I was leaving work one day this week and the sun was back lighting Queen Elizabeth nicely. She is the first rose I planted at school so is special. Since I didn't have my regular camera with me, I decided to play with the camera on my newfangled phone.
I still have trouble looking at a screen instead of a viewfinder and the auto focus is crazy! I wasn't displeased with the macro ability of the phone.
Enough of that. Time to get on the road and run some errands before going home. What on earth is this red stuff by the side of the road? (Yes I stopped.)
So off to Fred Meyer (Grocery, hardware, garden, toy, housewares, a little of everything store.) I'm a lover of fall but this summer seems to have flown by faster than summer usually does and the weather went from being quite summery to being cold and wet in the course of 24 hours. The displays near the entrance took me by surprise. It's October and all but I'm not quite there yet for some reason.
The unkindest blow of all is seeing the outdoor garden area being stripped down to make room for (can't say it - you know that seasonal evergreen stuff.) Thank goodness that we have lots of nurseries in the area that carry plants year round!
O.K. shopping done & I'm ready to go back to the land of seasonal denial! Let's go back home where there is still a little bit of summer to see. The fuchsias are still going strong, bless them!
Sure the new green foliage of cyclamen comes out in the winter, it's green and pretty and LOOKS summery.
Sarracenias not looking quite as youthful as they did a few weeks ago but not brown yet.
Here's a happy group of them that blooms each year to show appreciation for their placement atop the compost bin. It's a win/win situation!
My usual method of solving garden issues is to walk away from them muttering something about things looking better next year.
Hey look, the Magnolia macrophylla has fertilized seed heads for the first time in the 16 years it's been there. It's always bloomed nicely and had green seed heads that aborted fairly early after the flowers were done. Any idea why suddenly we've got seeds?
The tetrapanax thicket in the parking strip has several stalks that are going to try and bloom.
Tetrapanax vs. bamboo. Which do you think will win?
Lobelia tupa just about at the end of blooming.
Clematis seed heads decorating the vine with little ghosts for Halloween. Maybe it really is autumn after all.
Rosa glauca hips agree that it may not be July anymore.
So, are you like the sensible and realistic Rosa glauca, all ready for autumn and that other season that follows or are you more like the impatiens that will deny that it's not still summer until the first frost catches it by surprise?
I'm not really in denial, but I am playing catch-up in the garden. My Pennisetum 'Karley Rose' is falling all over everything in my front bed, and like you I'm itching to just cut it down. I hope your Magnolia isn't producing ripe seedpods because it's about to die.
ReplyDeleteDon't think it's about to die, it's been there for about 15 years and doesn't show any signs of being unhappy. That heavy rain sure did a number on our grasses in this area!
DeleteWith clouds so dark outside and my thick robe on, it seems senseless to deny the obvious. The best remedy is to look forward to the next flower and garden show and plan my adventures in the garden next spring... only a few months away.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Still so much for me to do before winter sets in. Have brought most of the plants in but there are still a few that need to come inside or at least under eaves to protect them from the rain. Got a few spring flowering bulbs on sale which need to be planted.
DeleteInteresting that you've not gotten fertilized seeds on your Magnolia before...ever since mine started flowering I've gotten seeds. Once the cones fall to the ground (thankfully not destroying anything...yet) I can't help myself but to pick them up and bring them indoors, they're so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGot home and looked under the tree t see if any had fallen. Not yet but I'll be sure to bring them in and when they do!
DeleteWhat a great collection of flowers. I also want to have Fuchsia, but on the balcony is a lot of sun. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteTanks Joanna. We grow the hardy fuchsias in full sun here and they seem perfectly happy.
DeleteYour phone is performing well (new twist to "phoning it in"?) Every so often we have what I call a year of fecundity, where everything pumps out viable seed...makes for weeding challenges in the spring, and later, when the ones I've missed have gained a foothold.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Do you suppose there's some sort of cycle or is it just the right confluence of warmth and rain?
DeleteI'm guessing it's a little bit of both.
DeletePretty rose and the phone photos look good. We have turned cooler, but I wouldn't call it cold. All the blossoms and seeds in your garden are amazing.
ReplyDeleteRandom Fridays are turning in to a big adventure with the trip to Fred Meyer and all.
Soon it will be dark by the time I leave work so I'll have to take lots of pictures on the weekends!
DeleteYour random Friday post is great, Peter. I can just see you doing your errands, trundling 'round the garden, and enjoying the seemingly quick changes that are happening. Like you and your mashup, I'm wondering whether the bamboo or the tetrapanax will be the victor in my garden.
ReplyDeleteThe two leaf textures and sizes look good together. The tetrapanax was not invited to be this close to the bamboo! The one innocent-looking plant that I put about thirty feet away has grown into a sprawling thicket of huge leaves. I really must thin it out more but it's kind of cool to be able to walk under a canopy of tropical looking foliage.
DeleteSeasonal Denial! I'm afflicted, too. But your plants are faring better than ours! I DID see some yellow and pink roses at the Wellfield Botanical Garden that we visited in Elkhart IN today, though (among other plants still in bloom)...
ReplyDeleteOld man winter will come and shake some reality into us soon enough. For now, let's just enjoy.
DeleteI'm always grateful for the arrival of fall and an end to the burning heat of summer. As the nights become consistently cooler, the gardens here pick up and planting begins in earnest. I can see where the difference in our climates would lead you to feel very differently about the season, though. Enjoy those summer holdovers!
ReplyDeleteWhile I envy some of the plants that you can grow that we can't, I'm happy with our summers that allow us to be outside every day! I'm happy that you're now able to go out and enjoy the garden again. We still go out and play but no longer in short sleeves.
DeleteFun post. I'm now accepting that summer is gone and it's time to appreciate the fall color and begin to knock down and clean up much of the summer growth in the garden. But I do so reluctantly.
ReplyDeleteI love autumn and truth be told, although I'm not fond of the season itself, I'm pleased with the clean up that winter does in some of the areas of my garden that get pretty unruly by fall. Don't tell anyone that I said anything positive about winter o.k.
DeleteI'm pouting because I hate having to close up my house in the evening and those after sundown temps continue to plummet. Days are still beautiful though, tickling the 70's.You still have lots of nice stuff going on !
ReplyDeleteI finally closed the last of the windows that are left open a crack from late spring through the first big storms of autumn or when the nights start to dip into the 40's. Happy to join you in a nice pout!
DeleteI'm in denial, too. So many plans I had for September and I can't for the life of me remember if I did any of them! From the looks of the place, I don't think I did. And I just flat out refuse to look at Christmas stuff right now.
ReplyDeleteYikes, you said the C word! I do love Christmas but am not quite ready yet. It's fun to savor the present but I understand that planning for the future is a good thing too.
DeleteI'm not just in denial, but also in defiance, I used to take a break from gardening in winter but I had to face up to all the blackberry vines laughing at me as they tip-root all winter so now I'm committed to going out and giving them a hard time as much as possible. I got another large area stripped down to the ground so it can be mowed. Plus I have seeds to fall-sow that are still in their packets and I'm wondering if it will be too late soon....
ReplyDeleteOne of the nice things about our climate is that we can garden year round if we want to. In cold winter areas, folks can't garden in the winter and in warm winter areas they must garden year round. Here we have the choice. What could be better?
DeleteSo, you're having autumn there as well.. It's a little bit sad to say bye to the lovely summertime, but otherwise it's a welcome break from gardening.. Happy weekend, Peter!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend to you, Satu. It is nice to have a break from gardening when the school year and preparation for the holidays takes so much of our time.
DeleteI'm probably in the minority here...I adore autumn! I love the cooler temps...the slight nip in the air when I wake up in the mornings...the easy sleeping now that it's cooler...and the lovely soft light. The one thing I DO NOT like is that first day that it's dark when I get off work...not a fan of that!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on autumn Scott. It's a beautiful time of the year, colors, light, fragrances. Love all that. Revel in everything pumpkin spice, can't wait for the first egg nog sighting (which I forgot to mention was at the Fred Meyer on the day I was there.) It's that wet and miserable stretch from January through March that gets on my nerves.
DeleteI'm so happy fall is here but I'm with you in that it really seemed to sneak up fast this year. And I love that the Fred Meyer signals season changes for you. I always inwardly scream nooooo! when I see the mums and the clearance signs come out.
ReplyDeleteThere's just something sad about those mums at the stores.
DeleteExcept the emptied nursery yard, I like the change you show. Those brilliant red trees...wow! I've been to the PNW 3x when it turned this time of year...like day to night. Though to me, it's fall when it's no longer 90F+ daily!
ReplyDeleteI can see how this time of year means different things to gardeners living in other climates! Fall is beautiful here.
DeleteYour pics of 'Queen Elizabeth' are lovely, even with the cell phone camera. I like your blue sun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jason. The blue sun was a hardware store find several years ago.
DeleteYour fuchsia is so beautiful it looks fake. Those are some badass pitcher plants! They look so fierce. I just have to tell ya - the epimediums were victorious in the Anemone Assault. I think I may have damaged enough of their roots while expanding the rain garden that they've been slowed down a bit. But of course, those damn things are probably growing new roots right this very second.
ReplyDeleteScore one for the epimediums; they're pretty tough plants! Any plant that will grow in dry shade has my vote so I'd probably also be thrilled with the Anemone. You secretly love the thug, don't you? Good girls always fall for bad boys! http://youtu.be/Is79-5CtPjw
DeletePeter, I'm as your rose glauca ready for autumn and winter that comes after. I love your fuchsia and cyclamen. Do you grow them in pots or in ground?
ReplyDeleteHave a nice week!
I'm glad that you're ready for winter, Nadezda! I grow both cyclamen and fuchsia in the ground. There are some less hardy ones that some people grow in pots.
DeleteSome interesting and nice randomness there Peter! I find the sweetcorn display rather attractive, we used to grow ornamental and edible ones interspersed with other plants for their form and foliage rather than to actually harvest the corn. Might do it again next year.
ReplyDeleteThere are some ornamental sweet corn varieties! I've grown one with cream and pink variegated leaves. Corn plants have an exotic/tropical look about them that fits perfectly in your gorgeous garden!
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