Dave – Page 113 – Ramblin' through Dave's Garden

Turning cold

After several nights with temperatures dropping into the twenties and teens, most foliage has fallen from trees and shrubs, and the few scattered blooms that remained on toad lilies (Tricyrtis) until a week ago have turned to brown. Splendidly colored leaves remain on Lion’s Head (Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashira’, above) and a few Japanese maples that…

Mahonias in November

I haven’t the gumption to prune the tall and lanky ‘Winter Sun’ mahonias (Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’, below) down to a height where most of the splendid yellow panicles can be enjoyed at eye level. This is an evergreen shrub that grows taller than expected, at least taller than I expected, though references seem…

Sparkleberry with few berries

The garden’s Sparkleberry hollies (Ilex verticillata ‘Sparkleberry’) need a friend. Or, at least a nearby pollinator so that pollen is passed between male and females so there will be more berries. I think that at one point I planted a male holly in the vicinity, but that was long ago, and the details are fuzzy,…

What a difference a night makes

A freeze was inevitable sooner than later, only I didn’t suspect there would be one the night I opened my big mouth to say that beginning the second week of November it was unusual not to have had one. So, temperatures dipped below freezing, and in the week ahead they are forecast to drop into…

Frost and freeze

I’m in no rush for winter to arrive, so today I’m quite satisfied that as the second week of November begins there has been only a single frost worth talking about. Another night brought the slightest amount of frost, but this had no effect whatsoever on the garden. The heavier frost nipped the coleus and…

Autumn flowering camellias

After a difficult winter, all buds of spring blooming camellias (Camellia japonica) were damaged, so there were no flowers earlier this year. Besides flower buds, there was little damage to foliage, and since, all have returned to excellent health. I expect no problems next spring unless there is a repeat of prolonged temperatures below zero,…

Yellow, more yellow, and red

To look out over the rear garden and the neighboring forest, most foliage has turned to yellow in early November. The predominant swamp maples (Acer rubrum) that border the garden (popularly called red maples) do not show a trace of red, only a drab yellow that is more faded and lifeless than vibrant. Only cultivars…

Rose glorybower

Brushing past Rose glorybower (Clerodendrum bungei, below), it emits a scent somewhat reminiscent of peanut butter, but more unpleasant. For this reason I have planted Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) immediately beside so that the odor can be cleansed before I resume stomping through the weeds. (In fact, the proximity of the two is purely accidental, but…

Frogs in the basement

I am wrong often enough that it stopped being a bother to me long ago, but still it hurts to be the target of too many I-told-you-so’s from my wife. Last evening I heard the news that temperatures would be dropping into the thirties overnight, so this is the time to bring in the gingers,…

Autumn foliage and more

As outdoor temperatures turn inhospitable, this should be a period for rest, and certainly I do my best to avoid chores that pile up by the day. Winter weeds have gotten off to a roaring start with ground that has remained damp for weeks, but it is the autumn accumulation of leaves that I most…

Black pennisetem

I notice that the grassy field that surrounds the nearby farm pond now consists mostly of black pennisetem (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Moudry’, below) that has displaced the long standing fescues from the relatively recent past when this property was farmland. For several years I’ve seen ‘Moudry’ encroach to line the edges of this pond, and now…

The missing clematis

Just prior to dark this evening, as clouds neared that will bring rain tonight and perhaps a deluge tomorrow, I noticed again that the sweet autumn clematis, which I considered so troublesome in recent years, is missing. Again, I say, since I now recall pulling the dead vine out of the threadbranch cypress some time…