The nearly precipitation free summer pushed some of the usual fall flowers later this year and extended the summer blooms on others. I can’t remember the Muhly Grass starting to flower later than the first week of September or a summer without Beach Sunflowers. But here they are together in late October. I will admit to adding Osmocote a few weeks ago when we had some reliable rainfall.
The mysteries of gardening are teasing my brain once again.
The South Florida heat and humidity is abating in fits and starts. We have a lovely sunny weather forecast for the next 10 days. I have been clearing off the porch and replacing the cushions for winter outdoor living. This always takes longer than I think it will. I hope to be sitting on the porch with a glass of wine this week and maybe get in touch with my inner Floridian by making smoked fish dip appetizers.
The vase is an olive oil cruet inherited from my mother. As a lifelong gardener, I think she would approve of this repurposing.
The flowers:
In white, possibly the last of the year, Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica); yellow daisies are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); sage green flowers are Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria); the ropy stems are Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpeta jamaicaensis) – the blue flowers fell off on the way inside, but I like the stems; pink flowers are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); green flowers in background are Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata), lending a fragrant assist to the Frangipani. In the background are the late, great Muhly Grass (Muhlebergia capillaris).
That’s all from my garden. Thank you to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases…
Happy Gardening!!!
The Shrub Queen 
It seems late for plumeria. I grew one once with no luck.
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Sometimes it lasts into January. Weather whims.
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Oh the grass is the real star here, Amelia, drawing the eye upwards and then back to the other blooms – we are certainly making hay while the sun shines and grabbing blooms while we can, before the season turns completely
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I agree. I did not think I was going to get any Muhly this year.
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Beautiful, I love the fountain of Muhly grass!
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Thanks, Eliza. The Muhly is oddly white this year so far.
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The muhly grass is spectacular and adds a wonderful sense of movement to the arrangement. Of course I love the Plumeria too. Weather conditions have had odd effects on the garden here as well. We had a short heatwave again last week but are now enjoying a stretch of cool weather; however, the prospects for rain are once again abysmal.
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Thanks, Kris. It is odd, we had rain showers all morning. Out of nowhere. I threw out more Osmocote.
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I love the grass. I think it is a variety I sometimes press when the seeds drop, they turn a beautiful translucent ecru and give a great feathery look. They are pretty in your vase too.
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Thank you, pressing sounds like a great idea.
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Your muhly grass looks great and reminds me that I must remember to include some grass seed heads in future arrangements. Love the olive oil bottle too – looks like a genie could pop out of there. Wine and smoked fish appetisers on the porch – that sounds wonderful!
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Thank you, I love some ephemeral grasses in vases..
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Ah, the frangipani again! My cuttings (of the common sort) defoliated, and are mostly looking happy.
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Your cuttings are right on track.
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I only plugged them now because this is when I happened to make the trip down south. I did not plan around their best season for pruning.
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The muhly grass is lovely. I tried growing it once but it succumbed to a very hard winter before it had a chance to flower! I do like the oil cruet you used. We will be bringing the outdoor furniture in, just as you move outdside, although I must say it has been a very mild October here. Enjoy your porch time!
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The Muhly grass has a huge range, it grows to New England here. I think drainage is what gets it. It grows in pure sand in my garden, I could not grow it in the clay soil further north. Still working on the porch.
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Interesting how dry you’ve been–we too. The Frangipani is a sentimental favorite.
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Oh, and I meant to say how nice you have the cruet from your mother (and maybe a bit of your gardening passion from her?)
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Thanks, my mother’s family was farmers (peach) and her joke was I got the farmer gene.
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A good gene to have!
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