Fall in My Garden

Swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustiflolius) & Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

Each year with the approach of the Autumn Equinox, the swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolius) on the west side of the house begin their annual show. The date of peak bloom often coincides with my birthday and Herb's a week later. This year they were right on schedule despite a very dry September. 

Autumn Blaze maple turning red

West side of the house in the morning

The leaves of some of my trees have begun to turn, despite the unseasonable heat--likely due to a very dry month. The two photos above were taken within a week, and half of the maple's leaves came down while the swamp sunflowers and the purple asters began their show.

The back yard on an early October morning

This is the time of the year when I look to expanding my garden beds and increasing my stock of shrubs and trees. Seeing that my 'Amber Ghost' Japanese maple has now grown to a size sufficient to cast a bit of shade, I decided to expand the flower bed under it: a lovely Ninebark tree (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Amber Jubilee') in front, an unknown species of hydrangea in back, and three pink Agastaches on the left. The bulbs originally planted under the maple will bloom in spring: Mount Hood daffodils and Muscari armeniacum, whose foliage is emerging in the photo below.

Expanded bed under 'Amber Ghost' maple

West side yard

Here's what the yard on the west side of the house looks like these days from the bottom of the hill. Still has a ways to go before the trees begin to cast much shade, but remembering how bare this hillside was a few years ago, it's coming along nicely. This summer the artichoke plants grew well, but haven't produced any tasty chokes yet. If I can keep them alive through the winter, I may get some chokes next spring, who knows?

Replanted sunflower bed

Herb's sunflowers were setting seed in early September when one morning I discovered that all the flowers had been decapitated! Following the trail for likely suspects I found a couple of torn-off flower heads with scattered seeds at the edge of the woods in back, and it seemed to me that deer would not have easily bitten off a sturdy stem such as a sunflower's and dragged it off. No, a more likely culprit would be a bear--one could have torn all the flower heads to eat the seeds. It's known that bears happen to love sunflower seeds.

Taking that into account, it seemed wiser to replant the flowerbed with other plants that wouldn't be so attractive to bears. I had originally planned to expand Herb's bed to add other plants, and with the sedums beginning their fall show, I bought two new 'Autum Joy' sedums to put there, to echo the others in the Little Indians bed.

Fall is also a great time to take stock of plants that haven't done so well in their present spots and try them out in new locations. I transplanted the small clump of Muhly grass beneath the Seven-son flower tree to the new bed, as well as some yellow mums that were getting scraggly, being shaded out by the cherry tree in front. For a finishing touch, I added one of the three lavender plants bought at the Blooming Hill Lavender Farm when the Outdoor Painters of the Shenandoah painted there this past summer. We'll see how this bed will fill out over the next growing season.

The Badlands bed

The Badlands, as Herb calls the rear-most flower bed, seem to be improving somewhat. The purple aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) here survived the predations of the voles through the winter to put on a decent show--the other plant I had put in the Seven-son flower bed was completely eaten from the roots. The Shasta daisies in front developed only a few buds this year, despite being watered during the dry spell. The bee balm to the left of the Shastas was not doing well (probably too sunny and dry for it here) so I transplanted those to a shadier spot, and moved the native sunflowers (Helianthus sp.) in back which were getting chewed up by deer, to the front. I planted some of the prolific native mints from another bed to the back, in hopes of discouraging the deer. The Badlands have proved to be one of the most discouraging sites so far, but I'm determined to find some plants that can survive the onslaught of the weeds, deer and other rodents that assail this part of my garden, and flourish!

Chrysamthemum & 'Golden Globe' Arbor vitae

 Most of my Chrysanthemums got burned out by the late summer drought and haven't been much to look at this year, but a few plants in more favorable locations such as this one, managed to prosper. I hope to have a better show next year.

Purple aster

The original purple aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) is still the queen of the garden at this time of the year. It is simply covered with butterflies and bees all day long!

Late Fall Color

Back yard in early morning light.

This fall had been so warm the leaves didn't start turning until late October, and didn't reach their peak until the first week in November. The leaves were not as colorful as in other years, perhaps because we had such a rainy September... Then as they were showing their best, a gale stripped most of them in one afternoon.

Back yard mid-morning

Front yard on Halloween

Side yard with Autumn Blaze maple.

The purple aster flowers (Symphiotrichum oblongifolium) have lasted a long time--the two small offshoots I split from the original clump and planted in the back beds also bloomed, though they probably won't reach the size of the first clump for another year or so. I divided the Thalia daffodils in the front yard and re-planted a bunch, the leftovers went in one of the back beds along with more daffodils. The other daffodils in the front beds probably could have used the same treatment, but I didn't have the energy to dig them all--they will have to wait another year.

Purple Asters (Symphiotrichum oblongifolium)

Taking advantage of the end of the season sales, I acquired a new Peony, 'Bartzella' (a lovely hybrid of a herbaceous and a tree Peony with yellow flowers), and a few more shrubs and bulbs. Most of these are already in the ground, but a few late purchases won't be shipped until next week. With the increasingly shorter and colder days, not to mention the frequent rains, it's getting harder to find decent weather for my garden chores now--the windows of opportunity present themselves less often.

West side garden

Just as I was finishing this post, our first snow arrived on Nov. 15, setting a record not seen in the past 22 years. The accumulation ended up being about 3-4", enough to lend a nice touch to our view, and as chance would have it, my plant order arrived exactly on that day! The weather has made it impossible to plant anything until the snow melts, which will take a few more days. I expect there may be at least one day next week when I can finally get those late arrivals in the ground.

Mid-November snow

Soon the ground will freeze hard and it will be time to put the garden to sleep for the winter. My gardening will then be confined to poring over colorful plant catalogs and dreaming... It's the season to spend my days in the studio working on paintings, remembering the glories of the past season, and looking forward to another spring.

Fall Garden Glories

Purple Asters and Sunflowers

Sunflowers on the west side

Every fall it's a thrill to see my Narrow-leaf Sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolius) come into bloom, and then the purple asters (Symphiotrichium oblongifolium) gradually begin to open... the butterflies and bees love these. This year I've seen more monarch butterflies in my yard than ever.--they look so lovely sipping nectar from the flowers!

It's still quite warm, and most of the leaves are holding onto their summer colors, with the exception of the dogwoods. The one in front is particularly colorful this year.

Front yard.

The red Dahlia I had planted earlier finally produced one beautiful bloom--it's so late in the season I doubt there will be more than a few flowers, but what is there, is 'cherce'. I wish I had the time to paint it, but first, it's time to start fumigating and bringing in the houseplants that summer outdoors--the first frost is probably just around the corner.

Red Dahlia

Back yard beds.

The beds in the back yard continue to expand and be filled: a few more evergreens and perennials near the deck, more Coneflowers and Chrysanthemums in the beds behind. It'll take a few more years of growth before the beds begin to look full, that is if the deer and rabbits don't eat them back. This summer the rabbits ate two out of the three red Salvias I put in, but they didn't touch the marigolds--I'll plant more marigolds next year.  

Purple Asters

Purple Asters at Brookside, oils on canvas panel, 9" x 12." SOLD.

This past Friday the Howard County Plein Air group painted at my favorite site, Brookside Gardens. I was the first to arrive and used the time to walk around and see what was blooming. I had hoped for a spectacular display of fall mums, but those plantings were barely budding. A small army of volunteers was working on putting up lights for the Christmas display, pruning and planting spring bulbs, and repairing the handicapped ramps. It reminded me of my visit to Giverny where troops of gardeners maneuver on Mondays, the day the gardens are closed to the public.

A clump of purple asters in one of the formal gardens reminded me of my mother's garden in the fall. She loved the icy lilac-blue of these asters against the rusts and yellows of the foliage, and I share her predilection. Looking at this particular scene, the shade of the shadows on the stone paving was so close in hue to the flowers, it was remarkable. The other plantings added interesting touches of unexpected color to the scene.

I tried to keep the painting as loose as possible, and think I managed it in the background, where there is just a hint of trees and wall. Now if I could dare to stay as loose in the nearer parts of the painting, I may yet achieve what I'm after. Each attempt brings me closer.