Following two nights of twenty-eight degrees (Fahrenheit), the garden was hurrying into winter dormancy until the process was interrupted by another inch of rain and a turn back to a week of milder temperatures. With abundant blooms remaining in late October, I now have a better idea where slightly protected microclimates are in the garden. Flowers…
Category: azaleas
The buffet line is open
Imprints from deer hooves are four inches deep in the swampy rear garden. The muck seems not to deter their visits, and as the garden enters winter dormancy, deer are invited to dine at their leisure. The repellent was last sprayed in early September, I think, though perhaps it was August. Now, several hostas and…
A change of seasons
Remnants of Hurricane Michael were hardly to be concerned about in this part of northwestern Virginia (except for another two inches of rain while areas nearby received three times this amount), but a breezy night as the storm exited was enough to dislodge many loosely attached leaves (and innumerable branches) of trees bordering the garden….
The colors of autumn, before leaves turn
While leaves are slow to turn with summer temperatures extending into October, the garden remains colorful with abundant blooms. Without a doubt, cold weather and colorful leaves will be here soon, but I’m in no rush to be rid of this unusual warmth. While the pink blooms of Encore azalea ‘Carnation’ (above) are hardly my…
Flowers after the freeze
Despite repeated pleas by my wife, we will not be heading south for the winter. Not that I enjoy the Virginia winter, but her plan sounds costly. I’m not a fan of the cold, so I’ll be overjoyed if the winter is mild (again), though unusually warm temperatures through the winter did not improve productivity…
After the freeze
A single twenty degree night changes the garden. A day before, coneflowers (below), azaleas, camellias (2nd photo, below), and toad lilies were flowering despite repeated frosts and a light freeze a few weeks ago. After this freeze, flowers remain, but in an altered state that shows effects of the cold. While some extol the beauties…
Foliage and flowers of early November
After a lengthy delay through an unusually mild October, leaves of swamp maples (Acer rubrum, below) in the forest that borders the garden have turned to their typical yellow. Selections of this same tree, then called red maple, are preferred by local homeowners for red autumn foliage, but leaf color of most native trees is…
Autumn’s Encore
I must begin today by stating that I am far from an azalea fanatic. Once, I declared that I would never grow another besides a grouping of three old Delaware Valley White’s that seemed indestructible. There were problems, lacebugs, clay soil, and diminishing health the longer azaleas were in the ground. Why bother? But, then…
Bees in autumn
Last winter was so mild that the sight of bees and other insects was not unusual, though more typically these are rarely seen from late October until mid March except for occasional extended periods of warmth in the winter months. Early autumn has been quite warm, so on a sunny October afternoon a variety of…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 