Early October 2015

I can feel the new season in the moist air and in the cool breeze. I inhale autumn smells as I putter in the garden: the moldy smell of damp soil, upturned to make way for new plants, and the aroma of freshly laid pine straw and wood chips. It is good to be in the garden now that the hot summer is over. Every day brings cooler temperatures and more leaves fluttering to the ground. We will soon be buried under mountains of them, and Lou has already started the raking, a chore that will not end completely till late winter.

Meanwhile, here are some images taken in early October:Sepia image of dried Snowflake Hydrangea blooms, which have turned brown in early October.

A neighbor's old shed borders our property.

Viola 'Pink Halo', Dinosaur Kale 'Lacinato', Lorapetalum 'Purple Pansy', Flowering Kale 'Peacock Red', Asian Jasmine and pink Dianthus grow together in a fall arrangement. An old gourd nestles amidst the plants.

Part of the profits from the sale of Salvia 'Wendy's Hope', shown in the two images below, go to fight breast cancer.

I have seen bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all partaking of the nectar of Salvia 'Wendy's Hope.'

Clockwise from top left: Pentas; Persicaria 'Red Dragon'; Purple Aster; Toad Lily (Trycrytis) 'White Towers'; Variegated Toad Lily; Salvia 'Amistad.'

'Coral' Drift Roses have bloomed all summer and continue to pump out the blooms.

This White-breasted Nuthatch posed for me as I took its photo.

A fallen redbud leaf

This Peacock Moss has found its way onto the moss path. It may be too pretty to walk on; but if it is happy, I will leave it alone.

A view into the woods with some early fall color changes

Solidago (Goldenrod) and purple and white asters grow on a wild hillside.

A volunteer tomato plant is still producing these tasty cherry tomatoes.

Last, but certainly not least, my little Fuyu Persimmon tree, in a large pot, is loaded with fruit this year. They are not ready to eat yet, but I could not pass up a picture:

Have a great week!   Deb 

My Bonsai

My bonsai won't win any awards; I doubt it will ever make it into any sort of bonsai show. I am not sure it would be classifies as a real bonsai!

But maybe it is. I have treated it as a bonsai, sort-of. I think I will call it the lazy gardener bonsai. 

The plant in question is a Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Blue Boulevard.' This is a pyramidal semi-dwarf evergreen shrub that features soft, silvery blue-gray foliage. It is slow growing, and planted in the ground it will eventually reach a mature size of 12-15’ tall. It is easily kept smaller with minimal pruning. When young it has dense growth, but as it matures it has a habit of loosing many of its interior needles, a tendency that turns a lot of gardeners away, but which can give it character perfect for a bonsai treatment. 

I planted my Blue Boulevard in a shallow pot about five years ago with plans to maintain it as a bonsai. The thick, frost-proof pot has a good drainage hole. Each spring I take the plant out and prune the roots so that they fit easily into the pot without crowding. I refresh the soil at this time. One can buy special soil for bonsai, but a good rich mix that will retain moisture but not allow the roots to get too wet is fine. I put some large pebbles in the bottom of my pot and mix some pine bark with the soil to insure good drainage. 

It is important to keep the shallow pot watered but not over-watered. I stick my finger down into the soil on a regular basis when I am making my rounds of the garden. If it feels dry, I water it well. I apply fish emulsion fertilizer two or three times during the growing season. The plant stays outside year-round and is remarkably low-maintenance.

But artistically I have failed. Most bonsai enthusiasts spend a lot of time training and pruning their little trees to mimic larger trees.I have allowed my Blue Boulevard to do its own thing with only occasional pruning and certainly no wiring of branches to shape. I realize I should do better. In fact, looking at the photo I took for this post, I see branches that need pruning, others that could use a bit of wiring to pull them into a more pleasing shape. 

I have been negligent, but next spring I am going to start a new regimen! Bonsai can be a fabulous hobby, and there are on-line instructions and books for those who want guidelines for creating truly wonderful specimens. One can choose a real tree such as an oak or maple, or one can choose a shrub such as an azalea or a juniper, whose thicker trunks can give the illusion of age while still young.  

But one does not have to get caught up in rules and regulations, unless one wants to. The main thing is to have fun with it, and put your specimen where you can enjoy it. Remember outdoor trees should stay outdoors, though you may have to protect them from freezing in winter. Indoor specimens should stay inside.