It's difficult to believe that it's October 23rd in Connecticut when it is 75 degrees and the trees in your backyard look like this:
I haven't been enjoying the patio very much because every time I walked out there I was greeted by this:
I took an early day from work on Monday (because really how many more 70+ days are we going to have?) and spent the afternoon chopping down the cosmos which had snapped in half during the wind/rain storm last week. Then I decided to cut them all down because the joy of the flowers wasn't trumping their too tall gangly dominance of the rest of the wildflower patch. Here's a shot of the project half way through:
I can't get over how much larger the patio looks without the cosmos trying to escape:
Did you notice the one tall plant in the center of the photo above? I haven't been able to identify it yet (though one reader thought it might be ragweed). It's finally just about to bloom and I can't wait to see what it is:
Another "after" photo because I loved the way the full wheelbarrow looked before VPH came home and composted the contents.
And lastly, just in case you thought I zoomed in on one green tree in that first photo and ignored the ones that were losing their leaves - this is all we've seen fall so far:
This is going to be another one of those years where the leaves fall and then we get snow the next day. I'd much rather be raking in 60 degree weather than 30!
I agree, much better to rake leaves when it is 60 than after a snow!
Your mystery flower looks familiar, I'm prety sure it isn't ragweed, but I can't think what it is. I'll think of it as soon as I shut down my laptop.
Posted by: Carol | October 23, 2007 at 08:48 PM
Heather: I agree with you! I think it will get cold all of a sudden. That plant looks a bit like the orange cosmos or chocolate cosmos which have those lanceolate leaves. Did you plant a packet of seeds? Glad you posted...I've been missing them.
Posted by: layanee | October 23, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Your weather is hotter than Austin's - the high barely touched 70ยบ today, twenty degrees cooler than on Saturday.
Thanks for the closeup photo, Heather! Now that I can see the plant, and that promising BUD, I take back my ragweed guess!
Is Layanee right? Any Cosmos seeds tossed around?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Posted by: Annie in Austin | October 23, 2007 at 10:07 PM
That flower looks like an aster to me. I had a very similar mystery plant all summer and it just bloomed about 3 wks ago. A lovely dark pink aster!
Posted by: Pam J. | October 25, 2007 at 04:33 PM
Nature will take her own sweet time at things, just to remind us that she is in charge.
Posted by: Bare Bones Gardener | October 28, 2007 at 07:14 AM
I'm with Layanee and Annie - the mystery plant has a decidedly cosmic look to it... And just think, if it does get cold (like this morning - brrr!, raking is a great way to feel toasty warm without having to crank the heat! (I have to put a pollyanna spin on it because sometimes I have no choice but to be out in the brrrr weather...)
Posted by: Kris at Blithewold | October 29, 2007 at 11:02 AM
I found you through GTS. These days are just heavenly, aren't they? I know about wheelbarrows...come check out mine! I had 3+ full after cleaning out!
Posted by: GardenMomma (Chris) | October 29, 2007 at 12:34 PM