Pollinators in October

Swallowtail with abelia

Swallowtail with abelia and Abraham Darby rose

Wasp in Abraham Darby rose

Pat Austin rose

Wasp hiding in Winchester Cathedral (note the anomalous pink coloration)

Who's visiting your garden this week?

Monday's Vase (ahem, coffee pot)

Here's another flower arrangement post.  I hope that's not too boring.

Even after our first frosts this week, the roses in my garden are still producing the last odds and ends for the year.  The most productive right now is Madame Alfred Carrière, but unfortunately most of her blooms face outwards onto my neighbor's property (lucky him).  In its third year, I really need to get it onto an arch to train it away from the boundary fence.

So, once again, I am participating with Rambling in the Garden's "In a Vase on Monday" post.  This week, my humble arrangement includes roses from Madame Alfred Carrière, La Sevillana and Pat Austin, along with spent abelia blooms.

The "vase" is actually a Japanese coffee pot that my grandmother brought back from Yokohama, where my grandparents, mother and aunt lived after WWII.  My grandfather was stationed in occupied Japan for five years with the Army Corps of Engineers during the reconstruction.

Yes, that is La Sevillana's actual color.  No color enhancing used here.

 

I am a bit nervous about using the coffee pot.  The hand-painted porcelain hasn't got a single crack or coffee stain and it honestly looks like it has never been used.  As a child, I remember seeing it in a china cabinet, although never on the table.

But, I think it is important to use precious, inherited belongings instead of leaving them locked up in a glass case.  They bring back fond memories, which are much more priceless than cold china.  I'm sure my grandmother would feel the same.

Hot Stuff!

The report today was that we have just had the warmest October on record since 1965.  I can't complain, though, because we did get some rain at the beginning of the month.  Today, Halloween, we hit the upper 80's, and the boys went trick-or-treating in t-shirts.  Much different from my childhood in New England when we sometimes had to wear ski pants under our costumes!

With such good weather, my garden is still full of roses and wildlife, but all that is supposed to change in just a couple of days.  So, here are some photos to wish the warm weather farewell.

Pat Austin

Benjamin Britten

 Honeysuckle

La Sevillana

Mantis

Versigny

Wasps doing whatever it is that wasps do

Gecko in the kitchen

Abelia and my little porch napper

The warm weather has been nice while it's lasted, but I can't wait for the rains to come to soften up the earth for some digging and planting.  There's so much that needs to be done!