Hanging in There, not Dead Yet!

Drought and burning temperatures persist. Here is what my front garden looks like now:

The arborvitae ferns (in the foreground) are turning brown in the triple digit heat. The azaleas above them are turning yellow, definitely not a good sign. The good news is that neither the ferns nor the azaleas are dead yet, and the temps are predicted to be 15-20 degrees cooler next week. We may even get some rain this weekend. So if we can hang in there a little longer, things may get better. 

The 50% chance of rain makes me nervous. I would like better odds. Too many times black clouds have hoodwinked us with unfulfilled promises. I took these photos just last week, but the deceptively dark clouds passed over without releasing a drop:

I usually can find beauty in the garden, no matter what. I can appreciate the dead stuff, but it would be easier if the following shots were taken in November or December:Nature created this collage of prematurely dead leaves.

A dead branch fell on a chair in my woodland garden, creating an accidental composition that appealed even to my drought weary eyes.

Leftovers from a squirrel banquet made me genuinely smile. Someone really enjoyed those pinecones!

Despite the premature aging in the garden, there are spots of color. Autumn crocus is a delight. I put these in only a couple weeks ago, and already Colchicum 'The Giant' is blooming. These were an experiment, and I plan to plant more:

Spider lilies (Hymenocallis) appear like magic every year, supplying bright color for very little maintenance:

Eupatorium coelestinum, also called hardy ageratum and blue mistflower, are favorite wildflowers. They will reseed themselves around but are easy to pull, and I do not consider them invasive:

Somewhere in my closet are long-sleeved shirts. I am looking forward to digging them out. I may even sit a pumpkin or two outside to celebrate the new season, once the temps drop enough so that they don't cook in the sunshine.

Acers for Amazing Fall Foliage

Today I had to take a breath and gaze in wonder when I stepped outside.For spectacular fall foliage, acers must be at the top of the list, and my property is blessed with about twenty of them. Most are Japanese maples. Some of these acers have fancy, hard to pronounce names, for which I paid more than I want to remember. Others are inexpensive, unnamed seedlings I planted in 1990, after a tornado wiped out the center of our property. My landscaping budget at the time was zero, because our heavily damaged house was taking all our money, and even a few tiny trees was a stretch. But now the humble seedlings have matured into magnificent specimens, as beautiful as any with grandiose pedigrees. I say I made a good investment!The red-orange foliage of the tree in the center of this view at the edge of the woodland garden belongs to 'Orido Nishiki.'

'Orido Nishiki' from inside the woodland garden

This is our "Marriage Tree." It was about four feet tall when it survived the tornado that brought down enormous trees all around it in 1990.

One of the unnamed seedlings that has grown into a beauty

As you can see, acer fall foliage comes in a wonderful variety of colors, ranging from gold to orange to ruby-red to burgundy. Many trees show multiple colors. They are incredible when backlit by the sun.

All of these beautiful leaves will soon be on the ground. We have many trees on our property, and we have already begun the months-long chore of raking our lawns and paths, as well as brushing fallen foliage off of shrubs. It is a labor of bittersweet love and joy. (And very good exercise!)