Leaves of Japanese maples, held long after foliage of neighboring trees has fallen, have dropped overnight in welcomed rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Nicole. Today, much of the garden is blanketed by leaves, but no area is so glorious as the front walk, covered in the red of the Bloodgood maple (Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’,…

I am surprised to see three purple leafed cranefly orchids (Tipularia discolor, below) emerging through the clutter of fallen leaves. Handfuls of more common green leafed craneflies and the few purples were dug by squirrels a year ago. I believe this trio has multiplied from a single cranefly left by the thieving squirrels that has…

I must protest. I hear from other area gardeners that they have not yet experienced frosts or several freezes that have called a halt to holdover flowers from late summer and earlier autumn in this garden. I assumed, incorrectly, that the freezes were widespread. Still, a single toad lily (Tricyrtis) protected by an overhanging mahonia…

Leaves of the splendidly yellow ginkgo fell a week ago. Without forewarning, leaves fell overnight and in a day the tree was bare. Three partially shaded dwarfs retain their leaves, with just the start of a show of color. Aside from the marvelous Japanese maples, the star of the autumn leaf drop is undoubtedly the…

I am barely enthused by autumn foliage colors, knowing the next step is that leaves drop for months until spring’s first growth. But, leaf colors do weigh in favoring one Japanese maple over another. Undoubtedly, the fern leaf full moon maple (Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’, below) is the best of the lot. Today, after several frosts…

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…