Bees are back (below), a dependable indicator that mild temperatures have returned after a chilly week. They’re not likely to be around for long, and the garden’s march towards dormancy is evident following several nights with freezing temperatures. But, colorful flowers and berries remain despite an ever deepening blanket of leaves covering the garden. Someday,…

The first freeze did nothing, or nearly so, and even flowers of tender annuals made it through with minimal damage. The next night was a degree colder. Annuals drooped, but they weren’t goners until the third night, after the third freeze (below). Several nights falling below freezing should not seem unusual for October, but recent…

While the garden remains a work in progress after thirty-three years, some parts are more actively worked on than others. Tiny treasures are regularly plugged wherever gaps can be found, and occasionally a tree or shrub is required to fill some larger space if something is lost in a storm. I don’t expect this will…

While neighborhood bees are unlikely to agree, I think that the pink calyces of the Seven Son tree (Heptacodium miconioides ‘Temple of Bloom’, below) are its primary attraction and not the small white flowers that faded a few weeks earlier. Of course, a bee’s concern is nectar, not blooms, and without question I prefer lovely…

With freezing temperatures fast approaching, colors in the garden change by the day. While witch hazels (below) and camellias will continue flowering into winter, other blooms are likely to fade with the first freeze. Autumn foliage colors deepen with every cold night, with this morning’s dew highlighting the earliest leaves to turn. Yellow maple leaves…

This must be a weed, I thought. The spring foliage was unremarkable, and with no indication of flowering through midsummer more than once I reached to jerk it out as with so many overgrown weeds. Get it before it goes to seed, but I hesitated, thinking possibly this was something I planted and forgot, as…

I notice that a toad lily (Tricyrtis) shaded beside the summerhouse has disappeared, finally after several years of decline as the area became more shaded. This is now a bit of a hidden spot, obscured on three sides, and another toad lily will not be planted. At the moment a grouping of small ferns seems…

A year ago, the small area of lawn in the lower, rear garden was a mess, just as it had been for the past decade. Twenty years ago, before the kids moved on this lawn was our ballfield, then our badminton court. The grass was well worn from use, but then the property developer dug…

Garden design suggests curved paths and other techniques for slowing movement through the garden to enhance its enjoyment. While I make no claim that any part of this garden is well designed, I have accidently discovered another method of slowing the pace. Narrow or curving paths, or irregularly spaced pavers are no match for low…

The early autumn garden will never match its abundant color in spring and summer, but in the weeks before frost and freeze the flowers are quite satisfying. With the first hard frost much of this will shrink overnight, but then red berries and autumn flowering camellias and witch hazels will maintain at least a few…