Alongside my garden are towering native swamp maples (Acer rubrum, more commonly called red maples), tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera), and an occasional oak (Quercus rubra) and dogwood (Cornus florida) in the narrow swath of forest that is bisected by a small, spring fed creek. The native forest is a blessing, and sometimes a hindrance as…
Month: October 2013
Blooming despite the cold
Frost, then freezing temperatures on recent nights has turned soft stemmed perennials in the garden to mush. Following this short period of cold, flowers of reblooming azaleas (‘Autumn Sundance’ Encore azalea, below) hang limp, though buds and flowers that have not quite opened are not damaged and these will continue to bloom so long as…
Spiders in the basement …
… and frogs in the kitchen. The agaves, elephant ears, and assorted tropicals were brought inside over the weekend just prior to the first frost, and already there is trouble. For the record (and previous years tell me that it’s important to establish the facts before I’m blamed for every calamity), there were already spiders…
Grasses, for better or worse
The black flowering fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Moudry’) is a lovely plant, though its foliage is perhaps a bit stiff and not as graceful as other grasses. Its black seeds are more dramatic than other fountain grasses, and the seedheads are more numerous so that it makes a splendid show in early autumn. Long ago,…
First frost
The first frost of autumn is forecast for next week. This is not early or late, and certainly not surprising for the middle of October. I can recall frosts arriving before the end of September, though I can’t place the year, and there’s no doubt this is a little out of the ordinary. There might…
The last hurrah
The Tatarian daisies (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’, below) at the back of the koi pond are blooming, but for a period in mid summer there was a question if they would. The daisies were in danger of being overwhelmed by exuberant hydrangeas and a paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) that continues to spread far beyond the boundaries that…
Autumn leaves
I’m content to leave as much garden clean up as possible to the devices of nature. I’ve often been successful in delaying a project until decay has eliminated the need to undertake any labor at all, but in a garden that is situated at the edge of a forest of towering maples, oaks, and tulip…
This bud’s for you
In early October, the flower buds of paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha, below) are evident at the tips of branches that are cloaked by thick, blue-green foliage. The leaves will persist long into autumn, then will turn yellow and drop abruptly. Many plants protect buds from winter’s chill so that they are not so obvious, but on…
Berries in early autumn
Through spring and summer the foliage and flowers of beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’, below) are unremarkable. The dull green leaves are carried on arching stems that are hardly graceful, and even when fully in flower the ornamental value of beautyberry is forgettable. But, in late summer the tiny blooms fade and small berries appear, which progressively…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 