Text and photos ©Nancy J. Ondra
Is it really possible that it’s time for another Bloom Day already? Things are looking pretty wild about now, which, to be fair, is to be expected in a meadow.
Oh, wait – that last one was the garden, not the meadow. It’s getting kind of hard to tell them apart in some places. In the side garden, there’s goldenrod (Solidago) and ironweed (Vernonia):
And a seedling New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae):
In the courtyard, there’s Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) and lesser snakeroot (Ageratina aromatica)…
…prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)…
…and giant coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima):
But there are also some more garden-y areas, like out front:
While things on the whole are looking a little dishevelled, there are still some gems here and there, such as bush clover (Lespedeza thunbergii):
Ageratum houstonianum ‘Red Sea’:
Browallia americana:
Celosia ‘China Town’:
Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale):
Corydalis ochotensis:
Euphorbia ‘Yokoi’s White’:
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis):
And to finish, late Dutch honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum ‘Serotina’):
That’s it from here this month. Thanks for visiting! Now, check out what’s blooming today in other gardens around the world through the links at Carol’s Bloom Day post at May Dreams Gardens.
Nan,
Happy Bloom Day! Your gardens are stunning. I wish I had the space for a meadow, the pictures of yours remind me of carefree late summer days as a kid. Your bush clover looks so cheerful, I just bought the smaller version at a plant sale last weekend so I’m looking forward to may years of cheerful beauty in my garden too.
That was quick, Debbie! Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your bush clover. It sure is a beauty for this time of year. Make sure you give it plenty of space; those puppies get big when they grow up!
-Nan
Hi Nan, you made me laugh with the meadow to the garden segue! It all looks lush, colorful and welcoming to humans and critters alike.
Frances
With plants from the meadow seeding into the garden and divisions of natives from my garden now growing in the meadow, it’s all looking remarkably similar right now, to all of us!
-Nan
A lot to see! That celosia has some nice foliage. We have a red stem variety that I can’t recall the name. I always like the ironweed and goldenrod show in the fall!
So do I, Dave. Next year, I’ll try to remember to cut back some of the ironweeds in July so they’ll bloom a bit later and still be around in September.
-Nan
It was my pleasure to visit. Your garden is such an inspiration. I always read your posts with pen & paper close at hand because I’m sure to see many plants I’d like to add to my own garden. This time it might be the Corydalis, and the Euphorbia and that bush clover.
Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Thanks for visiting, Carol. That corydalis is kind of a scary self-sower, but I could send you some seeds if you’re feeling adventurous.
-Nan
I love your meadow, it’s so full of colors and textures now. It kind of reminds me of the prairie, only better. Goldenrod & Joe Pye Weed seem made for each other. (Hmmm, there’s an idea I can steal, I mean borrow.) The underplanting of the golden groundcover with the Colchium is inspired. I love those colors together.
Solidago + eupatorium = the perfect combo. They seem to have a way of putting themselves next to each other, both in the garden and in the meadow!
-Nan
Nancy, I think that Celosia burned my retinas!
Beautiful photos, I love the way you point out the the boundaries between meadow and garden blur this time of year, so true. And yet so many delicious, unusual varieties (Like that Euphorbia! oh my!) Thanks for sharing…
Sorry about that, Laura. I figured it would wake up anyone who’d made it that far. But I didn’t mean to cause permanent damage!
-Nan
I just picked up a bushclover at the university plant sale–very excited about it for some reason (it’s going in a trouble spot where coreopsis for heaven’s sake wouldn’t take. Like that Ageratum very much, indeed.
If it’s a Lespedeza thunbergii, allow it plenty of room, Benjamin: ours at work fill a space about 6 feet across when they’re mature. The native Lespedeza capitata, on the other hand, is much more upright and compact.
-Nan
Pretty magical display. A great mix of the familiar and the (to me) exotic. Love the combination of the Colchicum and the golden lysimachia. That’s do-able, even by me.
For a long time, I was happy with pairing colchicums with lamb’s ears, but this year, the lamb’s ears seems to have somethered the bulb flowers. The lysimachia has its own problems, but at least its mats aren’t nearly as thick.
-Nan
So many beautiful plants and so many that I don’t know. This blogging has certainly provided me with an education. I love the color combination of the celosia with whatever purple thing is behind it.
Thanks, Pat! The plant behind the celosia is pink polka-dot plant.
-Nan
Meadows are one of those understated, under-reported, underappreciated garden beauties that should be in the spotlight. Just gorgeous!
Thanks for stopping by, Hilery.
-Nan
Wow, beautiful photos. I was going to tell you to submit the first photo at the Gardening Gone Wild Picture This contest….when suddenly, I realized it was you! Lovely blog, great photos….looks like early fall there.
Oh, there are already far better submissions for this month’s contest. But thanks for your kind words, Susie!
-Nan
Beautiful, beautiful images, Nan. I love autumn, but I think I’d be even more eager for its arrival if I had your garden to enjoy it in.
I can hardly believe it’s already fall here, when we barely had a summer. I’m sure the return of cooler weather will be much more of a cause for celebration in your part of the world, Pam.
-Nan
Nan, I love your meadow in all it’s fall colors. I long to grow some of those in my garden, but I haven’t the space. Wonderful to see the all.
Thanks, Mary Delle. I too love the meadow plants, especially at this time of year.
-Nan
Beautiful meadow. Great to see the crocus now when we’re deciding how many to buy for spring.
That’s easy, Ryan – buy as many as you can afford! You can never have enough colchicums in the garden.
-Nan
I love your disheveled meadow. Everything gets a little wild in the fall as things wind down. Your place looks lovely, and I enjoyed my tour (like usual).
Don’t you just love the colchicums, the way they arrive from “nowhere” with almost no warning, not even the soil raising as they push their way up?
Yes! One day, nothing, the next barely a pale whitish bud, and soon after that, the gorgeous flowers. I like the spring foliage too: it’s so lush and sturdy-looking.
-Nan
Hi Nan, Yep! Everything is garden-y and prairie-y over there and I love it all! What type of grass is in the first photo? It’s just beautiful. Happy Bloom Day!
That’s Indian grass, Shady: Sorghastrum nutans. It grows all over the place here.
-Nan
Hi Nan,
Great photos. I always enjoy looking at your meadow as well as the not so familiar (to me) plants in your garden.
Thanks, Marie. Happy Bloom Day!
-Nan
Absolutely gorgeous, Nan! I always come away from your posts feeling like I shy away from color wayyyyy too much. The combinations are just so breathtaking and exciting at Hayefield! :)
I have a feeling that we’re in for a looooong, dreary winter, Kim, so we’re going to need all the color we can find now to get us through!
-Nan
What lovlies in your garden Nan. Happy GBBD.
Happy Bloom Day to you too, Lisa. Thanks for visiting!
-Nan
Such a gorgeous palette of golds and purples this time of year, Nan! I guess it’s a gift to help us bear the thought of the oncoming winter. I’m not typically a celosia fan, but I love yours! And that euphorbia is unbelievable! I assume it’s a tender perennial that you reseed annually; surely it’s not hardy for you?!
Nope, it’s not hardy here. It doesn’t come from seed, so I have to buy a new plant each year. But it’s worth it!
-Nan
Those soft blues and pinks, and the textures of the grasses, etc. in the meadow are all lovely together.
I missed having Browallia in my garden this year. Enjoyed it last summer. Must try colchicums. So pretty.
That euphorbia is gorgeous! And so is the corydalis.
I’d also love to try the cardinal flower. What’s that with it?
Summer just whizzed by, didn’t it? I’m so not ready for fall, but if it turns out to be a long, warm fall I won’t mind so much. It’s not shaping up that way though with this chilly weather we’re having. We have the wood furnace going already.
Happy Bloom Day, Nan!
Thanks for checking in, Kerri! The magenta thing with the cardinal flower is a spike celosia I call ‘Mega Punk’. It started out as the dwarf ‘Punky Red’ and apparently crossed with some other celosias over the years, so now it’s much taller, with longer spikes.
I wonder if we’ll have snow pics by next Bloom Day. It was 41 here last night!
-Nan
Mmm, my favorite time of year – all those great colors you have! I love the segue from your meadow to your garden. Do you “garden” the meadow or just let it be?
Depends of your definition of “garden,” right? I definitely didn’t do any soil prep, and I don’t water, fertilize, stake, or spray. But I do plant a few things (excess divisions of natives from the garden); I sort of weed (cutting or pulling out invasives, such as Russian olive, barberry, and multiflora rose); and I do a bit of grooming (mow the paths every 10-14 days, and mow the whole thing down once a year). In return, I get loads of color and texture, lots of wildlife habitat, and as many cut flowers as I can use. So on the whole, I’d say it’s a very big but very low-maintenance garden!
-Nan
Your meadow gardens are so inspiring! If only my HOA would let us plant up our 2 acre meadow with something besides fescue! I enjoyed reviewing your book and keep it handy. I’m trying to figure out if sanguisorba will work well this far south.
Cameron
Thanks so much for the great review, Cameron! I think it would be worth trying a sanguisorba or two as an experiment. I’m pretty sure they’s do all right for you, especially in a somewhat moist spot.
-Nan
I agree bloom day comes way too fast. It seems as though Bloom Day comes around every other week. Is everyone else’s life spinning that fast?
I think I missed almost every one this summer. And Oct. 15 is only a few weeks away!
I do like the softer color palette of September & October though – and your garden exemplifies it.
When I think of fall, I envision rich purple asters, bright goldenrod, and scarlet sumacs, so the reality of so much pastel pink, soft yellow, and white always takes me by surprise. But I enjoy whatever color I can get.
-Nan
What a treat this blog is! On my first visit you have identified everything growing around our farm right now in western PA. Thanks so much. I’m subscribing so I can continue my education. :)
Welcome, Jas. So glad I could be of use. Remember to check back of the 15th of every month for Bloom Day!
-Nan
Hello Nan, I wanted to thank you for all of your inspiration! I lifted your plan for a Brand New Border from The Perennial Gardener’s Desgn Primer in May. It has been amazing me all summer. The purple and yellow colors were already established in my own fall meadow through solidago, sunflowers, aster and eupatorium. I am so pleasantly surprised to see the harmony between the garden and the meadow. Please continue to inspire, you are making a gardener out of me !
That is *so* cool, Expatty! Thanks ever so much for this note. I hope the border continues to delight you in years to come.
-Nan
I want a meadow! Yours is awesome, as are your other beds. I think I was here when I first started blogging, but somehow got lost. I’m glad I found your blog again. I forgot to look for a giant coneflower plant. I need to write that down, and then remember where I put it. Maybe I can start a list of plants I want to find in my sidebar. I’d like to try bush clover again. I had one called ‘Stephanie’ that only lived a couple years. Oh, and I guess it’s a prairie clover, not a bush one. Well, I enjoyed your post.
I’m glad you found your way here (or back), Sue. I think adding a wish list to your site is a great idea, especially now that it’s time for seed-collecting and -sharing!
-Nan
Congratulations on your Blotanical Win. ~ hugs, Cherry
And congratulations back to you for winning Best Georgia Blog, Cherry!
-Nan
Nan,
Always love to visit here. Your meadow and your garden are a delight every time and every season. Two things: 1)Congratulations on your blotanical ‘best Pennsylvania blog’ award. Your garden is simply one of the best in all of blogdum. 2) Just wanted to say how much I’ve loved your new book. There was a bit of a mix up on the mailing (UPS and the P.O. box didn’t jive). But after that delay I have loved every page turn in it. I will get around to writing a review…with joy… I promise.
Meems
1) A hearty congrats back to you for winning Best Florida Blog, Meems!
2) I’m so thrilled to hear that you like the book. I realize that some of the advice won’t be suited to your particular growing conditions, but I hope the basics will apply, at least.
-Nan
Your photos show us a wonderful place to walk, stroke flowers and just plain enjoy the outdoors! Congratulations on receiving the Best Pennsylvania Blog at Blotanical. I’m sorry if I missed any other awards… I voted for you several times, I think! :-)
Thanks for your unfailing support, Shady, both here and at GGW!
-Nan
Congrats on your win at blotanical.com Love coming here to see your beautiful post.
Thanks, Anna, and congrats back to you!
-Nan
Congratulations on your Blotanical award!
Thanks, Tatyana, and congratulations to you on your multiple awards and nominations!
-Nan
Hello Nan~Your garden & meadow is so inspiring, love the eupatorium/solidago combo too! I have E. maculatum ‘Atropurpureum’ and S. rugosa ‘Fireworks’, which wouldn’t look exactly the same. You must have a different, more upright goldenrod?
I put the goldenrod with my Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’ I don’t have a picture but you probably do! *grin* Gotta squeeze out one last hurrah!
I wish I knew more about the native goldenrods around here. I’d guess that there are at least four or five species in the meadow, but at this point, I don’t have names for them.
Goldenrod with anemones sounds like a great fall combo too!
-Nan