The Never-ending Growing Season

by Em
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I can’t remember a time when I still had impatiens blooming at the end of October. The high temperatures have been 15 to 20 degrees above normal for weeks, so some annuals continue to churn out flowers.

A photo of impatiens blooming in a planter.

We had a frost a week or so ago, but it must’ve been warm enough next to the house to protect the impatiens.

Flowers growing out in the open didn’t fare as well, but I still have some Durango marigolds. Honeybees visit them every afternoon.

A photo of yellow marigolds blooming.

And these yellow Zydeco zinnias continue to bloom even though we’re back in a moderate drought and I haven’t watered them much at all. I also haven’t deadheaded the plants:

A close-up photo of a 'Zydeco Yellow' zinnia in bloom.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the ‘Margaret Seawright’ daylily I discovered blooming. Late last week I found another one! It was on its last bloom of five:

A photo of a 'Margaret Seawright' daylily in bloom.

And I still have a healthy tomato plant that’s loaded with fruit. I’m letting the chipmunks enjoy that bounty.

I’ve decided to wait until spring to cut down my flowers. There are so many beneficial insects that overwinter in garden leaves or stems, plus the backyard birds are eating seeds from all the dried flower heads. It’s also easier to pull up plants that have overwintered because their roots get frozen.

The extended weather forecasts finally show some moderation toward average fall weather starting in the middle of this week. But the low temperatures are still above freezing, so maybe I’ll have some flowers blooming into November this year!

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