Fall is slowly finding its way to South Florida. October is a month of contrasts – one of the most active months for tropical weather, witnessed last week by the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Milton, it also ushers in welcome cooler temperatures. Sometime around October 15 usually brings the first cold front of the season and it was right on time. Temperatures in the 70s (F) have been experienced for the first time in months. Ahh.
Hurricane Milton passed about 100 miles north of my garden. The havoc wreaked here was by a series of tornadoes spawned by the outer bands of the storm the day before landfall. My area was peppered with these storms packing winds in the 150 mph range. A great deal of destruction ensued and lives and many properties were lost. The hurricane was a snooze compared to the tornadoes. We are unscathed and grateful.
I plucked some cooler colors, fall tones and pseudo fall leaf color for my vase this Monday:
The off white flowers are ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea’, she is leaning a bit towards green having fallen off her trellis in the storm. Blue flowers are Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) the tropical rains seem to have inspired a new flush of flowers for October. The gold glass container is an olive oil cruet.
Faux fall color is provided by peachy Choconiana Heliconia (H. psittacorum) and the leaf of a Piecrust Croton (Codieum varigatum).
I guess I can pretend I am raking up fall leaves instead of hurricane debris since its October!
Visit our hostess, Cathy, at RamblingintheGarden and follow the links in the comments section to see more vases.
The Shrub Queen 
You have a good combo of fall flowers. The croton has a nice mix of colors. Our cold front is expected to arrive Wednesday. Today and tomorrow we are having record breaking highs.
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At first glance I thought there was olive oil in the bottle! This is a lovely combination of blooms. I had no idea hurricanes could spawn tornadoes. Scary stuff but glad you’re all safe.
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Thank you. Just water. This was an unusual weather pattern with the number of tornadoes.
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Thanks! I hope you got some cold air! Thought of you today, saw the first hummer of the season.
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I still have some hummers here, but last winter I did not have my winter ones. It was 47 this morning, but as it goes here, it will be 88 by the end of the week. Anything lower than 90 is tolerable.
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the cold front is here! I agree about less than 90 – though seeing 70s is pretty exciting.
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I love how the plumbago wraps around ‘Miss Alice’ and the heliconias, it’s a winner!
Do you have a compost pile for your garden debris? I store shredded leaves for mulching in spring and for dry additions to balance our compost bins.
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I do have a compost heap, hubs does woodworking and it is like a glob of particle board at the moment. Needs green!
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The bottle is brilliant for linking with the heliconia and the croton leaf and they all work well with the pale colours of the plumbago and bougainvillea – I thought the latter was pale green foliage at first!
So sad hearing about the damage and destruction and loss of life…
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Thanks, Cathy. The Bougainvillea is a bit green..
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OMG that is stunning. I love the colour combos of plants I could never dream of growing! So glad you avoided the worst of Milton but I cannot imagine living with that worry. The anxiety must be awful. For something completely different;-
https://zonethreegardenlife.blog/2024/10/14/in-a-vase-on-thanksgiving-monday/
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Thanks, really enjoyed your flowers.
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I’m so glad you and your household are okay, Amelia! I can’t imagine 150 mile winds, although news reports have shown evidence of the damage they can cause. Your arrangement beautifully illustrates the sharp contrasts you’ve faced this month.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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Thanks, Kris. Hoping for a quiet fall.
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The blue plumbago is such a lovely soft colour against the autumnal looking Heliconia and the Piecrust leaf. Will you have to cut the Bougainvillea down, or is she back on her support now?
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Thanks, Cathy. Miss Alice is still reclining and is not damaged. We are having another windy spell.
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Those tornadoes would make me want to leave. It is not so much the tornadoes, as the potential for weather like that to happen. I do not know how people contend with extremes of weather. Yet, people live just about everywhere in the World. Anyway, these are pretty. I think of plumbago as weedy, so it is nice to see it appreciated more than I do.
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earthquakes would freak me out..Thanks, Tony.
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Well, yes, an earthquake in Florida would freak me out also! I would not expect one there! Although, it would not make me want to relocate (if I lived there, which I obviously do no not).
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Love the peach and blue combo. Wish I could convince plumbago to come thrive here.
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Thanks, Susie. Summer annual where you are!
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I sure hope the storms are over, I can’t imagine 150 mph winds. Plumbago is so very pretty.
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Thank you, so do I. I am happy to have missed those winds.
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The plumbago is a nice addition to the arrangement.
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Thank you.
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