October Abundance

The dahlias languished all summer.  I was really disappointed, since i had hoped to use them to supplement my other cuttings.  I planted six different types - ranging from white to a very dark burgundy and in different flower types.  Sadly, they struggled and only three of six even made it far enough to set buds.

Three weeks ago they suddenly decided to bloom and they have been gorgeous.

This may be the prettiest one i ever grew.  It looks like a lotus and is about five inches wide.

A chrysanthemum type, with the 'Double Scoop Cranberry' cone flower. 

Another chrysanthemum type in a rich pink.

Am planning to put them in a slightly sunnier spot next year and look for another source.  Anyone got a dahlia supplier that you can recommend?   I prefer the smaller ones, so that I can add them to arrangements. 

Wednesday Workday

The work this week was a much overdue, much needed painting of the posts on the front porch.  Mitchell had cleaned and sanded them, but he is either the worst painter on the planet or the smartest husband ... 'cause he sure has me believing that he should never touch a paint brush.

You don't really want to look at newly painted posts, so how about a few fall blossoms instead?  Good choice!

A reblooming azalea.  There are three of them, but this is the only one that chose to bloom this fall. 

And a spectacular sasanqua.  Odd ... they appear to be the same color.

Fall's on the Way

A bit of web for you ...

Of Plans and Deadlines

It seems like life - at least my life - is just a series of plans and deadlines.  I have both for work, both for the garden and both for my personal life.  For the most part, there's no reason to share the first with you.  Work is work and nothing special.  Altho I do love my job, I am happy every afternoon to walk away from it. 

See the salvia on the left?  I thought it was an annual variety.

Plans for the garden are big for me, and I just assume that you are every bit as interested!  Plans for the personal life are a bit less definite most days.  Actually, I think Mitchell is in charge of those!

Ah, but deadlines.  It seems to me there are two types of people when it comes to deadlines.  There are those who look at a deadline and then file it away until 24 or 48 hours ahead.  These are the folks who pull all-nighters to write term papers or study for final exams or prepare a sales presentation for the big clients.  When I sold for Xerox all the most successful salesmen were in this group. 

The same salvia came up in the perennials this spring.

The other group looks at the deadline and then looks at the task and breaks it down into smaller tasks, assigns interim deadlines, starts today, and has the project done two or three days early so that they have time to let it sit and then take a final look at it.  All of the successful saleswomen at Xerox were in this group.  Actually, I have often wondered what it was about their hiring practice that caused that dichotomy.

I am definitely in the latter group.  I have already laid out my plans for the fall garden:  re-do and then seed the cutting garden, re-do the area where the crabtree came out, take out an overgrown section of daylilies and move some of them to the front yard, plant new perennials to replace the daylilies, and deadhead, deadhead, deadhead.  

Now, suddenly, I have a deadline.  It all has to be done by October 4th.  Wow!  What can be put off until later?  The deadheading definitely can.  Moving the overgrown daylilies can also wait, but I really do want it done now.   But, then I can wait on the re-planting until spring.  And, the cutting garden is a "must be done".  And, good news.  I finished re-planting around the crabapple today.

I moved five of them out of the pots on the deck and into the garden - where the crabapple used to be.

There it is, then.  Re-do and plant the cutting garden and clear out the over-grown daylilies now.  Wait until spring to replant in the cleared space and to deadhead.  I love a plan!

Wednesday Workdays

 There's a project - always, a project somewhere.  I have a couple in mind for the fall, but the one I have started on is renovating one of the big beds in the front of the house.  Since we live more in the back of the house overlooking the "real" garden, it's easy to let the front get out of hand - which I have done.

Seeing this picture made me realize how much shade we have lost and how much I really loved that oak tree.

Let's start with history.  We bought this house under construction and got the builder to leave the yard alone except for the lawn seeding that the county required.  They did nothing about shrubs or planting.  In a hurry to do it all at once - and having no clue how big a job that was - we launched into everything all at once.  Shrubs went in along the front porch and a Thuja occidentalis at the corner.  Sadly what was sold as an 'Emerald' arborvitae (10 - 12 feet) was actually a 'Green Giant' (40+ feet) and had to come out.

By the second summer we had put in a serpentine concrete edging that included the two existing trees and created two beds with vastly different needs.  We had started planting azaleas in the sunny, drier one on the left.

 

Then I discovered St. John's Wort and finally a small creeping version of the same.  It seems like the perfect answer to filling in a large space with a low-growing, yellow flowering expanse that turns the most gorgeous bronze in the fall.  A few flowering perennials and space solved.

Five years later and the oak tree has died, completely changing the conditions of the site.  Happily, a volunteer dogwood has chosen to establish itself there so we will eventually have another source of shade.  Altho smaller than the oak, I think it will eventually be a good size for the house.

A big planter has given me a bit of height and a place to put a few flowers over the past couple of summers, but everything had become overgrown and crowded.  Most of all, tho, the creeping St. John's Wort had starting taking on the azaleas!  Can't have that.

And, finally, the conditions out there.  We have two drains off the house that run under the sidewalk and provide some irrigation.  It's not the best, since it tends to be feast or famine, so i augment with weekly sprinkling most of the summer and into the fall.  So, here is where we start.

The St. John's Wort is overgrown.  There is plenty of vinca minor everywhere, as well as Bermuda grass that thinks it owns this bed.  The chrysanthemums in all three pots have already bloomed once this silly summer, but are in bud again, and the small chrysanthemums I put in the ground are starting to bloom, too.   Meanwhile, the azaleas are in very good shape for such a hot summer, but would really like to get rid of the grass and creeping euonymous that has invaded them.

It's time for a little Round-up!  More next week.

It's August After All ...

Mitchell has been wanting me to show you my wheelbarrow.

So, here it is.  

Nothing odd here.  It's August after all.  It's been way to hot out to do anything that would require its use.  It might as well rest while it can.  The end is near.

A New Friend?

This little guy hitched a ride home today from Starbucks - couldn't tell what his beverage choice was.

I drove very slowly to make sure he made it all the way to the garden.  I think he would be a nice addition to my ecosystem.  After posing for his photo, he flew off ... and next door!

What do they have that I don't?  Certainly not plants!

We Escaped!

While Mother Nature was dumping heavy, wet snow up the East Coast north of me, we awoke this morning to the first frost.  Somehow, I had forgotten the charm of these early fall frosts - the rising sun just kissing the trees and shrubs.

A hardy salvia still holding its own.

 

Shrubs kissed by the frost.

And, a day full of promise.  A day to light the fire, to read a good book, and to open a nice bottle of wine.  Fall's not so bad, after all!

Wednesday* Workday - The Cutting Garden

Seeds from Stokes and Renee's Gardens and marker stakes.

Thanks to the lovely Belinda (Wild Acre) and her series on how to make a cutting garden, I have set that as my number one project for this fall.


I've identified an area that needs to be cleaned out and re-purposed as a cutting garden, but decided that maybe it's too small for the seeds I want to plant, so laid out a second area in the "bowling alley" - that long, straight side yard with which we have never been particularly excited.  It gets lots of morning sun, but water will be a problem.  The area I laid out is bounded by the camellia and a small Japanese maple tree - about 25 feet long and four feet wide.  If I do get flowers the color will be seen from the street, but not the detail.  It will add a layer of color to the side yard.


Using the instructions from Belinda's friend Ben, I set out this afternoon to plant the hardy annuals I bought ...  Nigella (Love in the Mist) in pink

Grass killed, dug out, raked with plant food and humus added.

'Mulberry Rose', blue 'Persian Violet' and white 'Bridal Veil', poppies 'French Flounce' and 'Shirley', stock (multi-colored) and larkspur ('French Alouette', 'Earl Grey', 'Cannes Rose Stripe' and 'Cannes Deep Blue'). 

In fairness I should say that Belinda did not recommend growing larkspur, but it's one of those flowers that I have wanted to grow since I was a teenager.  I think I first met it in a Nancy Drew mystery, something like "The Mystery on Larkspur Lane".  Have bought seeds several times, but always discovered too late that they should have been planted in the fall - not this time!

I followed Ben's directions: watered first, marked the rows with sand, and then watered it all again.  Ben didn't tell me to put in tags, but I did it anyway!

Rows marked with sand and labeled.

I can hardly wait to see what comes up!

While I only used about 2/3 of the seeds, I am not sure where I will find enough space to plant the rest of what I already have.  In addition to these, I have plenty of seeds for spring - scabiosa, cosmos, cornflowers, and sweet peas, plus astrantia and zinnias that are ordered, but have not yet arrived.  Had planned to do a second planting in a couple of weeks, but now I am thinking of waiting until spring and just mixing all of the leftover seed together and broadcasing it - but I don't have a clue where!


So, now we wait.  I'll let them come up in a couple of weeks and get started, then they follow Persephone to Hades and sleep for the winter, to re-emerge in March ... hopefully with flowers!  This is so much fun!

*I know it's only Tuesday, but couldn't wait until tomorrow! 

November 18, 2010

Yesterday:

Today:

This is what November should be like!

Shrub of the Year

Fall reached out and grabbed me by the throat this week. Somehow, I have been drifting mindlessly thru life for the past few weeks. Yes, I knew it was October, then November, but somehow my eyes were shaded and my heart closed. But no more.

Over the weekend I spent part of three days pulling weeds and cutting perennials back and - my favorite - digging in the dirt! The feel of clean, gritty dirt under my nails. Who would think that I had missed that feeling? But having it back was luxurious.

Someone has painted all the trees red and yellow. I've waited too long to find the perfect tree, because it is raining today and beating the leaves down. The roads are littered with them and the trees are starting to look boldly bald. The yard looks like Midas has sprinkled big coins all over.

How I wish I had starting looking a week ago for the perfect tree. Brilliant reds and golden yellows everywhere make my heart ache. This fothagilla turns to flames in the afternoon sun - every day - like a gift wrapped package... just for me. So, I've chosen it as the perfect shrub this year.

And, there are surprises, too. Like this lovely iris that I planted in July. I don't know if it's confused or a true rebloomer. Either way, it has eight buds on three stalks and if we get a couple of warm sunny days may open before we leave for our Thanksgiving trip farther south - at least I hope they will.

Other plants are giving me one last flush of bloom. A miniature rose that came from my aunt's garden more than 10 years ago is covered with both blooms and buds, and the volunteer nandinas that I transplanted from all over the yard have finally started to make me a hedge. From twigs less than 12 inches tall, I now have three-foot tall shrubs covered with berries. Where in the world did they come from... and when?

The true answer - of course - is that they have been there all along. It was I who deserted the garden this year. First because it was so blasted hot this summer than I didn't want to venture out, and then later because Mother fell ill and I spent my days traveling from here to there, and finally spent weeks in a daze after her death.

At a time when nature is going to sleep, I am finally waking up. As a daughter of Demeter and a sister of Persephone, that's okay. I will take my winter's sleep in a month or two, but like the iris I am blooming out of season this year. The important part is that I am finally starting to bloom.

Garden mums are growing everywhere - filling the yard with lavender.

The "pacific daisies" [they're really mums, too] are also in full bloom.

This mini rose is predominently white, but some blooms have pink picot edging and
some are more streaked - like this one. It makes for a lovely flush of blooms.

Catching Up

Fall has sneaked up on me this year.

In the back of my mind I was aware that college football was underway [seven weeks it turns out!] and that the sky was changing its color. I had seen the deep V's of geese flying and heard their honking. [In this neck of the woods they are flying in both directions - most confusing!]

Pumpkins are lined up at every church in the neighborhood. Who buys all those wonderful orange orbs? and, have you seen the pale greens ones? They look like something a luna moth would love. Actually, I love them, too.

Even the pond fish have started coming sluggishly to get a snack. Gone are the feeding frenzies of the warmer weather.

Yesterday we turned the gas on for the fireplace and put the comforter on the bed. Today we'll switch out the winter clothes for the summer stock.

I think today I will go see how many mall stores have put up their Christmas gear. That should get me caught up with the change of seasons!


10-10-10

5 classes
-1.5 pounds

Nothing extraordinary there - well, the five classes are. But at least I don't have to drag out my excuse of eating for two days this week at a posh resort, where I tried to single-handedly empty their dessert bar.

Winter's First Kiss

The chilly kiss of winter finally touched the garden last night - about two weeks later than usual. We normally have our first heavy frost around the middle of November, but even with the recent cooler temperatures and rainy days, the real cold has held off for a while this year. Early this morning I found frosty grass and pansies with white-painted edges for the first time. The last tomatoes and the mandevilla are definitely gone now.

But there are other blooms still holding their own. We were gone last week and returned to find even more blooms on the sassanquas and two surprises - one of the hydrangeas put out a small, but pretty mophead, and my miniature white rose has bloomed one last time. Both are special plants: mother gave us the hydrangea our first Christmas in this house, and the rose came from my Aunt Agnes' garden. I consider it my inheritance from her.

There's still lots of fall deadheading left to do, and I am falling behind. The obstacle, tho, is wet ground. Two weeks ago we got 5.5 inches of rain and last week at least 3 more, so the ground is sodden. It's so wet that we are walking around the outside edges as best we can to avoid creating "holes" by stepping into the wet, wet ground. I cut the grass in the front and on the side on Sunday, but couldn't even try to cut the back yard because of the standing water in some places.

When I can get back outside to work - after a couple of days of sun and hopefully a bit more warmth - I should be able to catch up in a couple of afternoons. Meanwhile, I am enjoying just looking at the changes. All the leaves are down and the structure of the trees and larger shrubs is showing. The evergreens have come into their own as their deciduous friends have shed their leaves and color.

There's a peace about the winter garden, that's due in part to its emptiness. In two more weeks all signs of the summer abundance of bloom will be gone and we will do the holiday decorating with greenery and berries. After that we'll have the real cold - maybe even some snow. Then the solitary stars of the garden will begin doing their thing. In just six weeks there will be a few camellias, followed by the hellebores, and then the earliest bulbs. Heck, spring is almost on its way!

Out From Under my Rock!

[Note: the following was written October 23. Same excuse as last time!]

Sometimes work just completely interferes with life. For the past three weeks I have hardly lifted my eyes from my desk, and yesterday when I finally had a few minutes I discovered fall is arriving.

When last I looked around me the Bradford pears looked like some flamboyant Marilyn wannabee had roamed through the neighborhood smooching them randomly and leaving her lipstick on their tips. Suddenly I saw trees in all shades of red, and started looking around to see what was happening. The maples run from their normal green through yellows and oranges and into reds, while the evergreens provide their steady background of green needles. Everywhere I look are the beginnings of the gorgeous season of trees. As much as one loves Spring's rebirth and the first glimpses of willow green, Fall brings her own exuberant color and that last gasp of excitement before the calm sleep of Winter.

A walk through the garden and I find that the chrysanthemums are starting to bloom, with the promise of many more to come. The pale coral ones - whose names I have lost - are in full bloom and the pink ones that came from Mitchell's mother's garden are full of buds. They are the old fashioned naturalizing type of flower, so will make a blanket of subtle color in another couple of weeks. And the "pacific daisies" - which are really chrysanthemums, too - are on track to bloom about the same time and will make a lovely ground cover for us.

And, there is always a treasure or two if one looks for it. Right now it's the Monk's Hood. Although totally poisonous (and therefore a terrible choice for a garden where there are children or pets around), it is a lovely purple spire standing high above the rest of the plants. Monk's Hood is a challenge for me. I have tried it in three different locations and still have not found the right spot. I suspect it may be an issue of water, not sunlight.

Of course, though, all this beauty reminds me of the work that lies ahead. It's time to start the serious deadheading for the end of the year. That's the kind of thing that can be done broadstroke, but there is plenty of it to do. The silver lining of this particular cloud is that it will all go in the compost pile and by spring we will have new humus to top dress the garden.

It's especially nice to live in a place where we have bloom about 10 months out of the year, and where we will continue to enjoy a flowering yard until Thanksgiving.