Late Fall Color

Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy'

 

This year we've had a very colorful fall and the show isn't over yet. There's still color in them there leaves! 

Fothergilla with aromatic asters.

Some plants are just beginning to reach their peak of color now in early November, like the Fothergilla in the photo above. I wish the asters next to it were a bit bloomier, but the color combination never fails to amaze me. 

 

Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

My original aromatic aster continues to produce prodigious blooms--the pollinators love it, it's about the only flower that lasts this late into the fall.

 

Japanese maples on east side

Japanese maples l. to r.: Bloodgood, no Id, Full Moon

Much of my labors in the garden each fall consists of expanding and consilidating my flower beds. This year it was time to dig up the Mount Hood daffodils under the Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' that were over-crowded. I extended the bed out and joined the 'Texas White' redbud tree to make it part of the same bed before replanting the daffodils and grape hyacinths beneath the trees.

 

Reworked bed with 'Amber Ghost' and 'Texas White' redbud.

Next spring I'll consolidate this enlarged bed with the one behind it, for one much larger island bed. The Shasta daisies in the Badlands bed didn't bloom much this year, despite the generous summer rains, so I'll probably transplant those and put them in the grassy strip that will unite those two beds on the west side of the back yard.

 

The "Badlands' in late October.

Other spring-flowering bulbs also need to be dug up, thinned and re-planted. I hope the glorious weather will hold out long enough for me to get this done before the ground freezes hard. I wonder what sort of winter is in store for us?

 

The front yard in late October.

Frosty Morning

Full-moon Japanese maple 'Shirasawanum'.

Japanese maple

Last night the thermometer dipped into the twenties. When I got up in the morning and looked out the window, I saw that Jack Frost had painted a scene of fantastic beauty outside! Looking out over the east side of the house, the tops of the three Japanese maples shimmered in the early morning sun, making such a lovely sight, I couldn't resist going out to record it with my camera before it all vanished!

The hoarfrost had outlined every leaf and blade of grass, turning each tree and shrub into a work of art: the Japanese maples, the hollies, the grasses, even the mulch!

 

Berry Poppins hollies.

Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'

Going into the back yard, in the Little Indians bed, the 'Bartzella' peony and the purple Chrysanthemums, with the catmint behind, created a beautiful array of subdued colors and shapes.

Peony 'Bartzella' with mums.

Dried flowerheads of Swamp sunflowers.

Even the seedheads of the Swamp sunflowers were artistic, outlined with ice crystals. The Bottlebrush Buckeye tree with its yellowing leaves was a wondrous sight, as was the Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' with its small purple berry clusters.

Bottlebrush Buckeye

Beautyberry shrub

 

The just-planted lamb's ear's furry leaves were heavily coated with ice. The Fothergilla's leaves, just starting to turn, next to the frozen aromatic asters, were another study in subtle shades.

 

Lamb's ears leaves.

Fothergilla with aromatic asters in front.

Walking around toward the west side of the house, the berries of Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy' looked like they might be special seasonal decorations. The Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' and even the fallen leaves on the grass were gorgeous!

 

Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy'

Fallen leaves

Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost'

In the front yard, the dainty leaves of the 'Princess' holly looked like another classic winter decoration. The sprigs of red barberry 'Admiral,' next to the gray-blue foliage of lavender, another work of art! I could go on, but I'm repeating myself, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

'Princess' holly

Barberry 'Admiral'

Diervilla 'Kodiak Black' and oat grass.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Itea 'Little Henry'

April Showers

The back yard in April.

 

As the garden resurrects with much-awaited April showers, the seasonal sequence of flowers continues to unfold: the Forsythia, daffodils, narcissus and other early spring bulbs, then as those are beginning to fade, the flowering trees start to display their loveliness. This week the Redbud (Cercis canadense) in my back yard has unfurled its rosy boughs and the plump buds of the double flowering quince are opening.

 

Double flowering quince

I still have the deer barriers up, so the quince can't be admired as it should be, but I don't want to take any chances until there's enough other vegetation for the deer to browse--otherwise they will pounce on my gourmet "salad bar" in favor of the more ordinary grub found in the woods.

The Kwanzan cherry tree in front has yet to fully open, only a few blossoms have opened so far, while the white dogwood, which hardly bloomed last year, is loaded with blossoms opening much earlier than usual. Last year the cherry bloomed in the first week in April, but then came two hard frosts that blighted many a tender shoot.

 

Front yard

Earlier this spring the thermometer dropped alarmingly low for two nights, just as my beautiful yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies,' whose buds had already shed their fuzzy winter coats, were starting to open. The flowers were completely ruined! Mother nature can be so treacherous at this time of the year...

 

Ajuga 'Black Scallop'

Still, life goes on in the garden... the Ajuga 'Black Scallop' planted last year is spreading nicely and starting to bloom. The tiny bells of the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia tetraptera) tree are unfolding, and the Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) is in full bloom. It will be some years before the Serviceberry attains enough growth to make much a of show, but it's making progress.

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera)

Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)

One of my Bergenias (AKA "Pigsqueak" in these parts) managed to survive the frost and produced flowers, while the buds on another plant just a few feet away didn't make it. Why would that be? This one was closer to the house wall, perhaps the wall retained enough heat to help the buds survive?

 

Bergenia 'Winter Glow'

The dwarf iris 'Bluebeard' has come into bloom so early that it's coinciding with the flowering of the grape hyacinths. I have several varieties of  grape hyacinths: the ones with the light blue caps are M. aucheri, the ordinary purple are M. armeniacum, and some white ones, M. armeniacum 'White Magic.'

Dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'

Grape hyacinths (Muscari aucheri and M. armeniacum)

The Fothergilla shrub is starting to open its honey-scented blossoms, and so many other shrubs planted last year are breaking dormancy now. I'm planting a number of annuals from seed this spring, as well as the usual bedding and potted plants. I'm curious to see how these new ones will enhance and fill my flower beds this year.

 

Fothergilla gardenii

 

 There's so much more to come, I can hardly wait!

November Dawn

My back yard at dawn.

 

The fall color this year has been outstanding: the oak trees in back have never been so red as they are at the moment. I took this photo just before sunrise from my studio window a few days ago. It's been unseasonably warm since the beginning of November, but earlier in October, the overnight lows were near or just below freezing, which brought out the colors.

 

Red 'Simplicity' rose

 

With this weather, it's a joy to work in my garden digging up spring-flowering bulbs that were overcrowded, and replanting them in newly expanded flower beds. And adding a few new bulbs too, of course. I bought two Imperial Fritillaries (Fritillaria imperialis)--a red and a yellow--and some pink-cupped daffodils. I'm looking forward to seeing my handiwork when it all begins to emerge next spring.

 

A vase of my roses

 

It's so rare to have this many roses still blooming in November, that I picked one of each of the varieties in my garden for this bouquet: Molineux (yellow), red Simplicity, pink Petal Pushers (in back), New Dawn (pale pink), and red Double Knockout.

 

The east yard

The Viburnum 'Brandywine' on the east side of the house is still sporting some leaves along with its now blue-black berries, and the Japanese maples had some leaves when I took this photo, but after yesterday's rain, I doubt many will persist.

Oak trees in back yard

Fothergilla with purple asters.

The woods in back have been really glorious all week. Many other unexpected and stunning color combinations crop up in my garden at this time of the year--the orange leaves of the Fothergilla against the lavender of the purple asters and the silvery stems of the Caryopteris, with the Diervilla... everything takes on particularly lovely hues in the late afternoon as the sun is setting.

 

Re-blooming iris 'Blatant'

 

The re-blooming iris 'Blatant' has produced several flowers, and there are more blooming spikes. If the weather keeps up, it should continue to bloom for another week or more. It's also time to fence off the most susceptible plants, like this double-flowering quince, one of the deer's favorite snacks--there really is no other way to keep hungry deer away from some plants. I've also enclosed the hybrid witch-hazel 'Diane' that I planted this spring, as well as the Azaleas, Rhododendron and Hellebores on the east bed. Thus I hope to minimize the deer damage, though every year some of my plants get nearly wiped out.

 

Re-blooming iris and mums.

I'd been wanting to have an autumn flowering crocus that deer wouldn't eat, so when this Colchicum 'Waterlily' went on sale at Wayside Gardens, I bought one bulb to try out. Colchicums are very poisonous to both humans and animals, and this one with lovely mauve flowers is a hybrid of two different species: C. autumnale 'Alboplenum' with C. speciosus 'Album'. It will be interesting to see how it fares.

Colchicum 'Waterlily'

Garden Interlude

Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' with marigolds

After a very dry June, July and August, usually our driest months, brought plenty of rain. My rain gauge recorded over eight inches in July and five in August. The plants responded gratefully. Above is one my new beds in the back, with Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' and a dwarf Fothergilla to the right, surrounded by marigolds and a black cotton plant behind the Caryopteris.

Black cotton (Gossypium herbaceous 'Nigra')

Close-up of  black cotton flower

I grew the black cotton from seeds collected at the USBG last fall. I should have started the seeds indoors earlier, as the plants developed much too slowly after being set out in the beds, and didn't begin to bloom until late August. I haven't seen any seed pods yet, so I may not be able to continue the line unless I am lucky to collect more cottony seeds at USBG during our upcoming BASNCR fall meeting. The flowers are quite lovely with their intricate veining. I would love doing a painting of this plant, as well as the one in the photo below.

Cuban Raintree (Brunfelsia nitida)

One pleasant surprise was this single flower on my Cuban Raintree plant which I've been growing for the past year. I set it out on the porch this spring hoping it would bloom, to enjoy its heavenly scent, but only one flower appeared. This is supposed to be the Cuban "Galan de noche" fabled for its perfume--but it seems to be a fussy plant at these latitudes. Perhaps it may do better next summer, if I can keep it going during the winter...

East bed in the evening

All of the native plants I put in last fall are performing well--the hardy Ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum) above, and the Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) have both grown lushly in the east bed among the Japanese maples. The Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia carolinana) on the back left is growing into a respectable-sized shrub. Herb helped me plant a Sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) in front of it in late spring which unfortunately died back to the ground, and is regrowing from the roots; it's only 6" tall at the moment, and is a slow-growing tree, so it will be a while before it looks like much.

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

The back yard in July

Despite the large, still-empty expanses, the backyard is gradually attracting more birds, butterflies and bees. We have a pair of nesting bluebirds nearby that have raised several broods in the past couple of years--the fledglings like to visit our deck and we enjoy watching their antics. The mockingbirds love the blackberry bushes in back, and some mornings I would see four or five of them perched in the bushes, gorging on the berries. One morning I was able to observe a male Ruby-throated hummingbird perched on my neighbor's tree, preening and stretching his neck to show the telling ruby spot on his throat.
 

Pink striped Oakworm moth

Another morning after a rainy night I found this moth clinging to the sliding door screen. An internet search revealed it was a female Pink Striped Oakwood Moth (Anisota virginensis pellucida), an insect I'd never seen before. It stayed there for a long time and appeared nearly dead, so I waited and eventually carefully gathered it for my insect collection. Adding pollinating insects or birds to botanical paintings has become very popular lately, and I've started collecting as many as come my way for future use.

White hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutus)

Here are more photos of the beautiful seasonal flowers from this year's summer garden. Every year is a revelation of color and form, of nature's perfection. This living canvas of plants is a challenging way to create beauty, and very humbling, but the successes are so rewarding.

Daylily hybrid

Daylily hybrid

Yellow rose 'Molineux' with catmint