The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Hi guys. I hope you're all doing well. 

You know those times when you need to fix something but you're not sure how? Especially when it's a garden project, you don't want strictly utilitarian. You want it to serve its purpose, yes, but also be aestetic, eye candy. Well, after letting a garden-related dilemma percolate in my head all summer, not to mention for the past several years, I finally figured it out. Thanks to my gifted and talented son, the project is well underway and I'll be showing you all photos when it's all done. Teaser: It's rusty!

But for now, the bloomers:  

I thought it was kind of sweet how this Actaea ramosa 'Atropurpurea' blossom
decided to cozy up to a stem of  Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lantern'

New to me this year is Tricyrtis ohsumiensis 'Lemon Twist'. Typically, I'm not a yellow flower
gardener and I bought it because of the spotted foliage but the flowers are sweet too.

I know I go on ad nauseum about the hardy Fuchsias but come on!
Tell me these aren't gorgeous.
Fuchsia 'Baby Ann'

Little 'Delta's Angelique' Fuchsia is blooming its head off.
The flowers are about two inches long. So cute.

Diascia integerrimus and 'Jolly Bee' Geranium look cute together.

This is the gorgeous Begonia fuschianoides that my gal pal
Mindy Northrop gave me. Another prolific bloomer!

Thank you, Mindy!

The fall-blooming Japanese Anemones have just started.
This one is Anemone japonica 'Prinz Heinrich'

I was pleased to see the Wine Cups make an encore presentation.
Callirhoe involucrata

Dahlia 'Fatima' one of my new favorites!

Allium spirale or Allium senescens var. 'Glaucum' ... I'm not sure which
but it hardly matters. The bees are happy and that's what matters.

Cyclamen hederafolium are blooming all over the place.

Shhh... someone is sleeping.

The only way I can catch a hummingbird photo.

I hope your waning gardening days are happy and fulfilling. 

Looking for Beauty

At this time of year, beauty is a little more difficult to define and even more challenging to locate. It requires an open mind and a willingness to ignore the ugly, leafy decay that dominates the garden. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those foggy winters where the sky is shrouded by a milky mist for days on end, especially up here on the hill. Although it can be a tiresome contributor to my winter blues, it's comparatively benign weather and I prefer it over the many manic alternatives. 

Looking for beauty.... 

The November frost didn't completely kill my Brachyscomb. 

My Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lantern') is still hanging on too. 

My Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' tried valiantly to bloom until November's frost halted its attempt.  

But there is promise of things to come. Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' is fixing to bloom in a few months. 

Ditto for my Hellebore foetidus.

And Hellebore x sternii 'Hot Flash' ... hopefully. 

But until the flowers appear, I'll make do with what remains. 

I'm not quite sure why my strawberry plants are blushing so vibrantly but I'm not complaining. 

Rosa 'Cinco de Mayo' is happy too. 

Not to mention Spiraea thunbergii 'Bridal Wreath' 

And my Eucalyptus nicholii survived last winter's single digit temps and grew back from the roots to over five feet.
I love the contrast between the maroon stems and the bluish foliage.  

The Acanthus mollis isn't looking too terrible. 

Neither is the Yucca filamentosa 'Ivory Tower' 

The Cyclamen hederafolium foliage is very happy despite the surrounding leaf litter. 

Leaves are everywhere. Except in the birdbath--now that I cleaned it. 

And my patio pond. So much nicer now.  

Are you able to get any gardening done? 

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Actually, I know where they went. They said, "To heck with this crazy cold weather. I'm outa here!" But eventually that early cold snap got tired of torturing everything in its wake and typical 40-50 degree weather returned. Hallelujah!

And that is how Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' got her groove on.  

Pretty little blossoms... 

I love them. 

Even the buds look elegant. 

Despite the cold, a few flowers remain. 

I moved my Hebe diosmofolia 'Raspberry Ripple' to a protected spot during the cold snap.
And it's still blooming! 

Rodochitron is holding on. 

Barely.

(Himalayan Honeysuckle) Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lantern' is still happy too. 

Look at how the Cyclamen hederafolium foliage is spreading. 

Finally my backyard Japanese Maple is turning. So pretty. 

My Acer palmatum NOID is blushing too. 

Hebe 'Shamrock' also blushes when the weather gets cool. 

As does Sedum spurium 'Dragon's Blood' 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

No Shadows!

It's been a long, hot summer and today, timed precisely with the beginning of autumn, the shadows that have been a normal part of my gardening experience for the last three months were on serious hiatus. Sunshine lay hidden behind an ashen cloud cover keeping the temperature in the comfy sixties. And with beloved rain predicted tomorrow, needless to say I got some serious gardening done!  

Look at Aster 'Alma Potschke' 

Through the years I've divided this Aster many times and now there are several
throughout my garden. I love the vibrant pink color. 

Nicotiana 'Tinkerbell' has reseeded in several areas. I love everything about this plant. 

Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' is blooming again. The fragrance is delicious. 

And speaking of fragrance, here is a blossom on my 'Frost Proof' Gardenia.
The plant has been blooming non-stop since early August.

This is 'Fireworks' Gomphrena. It's been blooming since I bought it. 

This photo of  Rosa 'Adelaide Hoodless' is a little over-exposed but I love these luscious red puffs. 

Earlier this spring, I bought two Calibrachoa or "Million Bells."
They're still going strong. 

Fry Road Nursery has several species Impatiens. I bought this one as a plug
back in May. It's about three feet tall now and in constant bloom. 

I've discovered that if I give my Dianthus a drink now and then they'll thank me with blooms. 

Ditto for Clemmies. This is C. 'Confetti.' It's blooming again! 

My over-wintered Melianthus has been growing slowly all season. 

The red blooms here are Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'. It's been blooming non-stop since June. 

Fuchsia magellianica and Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lantern')

And just next to the aforementioned plant combo is this one.
Rosa 'Cinco de Mayo' and Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eyes Sumac'. 

Here is a look at my garden looking north. 

And here it is looking south. The creeping thyme I planted between the bricks (where the lawn used to be)
is filling in nicely. 

Maybe a little too well in some spots. 

I am so much happier without my lawns. The "north lawn" used to be here. 

One of my projects has been to relocate this sad looking clump of Darmera peltata. As a lover of wet feet, it was constantly pouting at being sentenced to the desert conditions under my Seven-Son's tree. 

So I dug it out and replaced it with a very large and very tolerant Pacific Northwest native sword fern. 

The fern will take a while to settle in but this area will be much easier to manage next summer, which I'm
predicting will be much cooler!