The Best of the Rest: 2017

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe it is already 2018. I remember so well when we reached the year 2000, and everyone thought the world was going to end!

I am partied out; no wild shenanigans for me tonight. Instead, I end the year working on a blog post, as it is time for my annual "Best of the Rest" feature. These are photos taken from my garden through the year that, for various reasons, did not make it onto the blog. At last, I present these never-before-seen images! (They may or may not knock your socks off.) 

January:

February:Bright yellow Forsythia promises the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

March:Above top:Red trumpet honeysuckle grows on a fence that divides my vegetable garden/work space from the patio. Small photos above left to right: Japanese maple blooms; Alabama Croton bloom; Summer snowflakes (Despite the name, they bloom in the spring.)

April:Robin Redbreast

May:This Eastern Phoebe has nested at the top of a downspout outside my bedroom window for the past two years. I enjoy listening to the birdsong!

These succulents grow in a hypertufa pot on the patio. I bring them inside for the winter.

June:

July:This variegated hot pepper is called a Fish Pepper.

August:An annual begonia that bloomed constantly in the woodland garden until frost.

September:Burford holly: The green holly berries promise bright color to come.

October:Bench in the fern glade

Dappled sunlight covers one of the woodland garden paths.

November:Spiders are good guys in my garden.

Look at the top of the pine tree to see a hawk nest. Hawks have been nesting there for several years now.

This is a young red-shouldered hawk who hatched in that nest; he is getting big!

December:The holly berries are red now!

One of our birdhouses during our December snow.

Night view of the arch by the patio, decorated for Christmas and covered in snow.

The year comes to a close. Winter sunsets are dramatic.

Did you have a favorite photo or month? 

Wishing you all the best in 2018, and if you encounter thorns, may you also find blooms and berries!  Deb

September Plans and an Alien in My Garden

I am loving September! Already there is a touch of autumn in the air. The peeling bark of a river birch adds a distinctive touch to the September garden.Days are pleasantly warm, while nights have a touch of coolness.The deep green of summer has acquired a few golden edges. Plants, wildlife, and humans heave a collective sigh of relief over the departure of intense heat and humidity. We all have renewed vigor and interest in the garden.

I have planted some fall vegetables: three varieties of lettuce, swiss chard, collard greens, broccoli. Peppers and butter beans continue to produce. I have never planted fall or winter veggies before; usually I haven't the energy after nursing tomatoes and other plants through the summer. But I think I may like gardening while the weather is more temperate. It is a small vegetable plot; but I have high hopes and may still add more goodies. 

I have a list of shrubs, perennials, and ground covers to transplant. That list will have to wait a few weeks. I am soon headed to the other side of the planet, all the way to Taiwan, to vacation with some friends. I will be back mid October, with lots of catch-up gardening and blogging waiting for me! 

Meanwhile, I enjoy taking photos around the garden.

I like to sit on the patio and watch the wildlife. I always keep my camera handy and sometimes I get lucky. Actually, it's not luck at all; it's perseverance! After about a hundred tries I managed to get the following photos of a cardinal and a couple of hummingbirds:

Near the patio I found this spider making a messy web over some cosmos. Unlike the birds, it posed for me and let me take all the shots I wanted. I think its hairy legs are creepy!

My tiny 'White Marseilles' fig tree is growing well in its pot on the patio and has even produced a few figs this year. I am impressed with the leaves! During the hottest part of summer the tree dropped a lot of its leaves, and I was worried. But it has quickly recovered and is sprouting new growth.

Here are some more interesting leaves. See the alien hiding behind the first one. I wonder what it is planning to do in my garden!Above left is foliage of a knockout rose. It is putting out lots of new buds. Above right is a Tropicana canna leaf. My son informed me I put these leaves on my blog too many times! But I love them.

Some random shots about the garden:
Top row: Caryopteris, or blue mist spirea, is a pretty shrub that attracts lots of bees. 2nd row: Purple oxalis; An indoor plant, Kalanchoa is spending the summer outside. I hope I can get it to bloom again by Christmas! 3rd row: I featured Hearts-a-bustin in my last post, but every day I am more impressed with the pretty seed pods.

And finally, no matter what I do, the garden is always preparing itself for the future!Top: White oak acorn. Bottom left: trident maple seed pods; Bottom right: Hickory nut pod.

I hope to get out one more post before I leave on my trip next week. If not, I promise to take lots of exotic photos. See you soon!