A Late September Tour of My Garden
Sunday, September 30, 2012 at 5:01AM Some friends came over recently for a tour of the garden. Panic! Summer is over, and fall is not quite here. What's to see in the garden? Other than weeds? But there is always something to enjoy. So here is a quick tour of some parts of the garden for those who can't see it in person.
Near the patio the old doghouse is smothered on one side by wild ageratum. Before it bloomed, Lou wanted to pull this weed, but I told him to leave it. A few sprigs of Red Cascade rose combine with the wildflowers and the bright colors of the doghouse.
From the other side of the patio, here is a view of the front garden. Notice the Red Banana plant, back from the dead!
Aren't these red banana leaves gorgeous?
Lets walk down the steps and peek at the Lady Garden. I have done a lot of work here this year, and there is still much to do: the joy of gardening!
I love the variegated ficus shown above, which grows in a pot in the Lady Garden. It is not hardy, and I will have to bring it in by December. I will also have to bring in the terra cotta lady head pot, shown below. This pot is what gives this part of my garden its name. The terra cotta can not take the freezing and thawing that accompanies winter. Notice I have put out my first pumpkins, in celebration of fall.
Leaving the Lady Garden, an oakleaf hydrangea catches our attention. These grow wild all over the place. This one already has amazing fall colors.
Walking up the road we look over the woodland garden. I won't take you in there today, but here are a couple of views you can see from the road.
A trident maple on the left and the spreading branches of 'Orido Nishiki' Japanese maple complement the mondo grass that grows as a ground cover below them.
From the road you can get an overview of the entry to the woodland garden.
In front of the house, by the parking court, silvery 'Powis Castle' artemesia, bright spider lilies, and Autumn sage combine to offer a colorful greeting to guests.
Finally, here are some more blooms we see on our tour.
Have a great week! Deborah
Reader Comments (25)
Hi Deb,
Lovely tour! There was no need to worry, as everything looks gorgeous :)
How unfair that we don't get cake! :)
I'm so happy for you that your Banana leaf is alive and growing! You have some beautiful blooms, though I think it is the pictures of your woodland garden that I like the best. It looks so peaceful there. Your doghouse is so cute and colorful!
Quite a tour. I am jealous that you have oakleaf hydrangea growing wild everywhere---so beautiful. I love hardy ageratum. There is a really superior cultivar called 'Cory' but wild and free is the best.
Great news that your banana survived and what a gorgeous colour it is now. Your oak leaved hydrangea is also sporting its autumn finery, lovely colours there too, mine is still very green, but there is still time. Your woodland always looks so enticing, no matter what time of year it is, thanks for the tour of your garden, but so sorry to have missed the raspberry chocolate cake!!
I love the soft autumn light in all your images, it's magical. I'm so pleased your banana came back so well. Christina
Hooray! The beautiful banana plant makes a grand re-appearance now when many other plants are gone until next spring! And so many other colours out there still. Beautiful!
Your friends are lucky to have been taken on a garden tour and then even offered a delicious cake!
Don't be too nice - they'll be back weekly if you're not careful ;)
Great fall color already in your neck of the woods. Love the heirloom pumpkins and your beautiful roses and hydrangeas.
That 'design finish' on the old doghouse is absolutely, positively fabulous!! Deb, your attention to color on inanimate objects around the gardens is always a delightful surprise - playful, creative and just gorgeous. (can you tell I just love 'color'?!) . The colors in the 'natural' (plant) elements are wonderful... almost without saying. :)
As always, your photos have an ethereal glow that gives us a sense of how it 'feels' to walk through your gardens, even if we can't be there in person.
We;re a fan of your garden Debs and thank you for taking us on another lovely tour!
Deborah I would love to some day...what a wonderfully beautiful peaceful place. I love those banana leaves.
A wonderful early fall tour Deb. I love your purple heliotrope. Glad to see the banana revived!
I would drive for miles for Raspberry Chocolate cake, recipe? hint, hint....
Love the color in your garden, how beautiful. Had to laugh at your being able to leave anything tender out until December....lucky you.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
There's nice colouring on the banana leaves, the symmetrical pattern of ribs and their texture is fabulous. I'm very partial to a nice big leaf. The lady garden is looking lush, and those specimen plants in pots there are doing well. Do you have to water them a lot? Your woodland garden is still very green, too. Here,we are part way into the colour changes, and with the temperatures supposed to drop this week, we'll probably fast forward into maximum fall colours autumn.
Wonderful as always! Love to see what is in bloom in your garden and I always get ideas. Using the variegated Ficus outside for the summer is a great way to bring new life to both the houseplant and the garden.
Deb your autumn garden is beautiful, thank you for including us in your walk around your garden, I trust you had a lovely time with your friends and they enjoyed both garden and cake, your banana plant is beautiful, Frances
You have a lovely garden at this time of year. The colors are just beautiful. My late spring garden has the most color, but I am working on making the autumn garden just as colorful. Those leaf shots are gorgeous!
I'm glad you're banana tree came back. They're pretty hardy in the South. The dog house is charming. I'm sure my dog, Aster would be jealous. I feel refreshed after the tour of your garden. I hope you find it as peaceful as your blogging buddies do. Thanks!
Hi Deb, I just got back from a trip and saw a turquoise leaf like is in your pretty display. I never saw that color before in Fall and almost took a photo of it. I think this year the Fall colors are magical.
I did enjoy the tour Deb although I would have enjoyed the raspberry chocolate cake. The leaves of the Banana plant look very special, I suspect it has to go indoors for Winter.
Wild ageratum is blooming all over my garden and the oak leaf hydrangea is just beginning to turn. I love Autumn in the garden! Thanks for the tour.
Thank you, Deb! I really enjoyed the tour - your garden is beautiful! I love the Hydrangea "Endless Summer" and I wish we had a few wild oak leaf hydrangeas with their gorgeous autumnal leaf colour here. The cake sounds excellent too!
Lovely post! I have the same table and two chairs on my deck surrounded with pots of salvia and dahlias. I love the way the chairs beckon, but I did not sit there enough this Summer!
Deb, it was interesting to watch your garden! I loved the variegated plants, have some in my garden too. Have a nice weekend!
Nadezda
http://northern-garden.blogspot.com
Gosh, I'd show up for raspberry chocolate cake any day! Your fall garden looks so pretty and serene. Lovely post!
Great to see that the banana made a come-back. At this time of year, we're cutting them back and wrapping them with stockings and newspapers in the UK.