Fall Begins - October 2014

It is been almost a month since I last posted - time has been getting away from me.  The day temperatures are now in the high 70's to mid-80's and the evening temperatures are in the high 50's to low 60's.  Perfect weather.  The fall roses are now blooming in my yard. 

Sombreuil Antique Rose

Belinda's Dream

Another Sombreuil Rose on same bush as the one above!

Maggie

Red Cascade

This spider re-builds a new web on my back porch every night.  I believe it is a Barn Spider which is an orb weaver.

A close up shot of the Barn Spider.

Broccoli and cauliflower were planted in the fall vegetable garden.  We have had a real problem with grasshoppers and bunnies this year eating our plants and the growth on these plants is very slow - I'm beginning to wonder if we are going to harvest anything.  The bell peppers in the center bed are still doing great though.  The tomato plants in the back are loaded with blooms although they aren't producing many tomatoes.

We also planted swiss chard, beans and english peas.

We received over 2 inches of rain in the past couple of weeks resulting in beautiful blooms on the Salvia Greggii and Flame Acanthus.  Unfortunately, many of our hummingbirds have now migrated through and can't sip the nectar.

I planted Pentas on the front porch.  They attract butterflies.

Here is a picture of a perfect garden spider web in the morning sun.

We found another garden spider that had caught a grasshopper in its web.

Close up.


It is the time of year that the spider lilies (otherwise known as naked ladies) are blooming.

The Monarch butterflies began their annual migration several weeks ago.  I leave my backyard unmowed to let the tiny asters bloom in September and October so that the butterflies have nectar for their long journey south.

And finally, a wild sunflower - we always have lots of these growing in our backyard in the fall.