Indoor Geranium Bloom

One of the geraniums I brought indoors for the winter is starting another round of blooming.

Johnny Jump-Ups

A splash of purple surprise amongst plants dying back for the season. A Johnny jump up - a type of violet that some people call heartsease, or a wild pansy. They must like cooler weather because I saw some near this location in early spring. And by the looks of the flower, there's at least one type of bug that finds it tasty.

Daylily Surprise

I thought the daylilies were done for the season, but this tiny bloom surprised me this week.

Maple Ablaze

Our backyard maple in all its glory.

Rose Hips

Young rose hips on one of the orange-y rose bushes.

Faded Amaranthus

Amaranthus, "love lies bleeding," fades quickly once the frosts arrive. I leave the sprays in place for the birds.

Frost-Hardy Jupiter's Beard

A plant that's native to the West, Jupiter's beard seems to take the recent frosts in stride. This plant can be aggressive, so don't let it take over.

Hello Little Red Leaf

A little standout in the still-very-green lawn.

Maple Tree Seedlings

I didn't notice these maple tree seedlings during the summer, but now that they're bright, they stand out. Technically, they're a "weed" now because they've chosen a garden bed for a home.

Bald Bee Balm

A bald bee balm head. Bee balm flowers majestically and is a favorite of hummingbirds.

Cosmos Gone to Seed

A cosmos gone to seed. Finches think these seeds are a yummy snack.

Another Mini Zinnia Hiding from the Frost

Another tiny color explosion of zinnia hiding from the frost under a lavender plant.

Daylily Seed Pod

A seed pod standing tall while the daylily dies back.

Mini Zin Survives the Frosts

A tiny zinnia hiding under a lavender plant has survived the first rounds of frosts.

Suddenly Yellow

Leaves are turning yellow quite suddenly this week with the colder, wetter weather.

Sweet Potato Vine Tuber

Here is one of two "Margarita" sweet potato vine tubers that I've dug up out of the planters. I'm going to experiment with saving these for planting in the spring. I'll rinse them off and put them in a paper bag in the garage and we'll see!

Geraniums in for the Winter

A few of the geraniums now in for the winter. They'll grow spindly over the next few months, although they'll also bloom every few weeks. I'll give them good haircuts before they go back out in the spring.

A Week-and-a-Half Later...

It's been a week-and-a-half since we frantically picked tomatoes before the first hard frost here in Boise. I covered the bowl and most have ripened. Below is what they looked like right after picking. I used some in a Caesar salad last night and they tasted tangy and sweet.

Lingering Blooms in Frosty Weather

A mini rose and lavender stem. Their colors are fading in our frosty weather.

Monkshood Late Bloomer This Year

I was trying to catch a picture of a bird in the platform feeder, and when that was a missed shot, I noticed the monkshood is blooming - even though the foliage is frost-bitten. This plant shot up tall quickly this year, and although it is a later bloomer in the garden, it usually puts on a show in September. Strange that it didn't flower until October.

Pumpkin Harvest...and a Pig

We harvested pumpkins from the garden beds this week - and here's our bounty. We got four, one of the pumpkins near the pig was our find at the nearby fire station pumpkin patch. I love the two Cinderella pumpkins with their flat shapes and orange-y red color. My daughter was in charge of those from the day she pushed the seeds into the starter pots.

Pumpkin Surprise

We headed out to the garden beds last night to harvest our pumpkins, and hiding near the air conditioning unit was this one. This volunteer pumpkin plant can be traced back to a rotting pumpkin I placed in the area two years ago on its way to the garbage. We found three "on purpose" pumpkins and I'll showcase the harvest tomorrow. And although this one is green, they often turn orange after they're harvested.

Corn, Maybe?

A volunteer mystery in one of the garden beds. It grew like a stalk of corn, but then the bloom looked like this and it didn't bear fruit.

Cutting Favorite in the Rose Garden

Another cutting favorite in the rose garden with a light pink tint around the edges.

Yellow Centered Rose

I like the bright yellow little center in this old-fashioned rose.

Last-Minute Tomato Harvest

We hurried outside Wednesday night to pick as many tomatoes as possible before the killing frost that arrived overnight. My family helped. The instructions were to pick tomatoes that were showing any bit of color, in hopes they will ripen inside over the next couple of weeks.

End of the Rose Season

Just a few lingering blooms for the end of the season. Notice how this rose starts out peachy and fades to light pink.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew overtook the zucchini plant recently. It still produced fruits just fine, it just looked a little funky.