Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ October 2013 GBBD

The Hill Garden with Canna 'King Humbert', Echinacea purpurea, Berberis purpurea, and glorious yellow maples (Acer) leaves for autumn.

Welcome to my small town Pennsylvania garden in October!

I would be delighted to show you around our corner here in US zone 5. The foliage colors are intensifying this month, though they have not yet reached their climax. Our first frost is still on its way this year. Hurray for a few more weeks with tender plants in the garden! The begonias, cannas, dahlias and annuals are still adding their pretty bit to the mix. Come talk a walk around...

Seed heads of purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, are standing beautifully in the Hill Garden this month. They will stand up most of the winter, providing a fun perch for the first snow flakes and for the birds that will come looking for a snack. Birds are very fond of the seeds on these stalks, so leave them up for a bird's feast!

Dwarf ornamental grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland' is still looking lovely in the Driveway Garden with rosy Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and the re-blooming Lavendula 'Munstead Wood'.

Behind the grass, Geranium 'Rozanne' is still blooming away with purple Aster 'Peter III' and the ripening rose hips.

The bumbles are still captivated by our native flat-topped aster, Doellingeria umbellata. It began flowering in August and keeps flowering profusely until the end of October. To find some seeds for your garden, just raid your local abandoned railway grade. It is a lovely, wild plant to brighten your autumn garden.

A nice surprise on our Front Walk: a bloom of Dahlia 'Jean Marie' is lying on top of the fresh forget-me-not foliage along with a few fallen leaves.

Dahlia 'Jean Marie' is pretty purply pink tipped in white. It did not flower as well as I had hoped this year, but still is pretty, especially with Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'.

Our front curb strip planting, known as the Front Woodland, is coloring up for the fall. Sedum 'Acre', which is used extensively in our curb plantings, always brightens into an electric chartreuse at this time of year. 

A single, red mastershalum (sorry... That is nasturtium, Tropaeolum) in a pot of Sorbaria sorbifolia, False Spirea.

Cherry Corner, just feet from a stop sign, makes a nice border to our front yard.

Mums, Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' and Lamium maculatum among the pruned daylily foliage.

Seed heads if the blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis).

Sedum 'Acre', Lamium maculatum, seed heads of Heuchera.

If you peek over the edge of our garden, you will see the Shade Path that reaches to the gate. Begonias are still blooming away here, as well as some more surprises for fall...

The yellow perennial foxglove, Digitalis grandiflora, regularly re-blooms in this garden for autumne.

The early color of dwarf Fothergilla gardenii. It will continue to deep over the next month until it is positively aflame.

The Shade garden looking to our fence garden.

Native dogwood, Cornus florida, still had these green stripes on it just a few weeks ago... (taken Sept 21st).

...Now it is completely red. Cornus florida looks lovely here with Hydrangea 'Limelight'.

The fence and ivied hill at the back of our garden.

Hydrangea 'Limelight' changes from whtie to vibrant pink as October continues in Pennsylvania.

Here are some new additions to our garden "family": I am trying some plastic rolls out for rooting up a few dozen baby yew bushes. More on their intended purpose in the coming weeks :)

The most vibrant color award often goes to the maple trees in Pennsylvania. It is hard to beat them for size! This is one of the several mature maples we are graced with at Gilmore Gardens.

The Shade Path in October.

Thank for taking a walk around our tiny town garden! Read more about our gardens and my succession planting for flowers from March through November.

Thanks to May Dreams for hosting Garden Blogger Bloom Day!
Hope you have a lovely October!
~Julie