I love decorating for the seasons and holidays. Always glad to link up!
Liz Needle
October 17, 2015 at 6:14 amBeautiful set of images. I imagine your garden is quite lovely. I am taken with the mouse melons. Are they edible? What do they taste like?
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:56 pmThanks Liz! Yes, they are edible and they taste like a cucumber with a hint of lime 🙂
Jenna @ A Savory Feast
October 16, 2015 at 6:20 pmThis post is beautiful! Your garden is so pretty. I love how you are growing flowers and veggies.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:25 pmThank you very much Jenna!
Mama Zen
October 16, 2015 at 6:17 pmYour scarecrow is so cute!
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:24 pmThanks so much 🙂
Ness @ JibberJabberUK
October 16, 2015 at 5:09 pmSo much in your garden at this time of year! We do have a beautiful while fuchsia in our front garden that is going from strength to strength.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:21 pmI absolutely love fuchsia! Such a delicate and interesting looking flower 🙂
DeniseinVA
October 16, 2015 at 3:51 pmA brilliant and colorful series of photographs, each one a delight. Thank you so much for linking with Today’s Flowers, especially in its new home. I appreciate your support very much 🙂
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:19 pmThank you Denise! Of course, love Today’s Flowers 🙂
Alana
October 15, 2015 at 6:01 pmOur flowers and veggies are just about done, but tomorrow I hope to pick our last zinnias at our community garden. I have wanted to try Mexican sour gherkins. They are so attractive looking; I will think seriously about them for next year.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:16 pmThanks Alana! Mexican sour gherkins are so yummy, they are worth the try!
Claudia
October 15, 2015 at 5:31 pmoh wow! so much goodness going on. great shots too. loving those roses in particular
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:10 pmThanks so much Claudia
Kriss MacDonald
October 15, 2015 at 5:05 pmYour garden is flourishing this October. Now I’m also terribly curious about the cucamelons – I’ve never seen them before.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:07 pmThanks Kriss! They are a fun little fruit to grow, I would definitely recommend them 🙂
Gemma Garner
October 15, 2015 at 2:45 pmThose little cucamelons are brilliant! You have some fantastic plants, especially the roses. Although its turned cold here my rose bush pushed up a few more flowers the other day. For the pollinators, we have Autumn flowering heather, plenty of cosmos and a few cornflowers.
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 3:03 pmThank you so much Gemma! That is great to hear you have pollinator friendly plants. It makes me so happy to see them enjoying flowers and shrubs around the yard. Hope you are having a happy fall 🙂
Sofie Vandersmissen
October 15, 2015 at 12:10 pmYou have beautiful flowers in your garden!
Greetings, Sofie #26
http://sofies-succulent-beads.blogspot.be
Thefreckledrose
November 4, 2015 at 2:59 pmThank you so much Sofie!