A Forbidden Ruin and Other October Garden Scenes

October is rushing by like a high speed train, no doubt headed for some frosted, cold-wrapped region. I love it. Daytime temperatures are moderate, up into the 70s or 80s and even hot in the sunshine, but nights are decidedly cool. In the garden it's an odd month, with summer flowers still blooming while some plants are already dormant and fall foliage flutters to the ground.

There is one part of my garden I have never shown on my blog. Camera shots in this area were forbidden because it is unkempt and contains an ugly, broken-down storm shelter from the 1950s. In my mind, someday this spot will contain a wonderful garden house. But recently I blinked and the scene shifted. With wildflowers blooming around it, the eyesore was transformed into....a ruin! Such is the power of flowers. 

The structure has some interesting history to it. The story is that the original owner of my house was married to a strict teetotaler who forbid alcoholic drinks in the house. So he and his buddies would go down to the storm shelter whenever they wanted to party. I think it is a true story, because we found lots of old empty booze bottles in the shelter when we moved in.

Below is a peek at my 'ruin' and photos of some of the flowers blooming in the October garden:

Though only the knockout roses are still blooming in the garden that wraps around the patio, the colors and textures of the foliage in this area keep the interest alive deep into another season:

Many hostas have already pulled themselves into the earth for a few months rest. The huge leaves of Hosta 'Sum and Substance' are drooping but still striking. The lower photo on the right shows the underside of its wilted leaf, which I think is also interesting:

Dogwood, Japanese maple and other deciduous leaves are beginning to change into reds, purples, and golds:  But there is more to come! Here in Helena fall stretches itself all the way through October and well into November, possibly even into December! One never knows when our fickle winter will hit. Today, the great woodland trees are slightly golden in afternoon light. Soon their foliage will also take on multicolored hues.

I hope you enjoyed the look around my October garden. Blessings to you!   Deborah

The End of Fall

Fall clings to the landscape, though the leading edge of winter has arrived here in Helena. Icy winds have stripped most deciduous trees of their color, if not entirely of their leaves, and many plants are dormant, vital under the comfort of the soil but leaving brown carcasses of their former selves above.

I have watched the end come, watched the colors blaze and then fade. Changes have come quickly over the past two weeks.

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Seiryu' was the last Japanese maple to show its fall colors, and even now this tree is brilliant against the drab colors of its neighbors.

Other Japanese maple leaves are barely holding to their branches or are already fallen:

After several hard frosts, some knockout roses in the herb bed still bloom. Here is what they looked like only two weeks ago:

During the week of Thanksgiving the woodland garden was bordered in warm shades of gold and tan:

The Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki" was a blaze of color over the blue bridge:

This week there were sharp shadows in the cold air of the woodlands. Colorful leaves still clung to 'Orido Nishiki', contrasting with the bright green of the moss path. I think after this weekend they will be gone.

Southern magnolia leaves stand out against the trunks and branches in the woodlands behind them. I will use leaves like these in some of my Christmas decorations:

The end of fall is not ugly. There is a stark beauty in naked limbs and dried seed heads, and there is still plenty of color in evergreen foliage and winter blooms and berries:1st row: Camellia 'Leslie Ann'; Nandina domestica. 2nd row: Decorative kale; Daphne odora 'Marginata'. 3rd row: Viburnum carlesii, fall foliage; Old azalea, unknown variety. 4th row: Rose hip, 'Penelope'; Skeletal remains of onion chives.

Winter may stamp out the last of fall tonight, as temperatures fall far below freezing. I won't be sad. I have a new coat, and I know this is true: We play with winter here. We build fires in our fireplaces and eat hot homemade soup. We celebrate Christmas and New Years and watch lots of football. We wonder if there may be snow. We curl up with our lovers, and if there is no lover there is always a good book or movie. We sometimes complain as much as Northerners, who know winter in its truest and harshest form, but in a couple of months we'll be talking about spring. And that is something to look forward to!