As October draws to an end I am astonished to see so much colour in my garden. You do need to look for it amongst the death and decay, but fuchsias are still going strong, geraniums are flowering again and even roses are in bud.
So let’s have a wander:
These asters are lasting so much longer now that they are in the ground. A sure sign that I must remove those in the container.It’s not just flowers that catch your eye at this time of the year, look out for foliage too – here the beautiful marbled leaves of a cyclamen. The flowers started in August and have pretty much finished now, but the leaves are very pretty.More blues. You can’t keep Rozanne down for long, despite a very harsh cut back in August, she’s back. Along with some if the annuals I grew in a container.Talking of annuals, this could be one of the new nasturtiums I sowed this year. There should be some dark red and yellows among them, but so far mostly leaves. Still this orange has a lovely yellow throat if you look closely .Another container plant is this Osteospermum. It’s had a bit of a rest recently, but beginning to flower again, though my main reason for this photo was the light through the leaves.Finally a bit of a mystery. I received some Cosmos plugs from an online nursey this spring, the carmine pink and the white ones are pretty much over, but there was one plant which grew and grew and grew, with no sign of any buds. Until now. Question is has it left it too late? Will these flowers actually ever open?
The feature image is of my Chocolate Cosmos which is another plant that has flowered its socks off this year, though often obscured by the daylilies. I usually leave it in the ground and just pack some woollen pads over the top to protect it from the wet. This year I might try some form of a cloche.
This week marks the first with our new expert host, Jim of Garden Ruminations. As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to his site where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world. See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
Lots of colour still in your garden. I really like the Rozanne/Nigella combo. I’m back in Cornwall next weekend.
You do have a wonderful selection of colourful plants. They almost herald winter with a sense of hope.
There won’t be many survivors soon. Though often the Osteospermums will flower through winter.