Frost on the Pumpkin?

I love the fall! The brightly colored leaves, the cool crisp days, and the chilly nights when a jacket is welcomed are just a few of my favorite things.

The trees this year are as lovely as I can ever remember seeing. It seems as though each day brings a surprise of color.

Even my poor neglected garden had a surprise for me this past week.

This flower is from the freebie bulbs that came with an on line order for plants this spring. I think they were tagged 'exotic bulbs' only. I have watched them grow all summer and when they hadn't bloomed by August, I figured they wouldn't do anything until next spring. Does anyone know what it is?

The skies were gray all day with heavy dark clouds and I swear they look like they are filled with snow. Tonight we are expecting our first frost. A chilly 26 F is forecast. Brrrr!

In anticipation of that frost, I gathered all the house plants and brought them inside on Sunday. Actually I had help. They all grown so much this summer. So much so that I am not sure where to put them all yet. So here they sit in the middle foyer. That bargain fern certainly looks bigger in here than it did outside.

And with the coming frost, the valiant morning glory will be no more. Still blooming after almost 3 months, I will miss her bright cheery blooms. She has won me over completely!

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Speaking of 3 months- the 'Rash' is still with me. I have seen the dermatologist more the past weeks than I have seen my husband. Well not really, but it seems so to me. After going off the Prednisone, it came back with a vengeance. So more Prednisone at a higher dose and 4 more biopsies later, we are still no closer to an answer. So I am being sent to a specialist in Springfield as soon as they can get an appointment for me. I want to thank all of you again, for all your concern and well wishes. This blogging community has been a wonderful support, and you are all such dears!

Have a great Halloween!

GBBD October 2008

Fall has at last come to our neighborhood. Tree tops shimmer with golds, oranges and yellows. Leaves come floating down on the gentlest of crisp breezes and crunch under foot. GBBD is brought to us by Carol of May Dreams Garden on the 15th of each month. Although my entry is a little late and a little sparse, I decided to post anyway. I wanted to be able to look back next year and compare the fall garden of 2009 with garden 2008.

Sparse really is the word for the blooms in my garden this month. I have several zinnias still producing flowers and attracting butterflies.

Although this is a little hard to see(the photographer's fault), these twin zinnias have twin 'painted ladys' on them. I should call this gardening year, 'the year of the painted ladies'. There have been so many for so long-I am amazed.

The cosmos I started indoors back in March has bloomed continuously since early June. What and endearing flower. Just plant it and forget it. I am going to give them their own little area next year and try to find a variety of colors. This year I have just had the pinks and maroons.

And of course, I have to show yet another picture of 'heavenly blue'. Still blooming!!

I have enjoyed seeing the other GBBD posts this month and amazed at the colors and varieties some of you still have. I will have to work on extending my bloom time next year. That means adding more flowers to my wish list. I have enjoyed doing the list-easy enough to add to it when I see something that strikes me. But what I should have done is made a notation of where I saw the flower-which post. I guess there is always next year to do that as I am sure my list will be even longer after seeing your gardens in 2009.

Rash update** Yes, I still have it. Yes, it is a little better. Yes, it is still draining my energies. And yes, I am sick of it!

Thank you for all your concerns, caring and offers of advice. I keep telling myself this will pass-and I know it will. I'm just feeling grumpy yet. And I can't even blame it on the Prednisone now. :)

Hope you are all enjoying your autumn!

A Pity Party!

It's been a week since I last posted and although I have been reading all of yours and leaving comments, I have felt I have little to share. Sometimes the fingers are willing to do the typing, but the mind just won't engage. I have sat with my laptop at the ready, pictures loaded, and .... little comes. So many of you are writing about your fall gardening chores and how much you have accomplished. Most are showing pictures of still blooming fall beauties and you are sharing some of the last sightings of butterflies. And here I still sit.


Before you feel too sorry for me or think I am whining-which I am, I know a lot of my blahs have to do with still not resting very well and this darn rash. Yes, it is getting better. But I can see now it is going to take weeks for it to heal. The Prednisone is helping but at the same time makes my skin feel like it is crawling and I am sure it is making me grumpy. That's the polite term my husband is using for my temperament these days. I am peeling yet and then the part that peels is peeling again. The rash was deep and many layers of skin have to come off-gross!!
The good part is, my face is almost done peeling and I can wear a little makeup now so I don't look quite the hideous monster of a week ago. I do want to thank everyone for all their care and concern. It has helped!



So fall is here, we've had some rain, the ground is workable and I should be outside happy as a lark working in my long neglected gardens. I have bulbs to plant and lots of clean up to do. Maybe in a few days.

A bright spot yet is 'heavenly blue'. Still putting out gorgeous blooms everyday with no help from me. I see a little lessening of buds and some of the blooms aren't as big, but she still make me smile.

I promise to work on my attitude and try to find my muse. And I promise to try and have a more upbeat post next time.

Hope you are having a great fall.

Fall Has Arrived!

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A quick update.

I wanted to thank everyone who has wished me well. Your kindness and concern have meant so much to me.

Went back to the Dr. today and the blood work came back fine. No report yet on the biopsies but he is pretty sure they will be okay too. Right now it looks as though it is an allergic reaction to my fibromyalgia medicine Lyrica. Even though I have been on this for 9 months, he says it could be that I have built up a sensitivity to it. I am on Prednisone(steroid pills) and an antihistamine for the next few weeks. While I am devastated at having to go off my MIRACLE drug, I can't go on like this. So for now, I am taking it one day at a time.

Thank you all again, dear friends!



Fall has definitely come to Central Illinois. There are wonderful displays of pumpkins and gourds for sale.

The corn fields are standing dry and brown waiting for the picker to gather their bounty.

The rustling of corn stalks and leaves can be heard in even the gentlest of breezes.

Mums in glorious rich autumnal colors grace the fronts of many garden centers and grocery stores.

Spring and summer plants have been drastically reduced in price so they don't have to be over-wintered in the garden centers. I found this wonderful Boston Fern on sale for $5.00 and decided I could keep it over the winter in the front living room with the skylight.

Most of my flowers are winding down and going to seed. But I did find a surprise bloomer. This is the azalea that our daughter brought us as an Easter gift. I planted it in a small area between the house and the sidewalk and it is blooming again. Now this may be a natural occurrence, but I have never seen a fall blooming azalea.

These are either 'clouded sulphur' clear yellow or 'alfalfa' butterflies. Both are found in open areas along roadsides and in fields. (Identified using my new butterfly book given to me by Rose)

They are feasting on the wildflower, 'heath aster' Aster Ericoides.

I didn't seem to bother them much as they went about the business of sipping nectar.

Yes, it's another picture of 'heavenly blue'! Still growing, still blooming and now taking over the verbena and wave petunias in my barrel planter.

I have debated with myself for days now whether to tell you or not. Finally, I have decided to share this with you. Several weeks ago, I started getting a rash. Very small at first, it was on my upper body. Just a couple of spots no more than an inch in diameter. When it started to spread and itch like crazy, I went to the Dr. He thought itwas Pityriasis Rosea. Something one can get that is not contagious and does no real harm other than being uncomfortable. He recommended using Selsin Blue as a body wash for a while. Two weeks later, I went back and because it was worse and spreading rapidly, the Dr. had me see a dermatologist. He too thought it was the Pityriasis and prescribed a steroid cream. To make this story move along-3 visits later and having the rash from my hair to my toes front and back, he was stumped and decided to do a couple of biopsies and blood work. I am now waiting for the results and should hear today or tomorrow. My face looks like I have been sunburned with big patches of red scaly peeling skin, the rest of my body looks pretty much the same and there are still spots coming out.

While, I am sure this is not life-threatening, it makes a vain person like me cringe to be seen in public. I even hate to have my family see me like this. I know I am whining here and that there are people out there who have real problems, but I needed to vent a little. So bear with me as I scratch and try to hide my face. I am sure the Dr. will be able to help and one day soon, I will be back to normal. Well, normal for me anyway!

Hope you all have a great gardening week!

A Correction! and Some of This and a Little of That

Another busy week since I last posted and there has been precious little time to spend in the gardens. Fall is here and can be seen in the fading flowers, in the leaves turning and falling from the trees, and felt in the wonderfully cool nights. So much needs to be done outside and inside, as my house has suffered from massive neglect. I am sure, though, that many of you feel the same time constraints-I empathize with you. Somehow we will get it all done, we are super women after all, and what doesn't will wait for us.

Thank you to all you wished me Happy Birthday. I was really touched and it made the turning of another year older much more bearable. Rose took me to a long lunch and we sat outside in glorious weather catching up on family and of course gardening and blogging. Life long friends, we have shared much over the years and now find it so wonderful to share the world of blogging as well! My hint worked,(I can be shameless at times!) and she gave me a beautifully illustrated guide to 'Butterflies and Moths', by Paul Opler. It is a great size to carry when on a butterfly safari. Actually, the granddaughters were here this weekend and we were able to identify several from the book. They(and I) were amazed.





Now, for some clarification. In my last post, I identified this as a butterfly chrysalis and wondered what would come out of such an unusual looking cocoon. Thanks to Lisa who was the first to correctly identify it. It is a BAG WORM chrysalis. If you see one. throw it into the trash! Here I thought I was becoming somewhat knowledgeable about the world of butterflies. Nope-it's back to Butterfly 99 class! (99 is a class for people who are not up to speed in a certain subject) And yes, there is a picture of the moth and the chrysalis in my new book.

Back to my birthday for a minute-this is a bouquet my daughter and her girls gave me. It has been lovely to have it where I can see and smell these glorious roses. Now, a week later, they are still pretty and not one of them is drooping. Thank you girls for giving me such a long lasting taste of the flowers I would love to be able to grow.

There are a few new blooms at Dragonfly Corner. A different morning glory has started blooming in the wildflower patch I planted. I like this almost-pink-but-just-a-shade-darker-maybe-mauve color. It certainly brightens up the edge of the dismally gray deck.

This is the area where I planted several packets of zinnia and wildflower seeds. My thought was that they would brighten the area. Of course when I planted them the tree nearby didn't have it's leaves yet and I planted in what I thought was a sunny area. Another error in judgement in the garden. It is a shady spot only getting very late afternoon sun. They have grown like little troopers though and have bloomed in spite of my mistake. If you look at the upper right corner, you will see Thomas the cat standing on a rock inspecting the flowers. He is the town cat who graces us with his presence a few times a week. Of course if you happen to have a little extra cat food, he doesn't mind taking it off your hands. Thomas does show his appreciation now. He will let us pet him and he loves to have his head scratched.

We had been dry for more than a week when I found a few of these in our back yard. Different than I have ever seen, they are the purest white and have a very rough looking skin- most mushrooms have such smooth skin.

Twins!

And what would a post from me be without the 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory? Still blooming! I checked back and the first blooms appeared on Aug. 26. Everyday it blooms and by noon the blooms close up and die. The next morning there are dozens more taking their place. The number of blooms from this one plant must be in the hundreds! The buds just keep forming and the vine is still reaching out and entwining itself on more of the dead sunflowers. See the ornamental plum tree in the background? I fully expect to find the vines growing up that tree in a few days!

For all the complaining I did about it not being a moon flower, it has surpassed anything I have ever grown in my gardens. Well done Morning Glory! Well done!

I hope you all have a wonderful week of gardening!

****** Updated Sept. 24-8:30 pm

After some good natured coercing :) I have decided to save some 'heavenly blue' seed. This is what I found when I googled collecting seed....

Bag seedheads to capture ripening seed; collect seedhead/pod when flowers fade; allow to dry; Allow pods to dry on plant; break open to collect seeds; remove and collect seeds; properly cleaned, seed can be successfully stored .

If you would like some, I have set up an email for this blog and you can reach me by using it.

Beauties and One Beastie!

It seems no matter my intentions, I am only able to post once a week these days. While that may be more than enough for you who read my blog,(!) I am missing the more frequent interaction with my garden blogger friends. Someone has said that during the long dark days of winter we will all have more time and I suppose that will be true. But there sure won't be as much going on in the gardens.



I don't have many bloomers now, just a few struggling to hold on against the shorter days and cooler weather. What is there finally got a good rain last Sunday. We had just shy of 5". The basement got a little damp and we had some big puddles in the yard for a while, but the ground soon soaked it all up. The grass is now green again and the dirt and debris is all washed off the patio. Our mini-drought seems to have broken. But, my goodness, didn't Ike do a lot of damage and bring an enormous amount of rain to a lot of places! My prayers are with those who were really affected.



The lack of blooming flowers at Dragonfly Corner has more than been offset by the critter world. I found this chrysalis on a most fitting spot-the butterfly bush. It looks like a piece of dried moss. Wish I knew which butterfly it will be.

The praying mantis that lives in the container by our back door was doing a little exploring the other day. when I went to take his picture, he turned his head and looked right at me. The garden has been full of these this year. I tried to take a picture of one eating a painted lady butterfly, but it turned out sooo bad-even for me. The mantis moves so slowly-he seems to be the sloth of the insect world-makes me wonder how they ever catch anything.

This is the first of these kind of butterflies that I have seen this year. A tiny blue-gray with just a dot of orange behind it's body. They are so delicate looking. The yarrow is doing well. It was a pass-along from Rose this spring.

I think this is a skipper moth of some type. The zinnias are still attracting lots of bees and butterflies.

A lone late cone flower being enjoyed by a painted lady. I have noticed a lot of the cone flower seed heads are looking like they have been picked clean of seeds. I hope the birds are enjoying them. Soon, though, I am going to have to get out there and start clearing some of the mess out of the gardens.

This is the container by the back door-the residence of the praying mantis. I had pansies in this til in July some time so it got a late start. But I have been very happy with the plants in it. Most were bought on clearance and picked with little thought other than SALE! The tiny leafed vine is a perennial whose name I can't remember now, but has survived for 3 years in there with no special care. The white is scaevola, 'whirlwind'. I have fallen for this plant! No dead heading, no wilting when dry, grows quickly and just looks so fresh all the time. I am going to find more places for this next year. There is also a angelonia angustifolia, 'dresden blue' in there and again I'm very happy with it. No dead heading and it hasn't gotten 'leggy'. The dark leafed plant is alteranthera, 'purple knight'. Another one I am going to use more of next year. There is also a caladium bulb in there which is on the back side. It's a pink and green leafed one and doesn't really 'go' but the bulb was so long in coming up, that I had forgotten I planted it with the pansies. As for my other containers, most of them are looking pretty sad. Lack of rain and the end of the season has taken hold of them. Another project I need to do-clear most of them out.

And finally, I will leave you with a couple more morning glory pictures. It is still blooming and still growing! There are dozens of buds yet and each morning it puts on such a show. All my neighbors have been over to admire it. So yes, finally, I have learned to love it for it's self.

I hope you are enjoying your gardens!

Fall Is In The Air!

This will be a note sort of post-not a lot new here at Dragonfly Corner. But I am getting tired of looking at my last post, so I am sure you are! I have worked some extra days this week, had a couple of doctor appointments, (more on that another time) and have been trying to get a little fall cleaning done. In other words, time has been in short supply for enjoying the garden, taking pictures or writing posts. I did want to share a few things with you and writing gives me a good excuse to sit for a while. I did manage to finally put a picture in my header. Wendy suggested I use the moonflower-aka 'heavenly blue' morning glory. It is still blooming and I see no end to the buds.

Fall is here. Or at least these butterscotch mums think so. The temperature dropped to 48 degrees last night so it is on it's way. This is one of my favorite colors for this time of year. Makes you think of football and pumpkins doesn't it?

There are very few cone flowers left. This one is still attracting moths and butterflies. I'm not sure, and this is not a great picture, but I think this is called a wolf moth. Most have gone to seed like the one on the right. I had thought about cutting the heads off to save the seed and cleaning up some of the stalks, but one of the bloggers(can't remember who-sorry) has suggested leaving them for the finches and other birds to enjoy. Sounds like a great idea to me!

The 'teddy bear' sunflowers, courtesy of Cheryl, are still blooming. These have been a delightful flower. They have bloomed all summer long, the blooms last for weeks at a time and the butterflies and bees have loved them. I am going to save some of these seeds for myself.

Speaking of butterflies-the zinnias are still blooming and attracting more than their share of butterflies. The 'painted ladies' have been thicker in the gardens this year than I can ever remember. It could be because of the zinnias. I have really enjoyed them this year and plan on planting more next year. Maybe I will even use some for cut flowers. This year, I couldn't bring myself to cut any of them.

I was a little disappointed at this picture. The caladium leaves are a much deeper red than shows. I have the container sitting in front of the morning glory and the contrast is striking. In the past, I have neglected to dig my bulbs up for the winter thinking it was just as easy to buy new the next spring. This year, I plan on at least trying to save them. (and still buying more next year!)

You may have seen a spider like this on Gail's blog a while back. It's a Argiope aurantia-female. In the comments, several different names were mentioned. It seems this species covers a wide area and there were lots of local names for it. My grandmother always called it and 'educated' spider I think because of the z's it makes in the middle of it's web. What ever you call it, I call it yucky! There are several of them around the house and in the gardens. Now, having been converted by some of you bloggers, I let them stay and do their thing as long as they do it outside. Now if they try to come into the house....

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Fall will be a busy time for all. The gardener has much to do to get the garden ready for it's long winters nap. Have I started yet-no. Have you?

Enjoy your gardens!