For the past few months, I’ve been remiss in participating in Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. October seems a good time to break newly formed bad habits and join in again with this celebration of all things blooming.
I’m enjoying plenty of Autumn blooms in my garden and so are various pollinators as they ramp up for winter dormancy. Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, is loaded with bloom clusters,
…and hosts a remarkable variety of grateful and busy pollinating buddies, like this honeybee and Grey Hairstreak butterfly, Strymon melinus.
The Gregg’s Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum, is also a favorite amongst the winged and antennaed crowd.
But it doesn’t mind going it alone, either.
Pairing beautifully with Gregg’s Mistflower is the Texas Craglily, Echeandia texensis. This lovely and uncommon Texas fall bloomer is open for business as well, though the native bees have been too quick for me to capture any photographs of their hard work.
Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, is flush with bright, sunshine blooms
…and alive with constantly attending honeybees.
What’s blooming where you live? Show off your blooms, then hop over to May Dreams Garden for October’s blooming bonanza.
My Gardener Says... 
My Craglily bloomed for the first time this fall. It is so delicate. Your Autumn flowers look great.
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Isn’t the craglily lovely??? I’m surprised that it grows in your neck-of-the-woods. I would’ve thought your area might be too humid? Regardless, enjoy!!
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I have a “hill country” bed that is very dry. We also haven’t had much rain in the last few years, so we’ll see.
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Ah, that’s interesting. It would do well then, in those conditions.
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Beautiful monarch.
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Actually, that butterfly is a Queen (Danaus gilippus), which is a close relative of the Monarch (Danaus plexippus). They look very similar and it’s easy to mistake the two. The Queen is generally smaller, a darker brown and has more “spots” than the Monarchs’ “stripes”. Check out this great post on the two butterfly species from The Texas Butterfly Ranch: http://texasbutterflyranch.com/2012/12/07/queen-monarch-caterpillars-and-butterflies-how-to-tell-the-difference/
Both butterflies are beautiful and welcome in my garden always!
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Thanks for the link and clarification, really nice butterflies.
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It’s an easy mistake to make–I’ve made it myself, plenty of times. The Monarch is the one which has the fascinating migration from Mexico, through the US into Canada, and back again. The Queens are year-round here in Texas. Both are pretty, pretties.
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Very pretty!
Great photos of the bees and butterflies, too!
Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
Lea
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Ah, thanks!! Same to you and your blooms!
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You have beautiful flowers in your garden! I love the picture with the butterfly!
Greetings, Sofie #26
http://sofies-succulent-beads.blogspot.be
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Thank you, Sofie. It’s a nice time of year for blooms and butterflies.
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Remiss no more! I’d wonder at the synchronicity of how we have so many of the same plants growing (and blooming) but the reason is obvious: I am very carefully emulating any/all of your successes that I feel will work in my spaces. So no wonder that the result of my using the natives you’ve displayed are worthy of the effort means we are seeing a lot of the same flowers. What is wonderful (at least to me) is that despite our having so many similar plants, we have such different gardens. Even using the same colors, nature never seems to draw the same picture twice!
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Aren’t native plants just the best?! Your observation about how each garden, even when the same plants are utilized, is an interesting one. I shy away from fads–either in clothes fashion (you’ve seen me, you know THAT to be a fact), but also in gardening. Your *on-the-edge of Hill Country* space is very different from my urban lot and though we’re nurturing the same botany, our gardens differ–in style, feel and practical use.
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This is so beautiful, Tina. Right now, I’m wishing I could spend the winter in Texas! I can’t grow Conoclinium greggii in my climate, but my C. coelestinum looks just like it with the blue flowers (foliage, of course, is totally different). I love those blue flowers!
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Thanks, Beth. That’s how I feel when I drool over gardens like your own in the more northern climates and/or the British garden bloggers’ photos–so lush and full of blooms in late spring, summer, early autumn.
I adore the C. coelestinum, it’s my personal favorite of the two (oh, that dark blue/purple color–swoon!), but my critters definitely vote with their probosci for the Gregg’s–it’s always hosting more than the Blue.
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I always enjoy looking at your blooms, many of them so unusual. And your bugs and butterflies are amazing.
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And I, yours!! That’s one of the best parts of garden blogging–to see and learn about others’ gardening and wildlife situations.
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Wow your garden is teeming with wild pollinators, a healthy symptom.
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Yes, I agree–nice synchronicity between plant and pollinator.
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Tina you have some lovely autumn blooms, I really like the Gregg’s mistflower and Texas craglily, lots of pollinators too, Frances
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Thank you, Frances. I also love those two plants!
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Belated Happy GBBD! Love the Texas Craglily, the flowers remind me of Shooting Star (Dodecatheon maedia). Is Craglily also in the Primrose family?
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And happy blooms to you, too! The Craglily is true to its name–it’s in the Liliacea family. But you’re right, it does look like Shooting Stars–which according to the Lady Bird Johnson site, we can grow here in Texas. Hmmmmm…. 🙂
TexasDeb of austinagrodolce thinks that the Texas Craglily looks like our yellow Columbine–that’s true too!
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Beautiful photos. Your fall garden is always a real treat to see. happy sigh
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