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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Some Fall Glimpses of My Garden.

Most of my garden is still in a state of chaos from the movement of plants and garage contents for the greenhouse project but the plants are still doing o.k.

Although it's been blooming for about ten years, this is only the second year that my Magnolia macrophylla has made cones.  This year, there are even more than last.


 Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'  Also known as Tiger eyes staghorn sumac has been pretty well behaved in the dry parking strip.


Clerodendrum trichotomum 'Carnival' has gorgeous leaves all summer and jasmine-scented white hummingbird bait flowers for a couple of months.

I look forward to their berries in the fall.  Such great metallic blue and turquoise gems set in the red calyxes where the former flowers once were.



The Callicarpa or Beautyberry certainly earns it's name this time of year.


The evergreen Euonymus  fruiting again. 

Our warm summer made Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' very happy.  It was very sad last winter and I thought that perhaps it had given up the ghost but it's come back like a trooper and put on quite a bit of growth.  

We're supposed to have strong winds and significant rainfall tonight and more rain for the rest of the week.  Come on sun, I need a bit of dryish weather to start planting these!

The largest of several boxes of bulbs that have been appearing on my front porch lately.  Who was the braniac who thought that planting a bunch of bulbs would be a fun thing to do at the same time as playing with plants in the new greenhouse?  The gardener at this place clearly isn't much of a thinker!




28 comments:

  1. I think you're good at multitasking Peter, you can do both easy peasy :) some of your plants are still hanging on to their summer colour like the Rhus, but I can imagine it won't be long now before the leaves go crimson.

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    1. I know that I can do both but it's fun to pretend that I can't. Each day I notice something more that's starting to change color!

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  2. No need to panic on the bulb planting yet -- I planted very late a few years ago and everything came up in the spring anyway (as far as I can tell).

    Every time I see beautyberry I wonder why I'm not growing it. Then I remember the deer and I bet they love it too. :(

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    1. You're so right about the bulb planting not being a pressing thing but I have to nag at myself to get them done so that I don't end up with bags and boxes of dead bulbs in the spring. Expensive compost!

      Beautyberry doesn't mind pruning at all so maybe the deer wouldn't bother them too much.

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  3. What you may lack in planning you make up for in enthusiasm and knowledge. If you had planning skills you'd be a perfect gardener, and I'd be even more jealous. It was lovely to wake up this morning to a post with so many photos of the fall beauty in your garden. We're in for a few very wet days, but hopefully there will be some time on the weekend when you can run between the raindrops and do some sorting out.

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    1. You are too kind, Alison. Argh, the constant rain. I'm finding that it is kind of nice to have a rain free greenhouse in which to putter when it's so yucky outside!

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  4. 'Frosty' looks great, as does 'Bright Star'. Really pretty photos today, Peter.

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    1. Thanks, Hoov! I love those two plants and wish that they didn't mind damp feet!

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  5. 'Carnival' puts the plain old green one to shame. Does it sucker as much? Alan, the greedy deer have never touched my beauty berry. It's pretty close to the house, but they have nibbled other things around it.

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    1. 'Carnival' hasn't suckered at all darn it! My plain green one suckers everywhere. My 'Carnival' came from Cistus a few years ago.

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  6. Your garden looks good in it's early autumn state.

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    1. The secret is to only take close ups of the plants!

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  7. I enjoyed this 'All Berry' post berry berry much. (Sorry, it just came out...)
    Their bright colors really help with the gloomy rainy days. The Magnolia cone looks like a juicy tropical fruit. I'm convinced there will be nicer days ahead for bulb planting, just get your galoshes ready.

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    1. Only two more small plants and the migration to the greenhouse will be complete and I can start hauling the pots and other garage stuff back out there. Hooray! I know that there will be some rain free days in the future for bulb planting. I may even take a day off of work if there's an extra beautiful day forecast and get everything done!

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  8. Wow, those Clerodendron berries are certainly dramatic. So what kind of beautyberry do you have? I have an 'Early Amethyst' I planted last year, so far I am very underwhelmed by its performance, but perhaps I am too impatient.

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    1. I have a 'Profusion' and it has been since it's first year.

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  9. Lookin' hot! Love the autumnal berries and leaves….nice!

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    1. There are some truly lovely things about this time of year. I could live without so much rain just now but it is the PNW after all.

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  10. Bulbs are so easy to buy en masse.... I have 100 crocus headed for my front garden. I love how vibrant the clerodendron berries are. Very Andy Warhol. Everything looks fab! :o)

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    1. They are very easy to buy through the mail. Harder when you see them pile up in a cart at a nursery. Oh well, they squeeze in between everything else fairly well. It's a nice reason to get your hands in the dirt at a time of year when most other garden tasks are winding down.

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  11. I never finished planting the bulbs I bought last year and yet I bought more.

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  12. I love the lushness of your garden. Such contrast from mine. Rain is still elusive in California. No beautyberries for us but the agaves are just fine.

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    1. You can grow such interesting plants there! Lushness comes fairly easily to a place that gets as much rain as we do!

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  13. Oh - I've never seen a Clerodendrum with variegated leaves before! It's definitely going on my wish list... I totally hear you about the bulbs. I ordered a ton last year, and hardly planted any... Such a waste. So this year, I threw whatever was left of them in some soil. Maybe there is still life in some of them...?

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  14. How wonderful is Tiger eyes staghorn sumac, Peter. Love its decorative leaves, seems like Japanese maple, doesn't it?
    You've received too many bulbs, where do you want to plant them? For me this always is a problem!

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  15. Hi Peter! Berries are as important as flowers in your garden, and you have a lot of them! My Euonymus never has fruit. Maybe, it's because I trim it often.

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  16. I've been smitten by 'Tiger Eyes' and planted one last fall, having purchased it in the spring and grown it in a pot until finally finding a spot for it. I cannot believe I am having trouble with a sumac! It was unhappy in the pot, and now it's unhappy in the ground. It's a bit shaded, which is probably be the problem, but I've never known that to stop a sumac before! I figured it would finally grow its way up into the sun but it just sulked all year. I'm hoping that with a bit of establishment it will do better next year--and I'll make sure to cut back some of the plants shading it so it has a fighting chance!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.