Late Fall 2015

Fog shrouds the morning, but muted jewel tones filter through the mists. Soon sunshine burns away the haze, and bright light sparks through the leaves. The Japanese maples are especially resplendent in their fall foliage, bedazzling like the most brilliant gemstones. I walk through the garden, paying tribute to the last glorious burst of autumn.

The foliage of Deodar Cedar 'Feelin' Blue' is a lovely contrast to the warmer colors of fall..

My "marriage tree," now 40 years old!

The wonderful fall foliage of Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki' lights up the woodland garden.

Camellia sasanqua 'Kanjiro'

Snowflake hydrangea, late fallAcer japonica 'Waterfall'

A bee, buzzing about a snapdragon, takes advantage of the last warm days of fall.Showers of leaves come down with each wind gust. Soon autumn will bow before winter's breath, and even my Japanese maples will stand mute as the garden slumbers. But that's OK. It is time to turn my thoughts toward Christmas!

Addendum: There has been some misunderstanding about the age of my garden, because my marriage tree is forty years old. Actually, the tree was very small when we married, and we kept it in a pot for years, until we moved here in 1985. We planted it in the yard then. So we have been here in Helena for 30 years, not forty. However, a tornado destroyed everything in the front yard in 1990, except my marriage tree, which was not harmed at all. After the tornado, I began planting what has become my garden - so the garden itself is twenty-five years old. But what a joy to watch a garden grow for a quarter century! Sorry for the confusion.   Deb

A Quick Walk-through the Garden and an Act of Insanity

It is still too hot and muggy to do anything in the garden other than a quick walk-through. Lou keeps a sharp eye on the weather service, and he tells me the weather will turn cooler next weekend. Meanwhile, here is what my last quick walk-through turned up.

The crepe myrtle trees are past their peak but are still adding color to the garden. These wonderful trees love our heat and humidity and bloom through most of the summer:

That’s a good thing, because there is not a lot of color out there, except for various shades of green. I love foliage, but it is nice to have something bright.

I also like the crepe myrtles this time of year because they are shedding their bark. There are some newer cultivars that have outstanding patches of cinnamon colored bark, but the bark of even the old species is interesting.

The Japanese maple outside our dining room window has assumed its golden September hues:In spring this tree is fire engine red. Later this fall it will become a kaleidoscope of gold, orange, burgundy, and purple. This unnamed seedling, which I once had to rescue from beneath the boot of a contactor who did not recognize the twig as a tree, has grown into a fabulous specimen.

Here are some close-ups of leaf patterns, always among my favorite photo subjects:Clockwise from top left: Tropicana Canna Lily; Francis Williams Hosta; Blue Hawaii Colocasia; Unnamed Japanese Maple; Variegated Fig; Coleus.

A couple of bugs paused long enough for me to capture their images. First, a bee on the Tutti-Frutti Butterfly Bush:

And then a skipper on a Lantana blossom:

I have been keeping a small Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’ specimen in a pot until it could grow a bit more. I will transplant it into the garden soon. It has grown several new stems over the summer, and now it is blooming.  The blooms are tiny but deserve a closer look:

Here are some more blooms around the garden. Most are common annuals, but I like them because they revel in the heat and humidity.Clockwise from top left: Marigold; Gomphera; Zinnia; Portulaca with Powis Castle Artemesia; Impatiens; Caryopteris (Blue Mist shrub).Finally, I recently moved the Variegated Winter Daphne into a larger pot. It had outgrown its old one, but what was I thinking? I was lulled into insanity by a day of rain. Somehow I thought it would be OK to transplant this finicky plant with a reputation of sudden death, especially after root disturbance, during the hottest month of the year. I whispered sweet things to the daphne and promised it will be much happier in a new home. I am giving it encouraging words daily. It has been a week and it still lives.Variegated Winter Daphne in its new pot

I am holding my breath.