From the other side of the year, a very frilly peony flower in my garden.

Pink and white peony blossom in the June garden

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NOTE: Just updated this post, the tag had said it was tillandsia paleacea but an expert said no, it’s a caerulea. I checked on google images and they are correct! I’ve had this air plant for several years on this north window sill in Seattle. Sometimes some other tillandsia plant stems just seem to appear in the bowl, but I never see them attached. I basically ignore it, soak when I can remember. Over two months ago (!!) a long flower stem emerged. This week a tiny, delicate flower finally showed, and it’s very fragrant! Wow and wow.

Fragrant purple flower about half an inch wide of tillandsia paleacea, with one or two more blooms to come

Bowl of tillandsias, one tall spike finally flowering

Pretty gray-green color of tillandsia air plants

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The dark weather in Seattle does kind of get to me at this time of year. But we must keep smiling!

Collection of smiley-themed items at the Puyallup Fair in Washington, several years ago

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An exciting thing happened. Someone sent me a gift of 11 air plants! I’ve kept some air plants alive for a few years so I’m pretty sure I know what to do with them, but I’m hoping these don’t need unusual care. What I know to do is soak them for half an hour once a week (upside down so their little butts are in the air), shake off excess water, and keep on a bright windowsill with lots of air circulation. Makes sense, right? Anyone out there know what kinds these are? I’ve included a picture with numbers to help you tell me what’s what if you know. Thanks in advance!

All probably some kind of tillandsias???

Know any names? Please post in comments. Thanks!

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I used to call this a Christmas cactus but I learned that the leaves with the points are Thanksgiving cactuses (or cacti), and there are also Easter cactuses. But it’s not even Halloween yet!

My Thanksgiving cactus is blooming happily in October

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I thought our grapevine was Interlaken but the tag is gone. The internet seems to think Interlaken grapes are golden, not red. Well, I don’t know. Our vine struggled for years, very low production, but early this spring we finally cut down a couple of very nearby apple trees that were not producing what we liked and were shading the vine. What a difference! This year for the first time we have some grapes to eat. Yummy!

Red table grapes ripening in early October in Seattle zone 8b

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Soon the Kousa dogwood leaves will begin to turn. See part of the little red fruit on the left? They are edible, if nothing to write home about. But cute!

Kousa dogwood in autumn

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Before the rain there were some winds. These pretty, late-summer perennial sunflowers were loving it.

Bright yellow petals of perennial sunflowers light up the fall garden

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When the petals of your hydrangea flowers get a little like crepe paper, they dry very well. Put in a vase with a half inch of water. By the time the water evaporates, the flowers will be dried enough to last and last.

Colors of mauve, purple and soft blue appear as the blue flowers mature and get ready to dry.

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I finally got to see a Corpse Flower in bloom! It was kind of under the radar at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory. They hadn’t publicized it for fear of crowds in this covid era. They bloom very rarely. This plant is twenty years old and this is its first bloom, so it is kind of a baby, which is why the whole thing is only about three feet tall. Mature flowers can be eight feet! The bloom was at its maximum this morning, and I saw it at around 2pm. I was surprised that the odor was completely done! So it was not stinky at all, a bit of a disappointment, but it was more beautiful than I expected. The outer part was an incredible swirl of loveliness. Here is a little documentary about them with David Attenborough.

Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum

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I hate cutting my roses since I can see the rose bed from the house and they look so lovely out there, blooming for me and any passers-by. But I had to pick them ahead of the big rain.

Garden roses in bouquets, with late lavender and smoke bush leaves

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Yesterday I picked all the open roses ahead of the big rain expected tonight. When I cut roses I always bring a clean bucket with a couple of inches of water into the rosebed. As soon as I cut a stem I put it in the water so it doesn’t dry and seal up. Then right before arranging I cut the stems again while each stem is in a bowl of water in the sink, at a deep slant. It really helps them last longer in the bouquet. I love my roses.

Full blown garden roses, ready for a bouquet

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