Final Fall Planting

We recently removed what we fondly called the cancer tree, resulting in a large clearing. A void can't last long in my garden, so yesterday I planted the new space. Where there once was one massive plant, spreading into a foreboding thicket, there is now a Full Moon Japanese maple, a prostrate blue cedar, three coralberries, three deciduous hollies, and a mock orange. I will take photos and show the new area in a future post.

It was a lot of work, but I hardly broke a sweat, as I had both my husband and my oldest son helping me. I pointed, and they dug the holes. They transplanted shrubs from their previous locations to new ones. They carried new plants and lifted them from their pots and placed them in the holes. They shoveled dirt and hauled water. I rather liked my supervisory position, which I shared with Autumn the cat. Autumn kept a close eye on things. But supervision is demanding work, and eventually, like all good supervisors, she had to take a nap.We got all the work done in a few hours. It would have taken me much longer by myself.

The weather was warm and sunny, and it felt like a day in May, rather than November. Nights are chilly, though, and we have had a few days with a pre-winter feel to them. Walking through the garden I still see summer flowers, as well as fall foliage and other signs of the season.

Here are some of the flowers blooming this week:Top: Penelope rose. 2nd row: More Penelope blooms; Camellia 'Leslie Ann' was the first to bloom. 3rd row: a stray daylily bloom; Rosa mutabilis. Bottom row: This camellia was here when we moved here in 1985; fall mums.

Zinnias and other flowers are blooming in the wildflower garden, but here one also sees dried seed heads. The red leafed vine is Virginia Creeper, a native that is often mistaken for poison oak but is easily distinguished by its five leaves, rather than poison oak's three:

There may be flowers and butterflies still around, but the colors of fall definitely are dominant in the garden now. We have been raking a lot of leaves!Top photo is Chinese Pistache tree. Below that are shots showing colorful dogwoods in the garden.

Top photo is Beauty Berry. 2nd row: This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Since then raccoons have eaten all the decorative dried corn; These are magnolia seed pods Lou gathered into a bucket. 3rd row: Canadian Hemlock cones; Decorative cabbage.

Top row: Both shots are of changing colors on a forsythia bush. Middle row: a fallen redbud leaf; dogwood foliage. Third row: Variegated artemesia 'Oriental Limelight' is semi-evergreen; Variegated Pittisporum is evergreen. Both are colorful counterparts to all the red and golden shades of fall.

I think this was my final fall planting job. No more work for me till spring! Haha! Who will believe that joke? After all, I am sure Autumn and I will have some more supervising to do!

Statements From the Garden

I'm not dead yet.

I announced the demise of my red banana plant in my last post, but already a fresh leaf is emerging from the stump! Time will tell if this new growth is diseased or remains healthy. I am ever hopeful.

Meanwhile, here is a quick look at some late summer features in the garden that are making their own statements:

The wildflower garden is blooming. You really do love me, don't you?This hillside is a tangled mess for about eight months of the year, and I still have an urge to rip it all out and plant something more civilized. Yet when masses of flowers emerge in summer and the area buzzes with bees and butterflies, my heart softens.

Perennial verbena blooms in spring and sporadically through the summer. I recently transplanted this one to a new spot next to the patio. I thought you were crazy to transplant me in August, but I love my new home.

Speaking of the patio, this green anole lizard lives nearby and often skitters across the area when I am sitting out there. He likes to sit atop the boxwoods. Ahh, yes. It is a good spot to watch for tasty bugs or cute lady anoles.

Flowers are wonderful, but their impact is usually fleeting. Decorative elements are reliable complements to the garden. Accessories are a garden's best friend!Clockwise from above left: By the patio, Spirea 'Anthony Waterer', after blooming heavily earlier in the summer, continues to bloom sporadically in front of a pink birdhouse; A lantern hangs from a rusty post; A trio of new pots wait for their inhabitants in the front garden; A variegated ficus flourishes in its pot in the Lady Garden.

Crepe Myrtles have been blooming for several months. They give a wonderful dash of color to a mostly green landscape. Pink is powerful!

Finally, here are some views of the stamped concrete walkway I refurbished earlier this summer. This is one walkway that doesn't show its age.

 Blessings to you all!    Deborah