Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Last Blooms with a Foliage Follow-up

While Carol at May Dreams Garden keeps us on focus about the blooms in our garden all year long I am afraid that these are the last of the blooms in my garden. While there has been an Indian Summer here I managed to get the front door painted.  It is a color of foliage which Pam likes for us to show the day after Bloom Day.
 While we don't have so many blooms in the garden we do have foliage.  The boxwood by the front porch is always green. I like to think it is a nice welcome to our home.  The Akebia vine that insists on twirling around the rail will stay green until it gets really cold and stays cold. It is protected by the porch overhang. Yes, those are some holly berries and no I don't remember which holly. Obviously it is decidious.  No matter because the berries are so striking and the birds leave them until the last to eat.
 The pyracantha has that deep green of the cold months and there are plenty of berries to keep the Mockingbird happy for a long while.  That is if he can keep the Cardinals out of them.
 We have had a bit of moisture lately so a few of the bittersweet berries have shown themselves. The foliage on this vine is somewhat protected by the Locust tree nearby so it stays green until all the leaves are down from the Locust. If there is another frost the berries will be exposed.
 The berries on the False Bamboo is rarely bothered by the birds. It must be because there are other more palatable berries available.  I had read that birds like them. Maybe one will get brave some day and taste one.
 The foliage on the Oak leaf hydrangea is still colorful and beautiful. The other hydrangeas foliage are all but lost.
 I have read time and again that Burning bushes have fallen out of favor but at this time of year a person would be hard pressed to rip one out. It is so striking with those leaves aflame.
 My two favorite viburnams are still gorgeous.  The one on the right will lose its deep plum colored leaves this winter but the one on the right, Leatherleaf, will keep those leaves all winter.
I will leave you with a look at my window box as it appears now decked out in its fall finery. I hope you have that warm glow of fall in your sights. 

Monday, November 8, 2010

Finding Ghosts in the Garden

It is that time of year when you begin seeing ghosts in the garden. No I don't mean that your deceased Auntie  is strolling around admiring your work, I mean that many plants that don't like frost and cold weather  begin to fade.
                                
 Occasionally you spot a bit of color but it too will soon be gone.
 Rose was asking if anyone had anything ugly showing up in your garden. Oh, I guess if you look real close you can find the plants that have given up for the year. They could be called ugly. Like this Cardinal Vine. It looks pretty pitaful after a couple of heavy frosts and some record cold nights.
 If you step back like I did today and just look around I wouldn't call it too unsightly yet. It was warm enough that Luna and I sat out in the garden today. I sat where the Casa normaly is set up. It has already been tucked away for the winter.  I was looking here...
 and there making mental lists of chores I should be, could be and will be doing. It is sort of sad that you can feel the end of the gardening year approaching. Yet it is nice to be able to sit there and think about what all can be accomplished yet.
Even at this time of year there are little surprises in the garden. Like these two Pine Siskins that are the first of the winter birds that I look forward to seeing every year. They have been at the feeders the past few days. They are such cute little things.  
I hope there are some cute things in your garden now and not just a lot of ghostly figures and mush. Excuse me while I get the last of the bulbs in the ground while the sun is shining.

New Blogger, Old Blogger

     All I can say it is difficult to deal with change. This new Blogger format is not as user friendly in my opinion. I guess I will get us...