GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY

Sometimes, ( mainly in the Fall, I think ) it's not about the BLOOM but the leaf and texture :

Sedge

Autumn Moon Maple

Jack Frost Brunnera

Korean Azalea

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Bergenia Cordifolia

Ornamental grass

The award for the longest blooming perennials goes to :

Limelight hydrangea

Aster

Mum

Blackeyed Susan

Footnote to Carol of May Dreams Gardens : All of the above photos are the real McCoy, no fudging or staging took place.


Now for the scoop on what's blooming in garden blogs everywhere , visit Carol at MayDreamsGardens .

SWEET HOME CHICAGO

The Mango Hummer

The rare visit to Beloit, Wisconsin by the Mango Hummingbird from Mexico created quite a stir and worry about the approaching winter.

Today's newspaper brings good news -the hummer was captured and is in quarantine at our Brookfield Zoo. Furthermore, it has gained weight, an indication of good health.

Hummingbird specialists are recommending to eventually return the bird to a Texas-Mexico border wildlife refuse so that it can go home again. I'm so happy our little hummer has found a temporary home here for the winter at least.

A BIG THANKS TO GARDEN VOICES FOR SAVING US FROM OBSCURITY !

AUTUMN MOON MAPLE IN HER FALL FINERY

When I started my blog back in February I wasn't concerned with how many visitors I would get or if I would make money by using Google Ads. I did it for the sheer pleasure of it, as do many of my fellow garden bloggers, and to pass the long cold winter days cooped up inside longing for Spring.

As a garden designer and garden center employee it frankly is not always easy to find time to blog in the Spring , Summer and Fall, our busiest season but somehow I did it on a consistent basis.

There are the seasoned garden pros that do it for pleasure and money, a good job if you can get it. Slowly over the months since I began blogging I came into contact with many others of the same interest and after hooking up with Garden Voices I found many more visitors stopped by my online garden.. We have numerous devoted and passionate garden bloggers that interact with each other , the community and yes, the world, and I have found that each have their own unique contribution.

My son the webmaster remarked several time that it was unusual to get as many hits as I did but I didn't think it was a lot and didn't pay much attention to it. The stories of bloggers getting millions of hits and raking in the dough always grabs the headlines. I mean, there was a Chicago suburban housewife and mother who wrote about dirty diapers and home life and became an overnight sensation.

In this morning's newspaper, a Tribune reporter talked with the folks at Technorati , the internet search engine. He asked how many of the 109.2 million blogs tracked get no hits in the course of a year ? The answer was shocking : just over 99 percent! The vast majority of blogs, he says, exist in a state of total or near-total obscurity.

So I want to thank GARDEN VOICES for saving us from total or near-total obscurity. I wonder if Technorati has visited the site and got a look at the blogroll ? Probably not because then he would've had to say " With the exception of the garden bloggers..... "

200 DAYS

Jojo soaks up some late October sun

Chicago's official temperature at O'Hare International Airport registered 32 degrees on Friday, November 2, ending the growing season for this year , one of the four longest since they've been keeping records in 1959.

Our growing season was a month longer than last year. My last act before shutting off my irrigation system was to give the garden one last, long soaking before the snow flies and to pick the last of the green tomatoes for frying up. How lucky we are in Chicago to have ample water. I pray for the poor folks down South who are in the worse drought in history.

Mother nature gave us a nice gentle rain evening before last and we are expecting more today and the first 60 degree temperature for November.

A TIME TO REMEMBER - VETERANS' DAY

To my brother Cecil and Brother-in-law Charles, Veterans of the Korean War and all veterans of every war : THANK YOU !