This is my second month as a newbie (semi) garden blogger to participate in the monthly bloom day post round up, and I’m happy to report that here in USDA Zone 7B – downtown north in Knoxville, Tennessee – my city garden is still going strong in mid-October. Lots of things are in bloom, and a few things are about to re- bloom.

Like Margaret Roach, I’m not generally a fan of chrysanthemums. When I see all the dry-looking mounds of rusty gold and yellow mums start to show up in garden centers and at the Fellini Kroger down the street, I have zero interest in bringing any of them home. For some reason – and more power to ya if they’re your thing – the classic fall mums just turn me off.

But these mums – variously known as “Clara Curtis” or “Ryan’s Pink” (they were advertised as the latter at Stanley’s Secret Garden, which is where I bought the plant) are an altogether different matter. They’re perennial mums, and they’re blooming like mad right now. I love them. They’re whimsical and sweet and pretty and a bit funky – more like fresh fall daisies than like any of the dry, ugly (sorry mum fans!) mums I’m used to seeing.

My two Scarlet Sage plants (salvia splendens) are still gorgeous. I’m still trying to decide whether to bring them inside when frost comes or cut them back and mulch well and hope they overwinter. Have any of y’all successfully brought a Scarlet Sage thru a winter? Any hints or tips?

Also in bloom right now is my “Hot Lips Salvia” (salvia mycrophylla). This is a really neat plant. The flowers are bicolored (the red and white you are in the photo) in the cooler months, but they turn all red or all white in the hot weather.

The soft purple flowers on my “Little Spire Russian Sage” are delicate & unflashy, but very pretty and still going strong this month.

An yep, yet another salvia is blooming at the moment. This is my Salvia gregii “Rasberry.”, which I have in a big pot at the moment. At this point I probably won’t move it into the ground in the garden until late next spring.

I have both pink & purple Angelonia angustifolia still putting out pretty flowers.

All my many purslane varieties are continuing to bloom wonderfully this month. I love,love, love these little plants and plan to have even more of them all over the place next year.

My “Tutti Frutti” agastache (also called Giant Hyssop) is GORGEOUS right now. The smell is amazing too. I so hope this plant makes it thru the winter. I’ve started some cuttings to overwinter indoors, just in case. The cuttings have taken off in little pots really well.

The reliable little dahlia hypnotica is staying busy this month.

And my agastache apricot sprite is finally about to bloom. Yay!

I have three gaura belleza plants and all of them are blooming profusely right now. I’ve had poor luck with the paler pink variety of gaura, but this dark pink cultivar with the maroon foliage seems to love my garden, for which I’m grateful because these are lovely.

My red Pentas are looking slightly less vivacious this month, still have lots of color. That’s lantana in bloom next to the red.

Giant, pink cosmos are still floating high above my garden.

And last, but not least, it looks like the caterpillars’ favorite – the milkweed – is going to bloom one final time this season.