I should’ve done this or that, but of course, didn’t. Amongst a lengthy list of tasks uncompleted or put off, pruning of the green foliage reversion of this tallest variegated Pieris japonica is nearly inconsequential. When this last branch of variegated foliage is eventually overtaken by more vigorous green growth, it will hardly be missed….

With leaves ankle deep and sun shining through the shadiest parts of the garden, I collect seeds for projects with my volunteer groups. There is no need to add more mountain mint, baptisia, or Joe Pye weed to the garden, though plenty of seed left behind will inevitably spread these into any open ground. Seeds…

With ponds scattered about the garden, I regularly watch my step to avoid the many little frogs that leap from my path. Nearer a pond or the stream, there are splashes as I stroll the garden. As I checked the swelling buds of ‘Marvel’ mahonia (Mahonia x media ‘Marvel’, now Berberis x hortensis, above), I…

Again, I’m clueless, and while I sometimes try to figure why something has gone awry, today I’m quite pleased. The Australian native grevillea (Grevillea victoriae ‘Murray Valley Queen ‘, below) is flowering this third week of October, at least a month earlier than in past years. Nothing has changed that I can see to cause…

The sun filters through the tree canopy as I stroll leaf covered paths in areas of the garden that were deeply shaded until recent days. A large portion of the garden is now covered in leaves from the forest that borders the garden but also from dozens of redbuds, dogwoods, beech, and various other trees…

Too often, I fall into “oh, isn’t it pretty” mode while strolling the garden. Yes, I stop to admire the butterflies on the garden’s many Joe Pye weeds (Eutrochium). I’m astonished by the varied bees and wasps on the large clump of mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum, below) at its month long, late summer peak. But,…

From my perch in the treehouse (sunroom), I see the garden slowly fading as nighttime temperatures regularly fall into the thirties (Fahrenheit). The large leafed, blue-green hostas nestled beside the pond just below the window have turned to yellow while others retain their color, at least for a few days. Leaves of the Dutchman’s Pipe…

As temperatures fall into the thirties tonight, I reflect for a moment on this year as I stroll through the garden, but mostly the gains I anticipate in the year ahead. Yes, the start of the new year is the more common time to look back, but the garden’s near dormancy is around the corner….

Green branch tips of the Japanese Umbrella pine (Sciadopitys verticillata, below) litter the path through the side garden, a befuddling occurrence seen annually in early autumn. I blame this on the obvious repeat offenders, squirrels, though I have no direct evidence of their mischievousness. In any case, the lost tips seem to do no harm…

No doubt, there are varying goals that gardeners hope to achieve. This is not an edible garden, at least not for my consumption, though numerous beasts feed here daily. There are several blueberries that have grown far above my reach, but I pluck only a handful or two, leaving most for the birds. While the…

With temperatures forecast to plunge near freezing this week, I must prepare for the inevitable move of tropicals into the basement and greenhouse. I delay lugging heavy pots of aeoniums and digging and potting large mangaves (below) that are in the ground as long as possible in a lost cause act of defiance. While many…

Japanese maples are often the latest of the garden’s trees to display their glorious autumn foliage colors. Dogwoods are among the earliest, but there’s little leaf color this first week of October except drought induced yellows. Still, there’s lots of color. A year ago, a number of the garden’s hollies lacked their typical profusion of…