"Sewing" in the garden

In the days just before Sandy arrived, I was out in the garden cleaning up in preparation for winter (now I have a lot more to clean up but that's material for another day's post) and took a couple of pictures of some of the last few blooms. The pincushion flower (Scabiosa caucasica) was bravely putting out some of its lovely light purple blooms. I captured some of the unopened blossom heads from which the flower takes its name.

According to my copy of Better Homes and Gardens New Complete Guide to Gardening, pincushion flowers are some of the longest blooming perennials at 10 weeks and even more if dead headed to encourage blooming. The author also listed these flowers as good plantings for rock gardens, providing food for songbirds and attracting butterflies.